Hello and welcome to DIY’s introducing feature, Get To Know… getting you a little bit closer to the buzziest new acts that have been catching our eye as of late, and working out what makes them tick.
Recently we’ve met rising musician and producer pinkpirate, Houston-born alternative artist d4vd, Nell Mescal, South London based Rainn Byrns, Nottingham-based newbies Divorce, and today we’re introducing you to Sister Ray!
The project of Edmonton-born songwriter Ella Coyes, they’ve announced that they’ll be releasing their new EP ‘Teeth’ on 12th May via Royal Mountain Records. Sharing the EP title track, they say it’s “like a supercut of nostalgia that morphs into whatever the mid-20s equivalent is of finding out that the tooth fairy isn’t real but hating that you have to know.”
We sent them over some quick fire questions to find out more about them!
Describe your music to us in the form of a Tinder bio.
Nostalgic hangs, uncomfortable situations, and passing flirtations. I like to crochet and also make men cry.
What’s your earliest musical memory?
I don’t know how to explain this in a way that feels quite right, but when I hear Métis fiddle tunes, my memory of them, or maybe more my familiarity with them pre dates my life. It’s an intergenerational and ongoing first musical memory that’s still growing and changing.
My first concrete memory of playing music was being enrolled in a music class at 4 years old, and upon reflection, reminds me that it’s somewhat mind blowing that I ended up in this line of work. I was (and still can be) extremely shy and most of my memories of it are of the short pile carpet with a heinous soundtrack of toddlers playing percussion instruments.
Who were some artists that inspired you when you were just starting out (and why)?
I was a teenage Dave Matthews Band head. I watched Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds Live at Radio City hundreds of times and it changed my brain forever. The Happiness Project by Charles Spearin came into my life when I was just starting out, and that listen made me feel so free to create.
You’re from Edmonton in Canada and now live in Toronto! What do you think of the music scenes there at the moment?
Something that I’ve come to appreciate about Canada is that we live in a huge country with a really locked in scene. There’s a big crew of Edmonton expats in Toronto and some of us are coming on 10 years of watching each other play music. Toronto is so diverse and vibrant, and after the last few, brutal years for the industry and venues in particular, so much has managed to survive. There’s something about going to The Tranzac and seeing folks play whose records I was listening to in my bedroom in Alberta as a kid that I still haven’t quite chilled on yet. My time in Edmonton was largely spent playing a shit ton of shows, which is something I don’t think I would’ve had the opportunity for in Toronto so early in my career and I’m ever thankful for that. It’s an amazing place to learn and grow with super intense support from your community.
Are there any other artists breaking through at the same time that you take inspiration from?
Yes! Charlotte Cornfield, Zoon, Mal, Sam Tudor, on tour with Field Guide right now and really enjoying hearing these songs every night, getting fired up on a bunch of new stuff they’re playing.
Who would be your dream collaborator?
For a long time the dream has been to get the chance to write with Lucinda Williams or Buffy Sainte-Marie. I look to them, their records and careers as a reminder that songwriting and creativity is lifelong and always ongoing.
Musically or otherwise, what are you most looking forward to this year?
Making music in collaborative spaces! Communion was made in a tough part of the pandemic, and forced us to go about it in a way that was quite isolating. Starting to flesh out what I want this next record to look like has been so exciting after a long period without the ability to share and explore musical spaces.
If people could take away one thing from your music, what would it be?
My hope is that it gives people a permission to express themselves authentically in feelings that don’t feel very good. I love sharing in sadness and grief and letting them be as free as the stuff that looks beautiful and comes easy.
With Bob Vylan, St Vincent, girl in red, Lizzy McAlpine and more.