Listen To The Polaris Sound Series: And Now, Us Playlist
There are few things more empowering than being seen as one wants to be seen.
Gender minorities in music can often be forgotten, overlooked, or pigeon-holed into specific roles that they must keep wearing the costumes for, even after they become thin and worn. Music should not be a space for forced creation, but a place of raw honesty — a experimental playground where artists can toy with identity, expression, realness, and authenticity.
This playlist tells a story — one of searching, realizing, and breaking free. It celebrates the visions of these artists — honouring how they see themselves and how they want to be perceived. This playlist says: “I see you.”
May this playlist act as a nod to the strength of the collective and the self. May we keep blurring the lines of genre and gender. May “female artists” lists be scrubbed from our cultural lexicon. May we no longer fight to be equal to the wealthy white man at the top of the music industry pyramid; may we work together to dismantle the system that placed him there in the first place.
The songs on this playlist all chronicle life, emotion, identity, exploration. Listen to DijahSB’s frank and honest conversation about mental health and hell, to Buffy Sainte-Marie on ownership, Colombian-Canadian artist Lido Pimienta, Filipino diaspora group Pantayo, and more. These artists remind us that biggest journey we undertake is the one inside us.
Curated by Sofie Mikhaylova
Supported by the High Commission of Canada in the United Kingdom.
Apple Music
Spotify
