Three young talented Ottawa artists are heading to New York City this weekend to present months of hard work to high-level music industry professionals. They will be presenting tracks they completed in the FRMULA program to Parks Valley, who is an off-camera voice on the Joe Budden Podcast. He has been nominated for two Grammy awards and is an established music producer, engineer, and mixer.
This is the final step of the six-month skill-building FRMULA program, run by The Real House of Ensemble right here in Ottawa. City Fidelia, one of Ottawa’s biggest rap stars, started The Real House of Ensemble, a non-profit dedicated to facilitating the growth of Ottawa’s marginalized youth in music, technology, and financial literacy, back in 2020. Since then, Ensemble has run three years of FRMULA, thanks to a $40,000 Ontario Trillium Foundation (OTF) grant for Resilient Communities.
We spoke with the three participants—Emma Gabriel, Lia Kloud, and S Realz (Noah)—about their journeys.
“Completing FRMULA was one of the most surreal experiences of my life,” explains Emma Gabriel. “I learned what it meant to work with a group of people who believed in me and believed in my work. I was provided with resources that most artists would have to pay thousands just to access, all for free. From 3 hours a week of free studio time, to full creative control over my sounds, and a free music video from one of the most highly regarded videographers in Ottawa, it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”
Emma Gabriel. Photo provided.
Emma is an 18-year-old R&B singer from Ottawa. She’s been writing and creating music since she was four years old, and she started releasing music last year. Her first single “The Villain,” which she made while in her senior year of high school, took off.
“Now, heading to New York to show my work to people I could’ve never even dreamt of being in the same room with, I feel blessed and overwhelmingly grateful for the opportunity,” says Emma. “This program, as well as the trip, have both made me feel as though music is something that I can truly pursue and succeed at.”
In NYC, she is looking forward to honest feedback from industry heavyweights and an opportunity to improve her sound. After the trip. Emma is looking forward to releasing her first album in the summer of 2024.
Lia Kloud, another participant, completed FRMULA while studying full-time and working part-time. But this is nothing new for her. “I have been blessed enough to be in the music game for some years now,” explains Lia, “I’ve been featured on editorial Spotify & Apple Music playlists; I’ve performed at popular festivals such as Bluesfest in Ottawa and Pop Montreal in Montreal, and I’ve also been featured on numerous different radio stations. Crazy to think that I’m still only getting started as I am positive that there is much more in store for me.”
Lia Kloud. Photo provided.
“Travelling outside of Ottawa, let alone Canada, for my music has always been a huge dream of mine,” says Lia. “It feels surreal to have this dream come true, words could never amount to how much gratitude I have towards FRMULA for making this dream come true for me. A million thank you’s. It’s truly a blessing, I feel blessed beyond measure.”
After the trip, Lia is looking forward to remaining focused on her music, bettering her craft, and releasing her looked-for project “PRAY4KEEPS.”
Noah (S Realz), the third artist, loved the one-of-a-kind experience in FRMULA. The program features veteran industry figure lectures, weekly recording sessions, one-on-one mentorship, and a lot more.
S Realz. Photo provided.
“I was raised listening to jazz, indie pop and blues, but rap was the first genre that I came to on my own terms,” explains Noah. “There was something liberating about its sound. Given that I was 13 or 14, and impressionable, I began writing my own bars without hesitation and sort of never stopped. Though only a hobby then, it was a pursuit I was always serious about, and once I started making money, took matters into my own hands and invested in studio time to record singles (before compiling tracks for my debut EP ‘Lamp Orange Lit’ last Spring), music videos, and time into the craft to where my preparation, fortunately, met with some sick opportunities.”
Noah also writes articles and criticism for an Ottawa-based media platform called Down to the Wire and since FRMULA ended has been reviewing the tracks he worked on with P, the producer he was matched with. After the New York trip—”It’s one of the global capitals of creativity and culture, so it was a somewhat surreal moment when we were told”—Noah is looking forward to the February 18th Mayfair premiere of Ben Telford’s debut documentary on Ottawa’s hip-hop story, in which he took part.
Bon voyage and we can’t wait to see what’s in store for these three talented souls!
