Interview with Dominique Fils-Aimé

Bringin' it Backwards - A podcast by Adam & Tera Lisicky

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We had the pleasure of interviewing Dominique Fils-Aimé over Zoom video!JUNO Award winning artist Dominique Fils-Aimé [FEES-em-AY] recently released her new album, Our Roots Run Deep and shares the cinematic video to her new single “My Mind At Ease”. Our Roots Run Deep is the first statement of a new trilogy from Dominique and follows her award-winning trilogy of Nameless, Stay Tuned! and Three Little Words. This new trilogy will see Dominique look inwards, reflecting on her own emotional and spiritual landscape - her roots. Our Roots Run Deep is out now via Ensoul Records.“My Mind At Ease” is a song that confronts psychological fear. The track works through mental disturbance. Dominique’s sensitive voice applies persistent pressure. “Leave me alone bad thoughts” she repeats, “begone”. The ominous quality of the music initially creates a feeling of trepidation. As the song progresses, the moody atmosphere builds up a certain nerve that helps to fuel a breakthrough. Dominique’s words and emotion fight back and fear dissipates into “restful dreams” as Dominique’s voice rings out “victorious - glorious.” The visually stunning video that accompanies today's release was shot on location at the Olympic Stadium, Montreal and directed by Adrian Villagomez, with Mel Charlot, renowned for her work with Grammy Award Winner, Lizzo, choreographing the piece. While Dominique's last trilogy conceptualized the history of African American music, the approach is more personal for this forthcoming album and trilogy. Speaking on the creation of Our Roots Run Deep, Dominique says, “While the goal remains a quest for universal connection through musical frequencies, this internal journey quickly brought me to the importance of my roots. It sparked a desire to shed light on our intergenerational treasures rather than intergenerational trauma, using these treasures to address and heal trauma. By being more open and vulnerable, I hope to lead by example and contribute to the dismantling of taboos surrounding mental health, taboos that are all still very present today, especially in BIPOC communities.”The album artwork explores Dominique’s quest for growth and freedom. In keeping with her first trilogy’s use of primary colors for each album artwork, the second trilogy will explore a new color palette resulting from the blend of those primary colors. “Being the fourth color of the rainbow, green is known to be calming, a symbol for new beginnings, nature and growth,” details Dominique.” Green is for the vegetation that inspires me in my songwriting and teaches me to grow everyday. It’s like giving myself the green light to let my artistic and emotional freedom bloom, with jazz being my musical vessel.”Dominique’s 2018 debut Nameless is now the audiophile’s reference recording across the globe. Stay Tuned! won the 2020 JUNO Award for Vocal Jazz Album of the Year as well as the Félix prize for Best Jazz Album at the 2019 ADISQ Gala, was shortlisted for the Polaris Music Prize and featured among the 19 best Canadian albums of 2019 by CBC. Dominique was also nominated that same year as Radio-Canada's 2019-2020 “Revelation in Jazz”. The final chapter of the trilogy. Three Little Words, made the Polaris Short List, and claimed the #1 spot for best-selling album in Quebec and #2 in Canada.We want to hear from you! Please email [email protected]#podcast #interview #bringinbackpod #DominiqueFils-Aimé #OurRootsRunDeep #NewMusic #ZoomListen & Subscribe to BiBhttps://www.bringinitbackwards.com/followFollow our podcast on Instagram and Twitter!