The first Punjabi and African Nova Scotian record label group is bridging the gap between multicultural communities and the changing landscape of Canada’s music industry.
Aux Tale Gravy Music Group (ATG) is a Toronto/Halifax-based record label that bridges the gap between multicultural communities living in Canada and producing commercial music in the Hip Hop, Reggae, Afro, Dancehall, and Punjabi genres.
“The ultimate condiment is oxtail gravy, and the aux is for audio stories that represent our folks and different cultures from around the world,” ATG’s Director of A&R and Hip Hop historian Reed Jones told Now Toronto.
The record label is founded by Jones, Nivie Singh, and Kayla Borden, all whom have meaty backgrounds working with traditional music organizations including UNITY Charity, Nycesound Production Inc., Ishkōdé Records, African Nova Scotian Music Association (ANSMA), FACTOR, Polaris Music Prize, and Halifax Jazz Festival, along with extensive involvement in cultural communities across Canada.
A common trend Singh has noticed in the past decade is seeing many racialized artists sign faulty contracts and cope with toxic relationships because he says the Canadian music industry isn’t ready for them yet.
“This model hasn’t worked and there’s a generation that’s on its way out. The changes are happening at festivals and conferences that are inviting more emerging artists, but the mentality of how artists are connecting to the industry isn’t changing,” Singh said.
Some of these changes were reflected at the JUNO Awards last year, when Karan Aujla became the first Punjabi artist in the country’s history to win TikTok Fan Choice Award.
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“They’re trying to diversify the jury bodies. They’re expanding and adding diverse voices. I feel from myself that it allows me to bring forward folks that people have never heard of before because they’re stuck on what comes through on a regular basis. Adding voices like mine expands their palette,” Director of Operations Kayla Borden said, who served as a juror for FACTOR and Polaris Music Prize.
DJ RS Smooth, who’s the host of CKDU 88.1 $mooth Groove$, the longest-running Black music radio show in Atlantic Canada, told Now Toronto that he believes major music organizations like the JUNOS should rely on multicultural music to keep it surviving as an institution.
“With radio being my background, I feel like those responsible for what goes on the air (Program Directors/Music Directors) are holding back multicultural music from being played in regular rotation, not just ‘feature’ plays. They always want to play it safe and go for [what is] familiar and will only add multicultural music once it becomes a huge hit, usually months after it’s been released,” DJ RS Smooth said.
ATG aspires to push forward artists who are passionate about creating original compositions and authentically sharing their culture with the world rather than trying to fit into the hip standards that these organizations are pushing in order to seem inclusive.
“I think the TikTok Fan choice of the year is what’s trending and what’s commercially working. I did have issues with the way it was celebrated, it wasn’t a genre or marquee category. South Asian music is such a joke and homogenized us in one category,” Singh commented about the JUNOS’ newest category addition.
EMPOWERING ARTISTS WITH COMMUNITY-DRIVEN SUPPORT AND CREATIVE FREEDOM
Borden previously worked on ANSMA’s strategic plan for five years where she saw volunteers eventually get paid and hopes to apply that same management experience in running a for-profit label that’s community centric.
NSMA Executive Director Julien Matwawana has had experience working with both Borden and Singh and applauds how they both purposefully acknowledge artists who may have not received due recognition in their earlier years.
“I believe it’s crucial for record labels today to have staff with similar lived experiences as the artists they represent, especially now that Punjabi music and Hip Hop, along with Latin music, are dominating the charts in Canada and the U.S.,” ANSMA Executive Director Julien Matwawana told Now Toronto.
ATG hosts electronic press kit workshops to teach artists how to obtain more media exposure in partnership with UNITY Charity and Pineapple Express Media. Another community project includes In Between Sets, which serves similar vibes to NPR’s Tiny Desk and features a performance showcase with two artists, alongside a full band of producers.
One of the music group’s latest projects is Issa Scotian Ting, a Nova Scotian Hip Hop history documentary.
Reed explains artists interested in working with ATG receive a contract similar to one given at a major label, but it’s more catered towards specific goals and what the artist hopes to build, such as receiving touring support, more unique connections with people that the founders have known for years, and most importantly, creative freedom.
“You can make a good salary off your music, $100K or $70K, which would be the equivalent to a good job and you don’t have to be the biggest artist in the American market or one of the top five like being the next Drake, Taylor Swift, or Kanye West,” Jones said.
Siddartha is one of the first artists who signed with ATG and recently released BLINK featuring Jamaican-Canadian artist JMaroon, exemplifying the record’s multicultural focus. It’s an upbeat single about time, ambition, and chaos, and will soon be dropping his second album Late Bloomers.
“When I made the song BLINK, I always imagined street dancers getting down or battling to it. The dancers in the video are Rhino, Kurapika, Flexy—prominent krumpers in the community. For me, putting dancers on is a huge motivator. It’s my way of giving back to a community that has given to me. To be honest, I just want the world to see what I see, how incredible street dancers are,” Siddartha told Now Toronto.
The album is inspired by the Flower City, Brampton, and the artist’s feelings of undergoing a quarter-life-crisis.
“When Aux Tale approached me, the timing couldn’t have been better. Late Bloomers was shaping up to be something special, and I knew it deserved the right level of care and attention. I wanted to ensure that the release reached its potential in terms of reach and impact,” Siddartha said.
