Hi!

I hope you’ve had a fantastic two weeks since I sent the last email. I have some surprising news to share:

I spontaneously made a drastic change of plans. I will be back in Germany soon, and I am very excited about it. Who would have thought that? Not me, at least not about two weeks ago, when I arrived in Montreal after I left Toronto. You may ask yourself: Why?

So, let me share my experiences from the past two weeks in Montreal and explain why I've decided to shorten my stay in Canada:

When I arrived in Montreal, at first I didn’t like it and felt quite uncomfortable for the first two days or so. I had heard before that it was supposed to be very European, but I had never thought about it too much. Now, I can confirm that this is 100% accurate. The style of the people, the cafes, restaurants, and shops; all are very similar to European cities, particularly Berlin - the city I left because I wanted to experience living in a different environment. After this first impression, all I wanted was to go back to Toronto, which perfectly matched my imagination of living in a North American metropolis.

I reminded myself though that it is unrealistic to live in Toronto due to the housing situation, and that mourning my dream of living there is wasted energy.

After exploring Montreal a bit more, I realized that it isn’t too bad after all - it just turned out that I arrived in the Prenzlauer Berg of Montreal which threw me off. Overall, it is a gorgeous and unique city that looks and feels like a mix of New York, Dutch cities, and Berlin, and it has the lowest rents of all big cities in Canada.

And my personal highlight: I had a great Airbnb host who was a musician and artist coach. We had many interesting conversations and on top of that, she had a Nord Stage 2 synthesizer that had been sitting in the corner of the living room since she got it from a friend some time ago. I got to try it out and ended up playing and recording it every day and I can’t wait to sample these recordings on new songs.

Overall, I began to feel comfortable and wanted to stay. However, when I started looking for a job and accommodation, I began to feel uncomfortable again. Why? I realized several important things:

As I said, Montreal is a very interesting and gorgeous city, however, it is VERY similar to Berlin. I wanted a different vibe and feeling when I arrived in Canada, and Toronto offered just that. Montreal, on the other hand, felt too familiar.

I've always dreamed of living in a big city outside of Europe, but currently, that doesn't fit into my life vision. In the past year, I only worked part-time and then became unemployed, allowing me to dedicate a lot of time to making music, which is essential for me. However, living in Canada with a part-time job can be quite challenging, even in Montreal. Additionally, I realized that I am not willing to invest the high amount of energy required to settle in a new country at the moment. I want to create a life for myself that allows me to make music, work part-time and still live comfortably.

This is exactly what I had in Berlin, but I became bored and frustrated with being in the same place and around the same structures for a long time. I needed a change of perspective and environment to realize that Berlin is a great place to live my life the way I want to.

So, what's my conclusion after realizing all of this? I've decided to stop looking for a job in Montreal and return to Toronto because I love it there. I arrived there yesterday and will stay as long as my savings allow me to, so I can fully enjoy my time without worrying about finding a job or a place to stay long-term. Then, by the end of June, I will return to Berlin and live my life in a way that I think suits me best.

Before I end the newsletter with a few photos from the past two weeks in Montreal, I would like to share some updates about my music:

No Goodbye, the first single from my upcoming Album Out Of Office, has been available on bandcamp and all major streaming platforms since last Sunday. If you haven’t done so yet, give it a listen - the title and the timing of the release couldn’t have been any better.

As a follow-up before the album release, Enjoy Your Day Or Night, which I already previewed in the last newsletter, arguably my favorite song on the album, will be available this Sunday, May 19, on bandcamp and streaming platforms as well.
And, one week later, on Sunday, May 26, Out Of Office will be released. I'm so much looking forward to this day so that you can finally listen to my first-ever LP (and I've randomly included the cover in the photo slideshow below - guess which one it is).

Additionally, as if that wasn't already great news, I have uploaded Paris -> Marseille, a song that didn't make it onto the album, to SoundCloud. I produced this song on the train from Paris to Marseille back in March. Even though it won't be on Out Of Office, I really like it and would be sad not to share it. You can listen to it here.

Finally, I have a recommendation for you: my favorite album of the last weeks, which is The Chrystal Hum by Yu Ching. Yu Ching was my colleague during my time as a restaurant manager and I was super delighted to recently discover her new album. Maybe it’s this personal connection that makes me enjoy it so much, but, she’s not only a lovely person but also an amazing musician. I listened to The Chrystal Hum a lot during my night walks in Montreal and I highly recommend giving it a listen.

That’s it for now, enjoy your day or night!

Soda Paapi

Hi!

