Fiddlehead Music

Though it was only released a month ago as I write this, Kelela’s album Raven has been on constant rotation: whether it’s the summery “On the Run,” the piercingly erotic “Sorbet,” or the emotionally expansive “Enough for Love.” Her fusion of R&B, house, and electronica is like no one else. Unlike a lot of contemporary albums, I tend to listen to Raven from start to finish. It asks you to immerse yourself.  

Every few years, I become fixated on an album and listen to it on repeat until my husband, children and cat are all desperate for reprieve. During the winter of 2021, Lotta Sea Lice was that album. A collaboration between speak-singing indie darlings Kurt Vile and Courtney Barnett, it’s a subtle, well-crafted album that’s perfect to write to — it plods along pleasantly in the background until, one day, you realize that the songs are sneaky earworms and you never feel like listening to anything else.

A year ago, I moved to another continent just as COVID-19 was finding its feet (sorry, Mum and Dad). Stuck indoors for months and unable to connect to my new surroundings, I found myself seeking out and appreciating Canadian content more than I had when I was home. I began listening more and more to young Canadian artists – Faouzia and Scott Helman, in particular.  

Jessamyn Hope is the author of the novel Safekeeping—winner of the J. I. Segal Award and a finalist for the Paterson Fiction Prize and the Ribalow Prize. Her short stories and essays—originally published in Ploughshares, PRISM International, Descant, and elsewhere—have been selected for Best Canadian Essays, two Pushcart Prize honorable mentions, and a Best American Notable. Her short story "Verified Purchase" is featured in the 2022 autumn issue of The Fiddlehead. She grew up in Montreal and lives in New York City.