Do you know what your friends’ current favorite songs are? I didn’t, but I did a little experiment to find out. I will tell you more about this experiment at the end of the newsletter because first, it’s time for an update about my past weeks in Canada!

It’s been about two weeks now that I am back in Toronto and I am incredibly happy with the decision to stop looking for a job and accommodation in Montreal to stay in Canada long-term, and to turn this into a two and a half months vacation. I don't know when I felt so this clear-headed and at peace the last time, being just by myself, having nothing to worry about. It’s amazing!

When I first arrived at my Airbnb apartment, I was a bit skeptical though. Even though it’s in the same area as the one where I stayed the first two weeks in Toronto, I didn’t realize when I booked it that it is right in the heart of a VERY suburban area - full of duplex houses, families, dogs, and playgrounds, a big contrast to the life you imagine in a metropolis like Toronto.

However, now I am super happy to be where I am. It’s such a relaxing and calming environment and this stay here turned out to be a retreat for myself.

With all this calmness around me, I have full attention to start working on a follow-up project to Out Of Office, which has been available on all streaming platforms since last Sunday. If you haven’t done so yet, you can listen to it here.

And, if you are unsure how to spend the hard-earned money from your office job, you can purchase it on bandcamp for roughly the same price as your next iced matcha latte.

Arguably the best thing about my apartment is that it has a small office room which I turned into my studio. Since I've been here, I've been working on new music every day, taking breaks in between to walk in the huge park that’s just minutes away, enjoying the summery weather that has finally arrived in Canada, and watching dogs play. It couldn’t be any better!

I'm not only working on new music though. During my first days here, I held a little workshop with myself and started collecting ideas about my artistic vision and identity. The wall in my kitchen/living room is full of sheets with notes, looking like the one of a maniac - and I love it, because the pieces are coming together slowly and the process of creating new music has never been as much fun as it is now.

To escape the suburban life every now and then, I’ve done a few trips downtown. I’m still as fascinated as I had been when I arrived by PATH and started filming walking videos in the almost empty underground pedestrian network at night, which will add a visual component to my upcoming project.

And, to fulfill my love for plants and quietness, I visited the Allan Gardens greenhouses right in the heart of downtown Toronto. The trip to Allan Gardens definitely was a memorable one - it was almost a dystopian experience.

Since the greenhouses are downtown, they are surrounded by skyscrapers, which is a fascinating, futuristic setting.

In the park where the greenhouses are located, sadly there is a camp of homeless people living in tents AND, in the very same park, there is a sacred site of indigenous people who were holding a firing ceremony in two huge tipis on the day  I went there. This entire scenery felt extremely surreal.

I enjoyed strolling through the greenhouses, admiring the lush exotic plants, and, to add to my already surreal experience, I discovered Technologies Of Enchantment - When A Ceramic Vase And A Drone Cry Together by Patricia Domínguez, a very difficult-to-describe collection of experimental essays and visual art, which was on display next to a bench in one of the greenhouses. I’ve rarely seen something that creative, strange, beautiful, and inspiring.

If you’re curious now, you can access it as a PDF here. And, if you’re too lazy to read and want to watch something different today than just another episode of the random Netflix show you’re binging at the moment, I recommend watching Eyes of Plants, a short film by Patricia Domínguez that will teleport you into another world.  

Now, back to the experiment I mentioned in the beginning:

Over the last weeks, I asked several people I’ve been in touch with to send me 2 or 3 of their current favorite songs. I did this little experiment because I wanted to test the hypothesis that the people around me don’t prefer one particular music genre. And, I also just wanted to discover new music, to get inspired, and to mess with my Spotify algorithm.

So, thank you to everyone who sent me their favorite songs, it’s been super interesting to listen to them! I don’t want to withhold the results from you, so I created a Spotify playlist with all of the songs people sent me. You can listen to it here and find out if my hypothesis turned out to be true!

Because the outcome of this experiment has been great, I’d love to continue discovering new music this way. Therefore, if you’re willing to share your current, or even all-time, favorite songs with me, don’t hesitate to do so. It would make me very happy. And, of course, I’d continue to share them with you, too!

