Editor’s Note: Issue 11 – Prospect

By: Tabassum Siddiqui | Art by: Michael Rancic

Every issue, the New Feeling team puts our collective heads together to come up with a theme that addresses the big picture — in music, in culture, in where we all find ourselves at large.

This time around, we landed on “prospect” — very fitting in a pandemic era in both noun and verb form: many of us have indeed been looking out into the distance, trying to figure out what’s next; and also anticipating the things that might be.

We certainly hope the prospect of great reads ahead has you excited for this issue’s features, which all touch on the idea of possibility. Laura Stanley profiles Toronto-based percussionist Yang Chen, who sought out community after the loneliness of lockdown. That prospecting for collaboration yielded unexpected connections — and their richly textured debut album, longing for_.

Prospecting is something the Yukon knows a thing or two about — quite literally, in the case of the gold rush. Tom Beedham headed to the traditional territory of the Kwanlin Dün and Ta’an Kwäch’än (otherwise known as Whitehorse) to bear witness to Wonderhorse — a community-focused event that’s turning the concept of the music festival on its head. From centering youth to platforming underground artists, Wonderhorse meets audiences where they are — in the process, reminding us how music and art are often a catalyst for reimagining existing paradigms.

And Tia Julien tells us about how Juno-nominated singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Alysha Brilla drew on the introspection and experimentation necessitated by the pandemic to recognize the prospect of healing through music — which underscores her latest album, Circle, and also her work hosting yoga and music workshops with fellow Canadian artist Desiree Dawson.

As the year nears its end, New Feeling too has been prospecting in its own way — grateful to our members and readers for following us through 11 issues, and dreaming up meaningful new stories to bring you in the months ahead.

With Twitter ever-closer to being one big fail-whale, we encourage those interested in staying in touch and sharing thoughts about music to join us on Discord (it’s fun, we swear — and completely El*n-free!), and we’re always looking for new members to get involved with organizing, editorial, and other aspects of keeping the co-op running.

And don’t forget about our ongoing Reading Group series — in our final meeting of the year on Nov. 29, we’ll discuss Erica Campbell’s insightful Paste Magazine feature “Is This It? When Will Black Artists Get To Just Be Rock Artists?” To join in the conversation, register here.

So many of the meanings of “prospect” are at the core of what New Feeling is all about: hope; possibility; exploration. We hope this issue inspires you not just to dig into the musicians, albums, and art our writers are highlighting, but also to think about what the ideas inherent in the word prospect mean to you.