2023 was a massive year for听Debby Friday.
After years toiling away in underground electronic scenes across Canada, the now 色色啦-based artist released her debut album last March via the storied Sub Pop Records. Auspiciously named 鈥淕ood Luck,鈥 the record is a brazen mix of jagged industrial rock and buoyant electro-pop, glued together by Friday鈥檚 sweet but razor-sharp vocals.
The album made an immediate splash among fans and critics, and 鈥 carried by the success of songs like 鈥淪o Hard To Tell鈥 and 鈥淲hat A Man鈥 鈥 was eventually awarded the prestigious Polaris Music Prize for the best Canadian album of the year last September.
“I’m in shock,” Friday said while accepting the $50,000 prize. “This is something that I didn’t realize was even a possibility. I was born in Nigeria, in a small village, and now I’m here today. It听just feels like a miracle.”
Reflecting on her experience three months听later, Friday admits she didn鈥檛 have many expectations when she released her debut. 鈥淢y focus was to do my due diligence as an artist, to perform the songs and give back to all the fans and supporters who believed in me.鈥
The impact of winning the Polaris was immediate. 鈥淚t opens you up to a lot more people,鈥 she says, reflecting on her recent tour through Europe. 鈥淭here were people who you could tell had spent time with the record 鈥 they knew all the words.鈥
What she values most about the win听was the validation it provided. 鈥淚 put my all into it,鈥 she says, 鈥淭hat is the most that we can do as artists 鈥 the only thing you can control is how much you give back into the work.鈥
Last fall, Friday released 鈥榣et u in,鈥 an irresistible detour into liquid drum and bass featuring an irresistible breakbeat that skitters over atmospheric synth stabs. It鈥檚 a new sound for Friday, though she says the one-off single doesn’t necessarily signal a new direction.
鈥淲hen I make music, I’m always thinkin
g in an听experimental mode,鈥 she explains. 鈥淚 don’t really prescribe to an idea of genre, necessarily, or the need for a project to have one specific sound palette that they’re choosing from.鈥
Friday says her sophomore album, like “Good Luck,” will flow freely between different sounds and styles. She鈥檚 been revisiting the music from her early days 鈥 she cites Lady Gaga鈥檚 early electronic-pop productions as a current inspiration 鈥 what she calls the 鈥渄econstructed club era,鈥 which involves breaking down well-established genres into discrete elements and rebuilding them into something new.
To kick off 2024, Friday is taking what she calls a 鈥渧acation,鈥 during which she plans to 鈥渟it at home and make music.鈥 As our conversation wraps up, I ask what she plans to leave behind in 2023 and what she hopes to carry into the new year.
鈥淟ike one of those 鈥榠n and out鈥 lists?鈥 she asks with a laugh, before indulging me: 鈥淲hat鈥檚 out? Being scared. What鈥檚 in? Just go for it. Just go crazy.鈥澨
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听To kick off the new year in music, the Star interviewed four Canadian artists across the country about what they鈥檙e working on, what they’re most excited about and what鈥檚 in store for the coming months.听Check them out here.
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