As usual, I will end this newsletter with some photos of my last two weeks. That’s it for now, enjoy your day or night!

glg Soda Paapi

Do you know what your friends’ current favorite songs are? I didn’t, but I did a little experiment to find out. I will tell you more about this experiment at the end of the newsletter because first, it’s time for an update about my past weeks in Canada!

It’s been about two weeks now that I am back in Toronto and I am incredibly happy with the decision to stop looking for a job and accommodation in Montreal to stay in Canada long-term, and to turn this into a two and a half months vacation. I don't know when I felt so this clear-headed and at peace the last time, being just by myself, having nothing to worry about. It’s amazing!

When I first arrived at my Airbnb apartment, I was a bit skeptical though. Even though it’s in the same area as the one where I stayed the first two weeks in Toronto, I didn’t realize when I booked it that it is right in the heart of a VERY suburban area - full of duplex houses, families, dogs, and playgrounds, a big contrast to the life you imagine in a metropolis like Toronto.

However, now I am super happy to be where I am. It’s such a relaxing and calming environment and this stay here turned out to be a retreat for myself.

With all this calmness around me, I have full attention to start working on a follow-up project to Out Of Office, which has been available on all streaming platforms since last Sunday. If you haven’t done so yet, you can listen to it here.

And, if you are unsure how to spend the hard-earned money from your office job, you can purchase it on bandcamp for roughly the same price as your next iced matcha latte.

Arguably the best thing about my apartment is that it has a small office room which I turned into my studio. Since I've been here, I've been working on new music every day, taking breaks in between to walk in the huge park that’s just minutes away, enjoying the summery weather that has finally arrived in Canada, and watching dogs play. It couldn’t be any better!

I'm not only working on new music though. During my first days here, I held a little workshop with myself and started collecting ideas about my artistic vision and identity. The wall in my kitchen/living room is full of sheets with notes, looking like the one of a maniac - and I love it, because the pieces are coming together slowly and the process of creating new music has never been as much fun as it is now.

To escape the suburban life every now and then, I’ve done a few trips downtown. I’m still as fascinated as I had been when I arrived by PATH and started filming walking videos in the almost empty underground pedestrian network at night, which will add a visual component to my upcoming project.

And, to fulfill my love for plants and quietness, I visited the Allan Gardens greenhouses right in the heart of downtown Toronto. The trip to Allan Gardens definitely was a memorable one - it was almost a dystopian experience.

Since the greenhouses are downtown, they are surrounded by skyscrapers, which is a fascinating, futuristic setting.

In the park where the greenhouses are located, sadly there is a camp of homeless people living in tents AND, in the very same park, there is a sacred site of indigenous people who were holding a firing ceremony in two huge tipis on the day  I went there. This entire scenery felt extremely surreal.

I enjoyed strolling through the greenhouses, admiring the lush exotic plants, and, to add to my already surreal experience, I discovered Technologies Of Enchantment - When A Ceramic Vase And A Drone Cry Together by Patricia Domínguez, a very difficult-to-describe collection of experimental essays and visual art, which was on display next to a bench in one of the greenhouses. I’ve rarely seen something that creative, strange, beautiful, and inspiring.

If you’re curious now, you can access it as a PDF here. And, if you’re too lazy to read and want to watch something different today than just another episode of the random Netflix show you’re binging at the moment, I recommend watching Eyes of Plants, a short film by Patricia Domínguez that will teleport you into another world.  

Now, back to the experiment I mentioned in the beginning:

Over the last weeks, I asked several people I’ve been in touch with to send me 2 or 3 of their current favorite songs. I did this little experiment because I wanted to test the hypothesis that the people around me don’t prefer one particular music genre. And, I also just wanted to discover new music, to get inspired, and to mess with my Spotify algorithm.

So, thank you to everyone who sent me their favorite songs, it’s been super interesting to listen to them! I don’t want to withhold the results from you, so I created a Spotify playlist with all of the songs people sent me. You can listen to it here and find out if my hypothesis turned out to be true!

Because the outcome of this experiment has been great, I’d love to continue discovering new music this way. Therefore, if you’re willing to share your current, or even all-time, favorite songs with me, don’t hesitate to do so. It would make me very happy. And, of course, I’d continue to share them with you, too!

As usual, I will end this newsletter with some photos of my last two weeks. That’s it for now, enjoy your day or night!

glg Soda Paapi