I hope you’ve had a fantastic two weeks since I sent the last email. I have some surprising news to share:

I spontaneously made a drastic change of plans. I will be back in Germany soon, and I am very excited about it. Who would have thought that? Not me, at least not about two weeks ago, when I arrived in Montreal after I left Toronto. You may ask yourself: Why?

So, let me share my experiences from the past two weeks in Montreal and explain why I've decided to shorten my stay in Canada:

When I arrived in Montreal, at first I didn’t like it and felt quite uncomfortable for the first two days or so. I had heard before that it was supposed to be very European, but I had never thought about it too much. Now, I can confirm that this is 100% accurate. The style of the people, the cafes, restaurants, and shops; all are very similar to European cities, particularly Berlin - the city I left because I wanted to experience living in a different environment. After this first impression, all I wanted was to go back to Toronto, which perfectly matched my imagination of living in a North American metropolis.

I reminded myself though that it is unrealistic to live in Toronto due to the housing situation, and that mourning my dream of living there is wasted energy.

After exploring Montreal a bit more, I realized that it isn’t too bad after all - it just turned out that I arrived in the Prenzlauer Berg of Montreal which threw me off. Overall, it is a gorgeous and unique city that looks and feels like a mix of New York, Dutch cities, and Berlin, and it has the lowest rents of all big cities in Canada.

And my personal highlight: I had a great Airbnb host who was a musician and artist coach. We had many interesting conversations and on top of that, she had a Nord Stage 2 synthesizer that had been sitting in the corner of the living room since she got it from a friend some time ago. I got to try it out and ended up playing and recording it every day and I can’t wait to sample these recordings on new songs.

Overall, I began to feel comfortable and wanted to stay. However, when I started looking for a job and accommodation, I began to feel uncomfortable again. Why? I realized several important things:

As I said, Montreal is a very interesting and gorgeous city, however, it is VERY similar to Berlin. I wanted a different vibe and feeling when I arrived in Canada, and Toronto offered just that. Montreal, on the other hand, felt too familiar.

I've always dreamed of living in a big city outside of Europe, but currently, that doesn't fit into my life vision. In the past year, I only worked part-time and then became unemployed, allowing me to dedicate a lot of time to making music, which is essential for me. However, living in Canada with a part-time job can be quite challenging, even in Montreal. Additionally, I realized that I am not willing to invest the high amount of energy required to settle in a new country at the moment. I want to create a life for myself that allows me to make music, work part-time and still live comfortably.

This is exactly what I had in Berlin, but I became bored and frustrated with being in the same place and around the same structures for a long time. I needed a change of perspective and environment to realize that Berlin is a great place to live my life the way I want to.

So, what's my conclusion after realizing all of this? I've decided to stop looking for a job in Montreal and return to Toronto because I love it there. I arrived there yesterday and will stay as long as my savings allow me to, so I can fully enjoy my time without worrying about finding a job or a place to stay long-term. Then, by the end of June, I will return to Berlin and live my life in a way that I think suits me best.

Before I end the newsletter with a few photos from the past two weeks in Montreal, I would like to share some updates about my music:

No Goodbye, the first single from my upcoming Album Out Of Office, has been available on bandcamp and all major streaming platforms since last Sunday. If you haven’t done so yet, give it a listen - the title and the timing of the release couldn’t have been any better.

As a follow-up before the album release, Enjoy Your Day Or Night, which I already previewed in the last newsletter, arguably my favorite song on the album, will be available this Sunday, May 19, on bandcamp and streaming platforms as well.
And, one week later, on Sunday, May 26, Out Of Office will be released. I'm so much looking forward to this day so that you can finally listen to my first-ever LP (and I've randomly included the cover in the photo slideshow below - guess which one it is).

Additionally, as if that wasn't already great news, I have uploaded Paris -> Marseille, a song that didn't make it onto the album, to SoundCloud. I produced this song on the train from Paris to Marseille back in March. Even though it won't be on Out Of Office, I really like it and would be sad not to share it. You can listen to it here.

Finally, I have a recommendation for you: my favorite album of the last weeks, which is The Chrystal Hum by Yu Ching. Yu Ching was my colleague during my time as a restaurant manager and I was super delighted to recently discover her new album. Maybe it’s this personal connection that makes me enjoy it so much, but, she’s not only a lovely person but also an amazing musician. I listened to The Chrystal Hum a lot during my night walks in Montreal and I highly recommend giving it a listen.

That’s it for now, enjoy your day or night!

Soda Paapi