Leith Ross’ favourite artists from Canada: “It’s an absolutely mind-blowing scene”
Canada may be one of the biggest countries in the world, but its music scene is such a microcosm that everyone seems to know everyone.
From classic exports such as Joni Mitchell and Neil Young, who subsequently flew the nest and went on to take over the world, to the smallest of current emerging artists who are just beginning to make their mark, the scene simply makes too much of an indelible impact on the world for it to be simply overlooked. The big powers in the United States and the UK may bring out the true might, but the Canadians are well-versed in playing the very same game.
Someone who seems to sit right in the centre of that bubble is Leith Ross – they’ve brushed with the big leagues in terms of their massive TikTok virality with ‘We’ll Never Have Sex’, but still remain with their feet grounded enough to the roots of the scene to spot the brightest new sparks when they see them and lend their expertise to those in the process of finding their voices. It’s all in a day’s work, of course, because they’re still staking out the territory for themselves.
In light of their most recent album, I Can See the Future, it’s clear that Ross is a master of both deep-rooted and burrowing introspection, but also of eventually being able to lift their head and envision themselves across different times and spaces over the years still to come. When they recently spoke to Far Out about this, they mused on the human attachment to musicianship by saying, “I feel like people are often attached to this idea that musicians make magic, and that music comes from this kind of ether that isn’t really sensical.”
However, they then added, “But the thing that’s most inspiring to me about music is that actually it is incredibly human; it’s like one of the most human things you can do.” Yet the striking thing is perhaps that they feel like this because they feel so connected to their fellow Canadian artists, of whom they have many favourites, but most of whom they simply consider friends.
Reeling off an exciting line-up of names, including Fontine, Boy Golden, Tofu Smell, Cassidy Mann, Taylor Jackson, Slow Spirit, and Nemesis, it’s clear that Ross has a deep-rooted appreciation for the music, simply from their own close circles. “It’s an absolutely mind-blowing scene over here, and I’m so grateful. Yeah, the Canadian music scene is obviously tiny, so there’s a lot of listening to your friends, but I’m grateful for it,” they added.
Of course, the old adage always says that you should never meet your heroes – but that’s quite difficult when you’re in Ross’ position, when most of the people you idolise are also the ones you’ve risen through the ranks of the grassroots circuit with. Naturally, when you become a professional musician, there’s always going to be the industry confidants that you lean on for advice and support – but it’s also quite nice to do it as a bunch of friends, waving the Canadian flag and sending that message across the world.
