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REBELLE ZINE

ISSUE 1: ECHO | OCT 2021

LANE WEBBER

• CUTSLEEVE • MARS ASPEN •

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Dear Reader;

The art that we amplify colours the world around us. When art is put out into the world, it takes on a life beyond the artist. It has the potential to resonate with us on a deep level and set off a chain reaction. Every time we share something we love, sing the songs that reverberate in our minds, and carry on the messages we believe in, we become part of an ECHO.

Welcome to the first iteration of Rebelle Zine. We couldn’t have done it without our community’s support and for that we are eternally grateful. This month, focus on surrounding yourself with good vibrations and let your voice echo amongst the crowd.

The Rebelle Zine Team

✦ TORONTO’S INDIE ARTISTS: NAVIGATING LIFE THROUGH MUSIC

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LANE WEBBER

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cutsleeve

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MARS ASPEN

Lane Webber is a 21-year-old multi-genre singer-songwriter. While many of his releases are pop/RNB-inspired jams, he is currently experimenting with funk and rock. His two most recent singles, “One Day Together” and “I Want to Know”, however, bring a softer acoustic vibe to the mix. Lane manages to capture the daydreamy and nostalgic nature of young love in his writing, transporting his listeners to a cozy pocket in time and space. In addition to being a musician, he is also an actor with credits on series like Slo Pitch and the upcoming Bloom Room.

cutsleeve is an East-Asian, queer, femme punk rock band consisting of Lian (drums), Hillary (bass), Chanel (lead vocals, keyboard), Amanda (rhythm guitar, backing vocals), and Hannah (lead guitar). The band released their debut EP, the parts we could not abandon, in August 2020. The project reflects the ways that their intersectional identities shape their experience in the world. Their song “yellow fever”, for example, is a comedic critique on the fetishization of Asian women, while “durian eyes” is a lament about fragmented identity.

Mars Aspen is a 19-year-old queer, Indigenous indie pop artist. They began sharing their self-produced music in 2020 and have already released 19 songs. From melancholic ballads like “Fool’s Gold” that resemble the introspective writing of dodie, to upbeat bangers like “Drama Queen” that channel Paramore, Mars uses music as an outlet to discuss emotions and mental health.

We sat down with Lane Webber for an intimate acoustic performance and interview. Check them out below!

WHAT’S YOUR ORIGIN STORY?

LANE WEBBER

Lane has always been into music thanks to his parents being avid music listeners and having instruments around the house, but having to choose a high school is what really spurred on his passion. “I didn’t wanna go to the high school that was available to me because of violence, so I tried to teach myself to sing and play guitar so I could go to an arts school, so I could get out of that stuff. And here we are! … It wasn’t until my first year of college when I actually started having, like, events occur in my life that I was like, ‘Oh, and now I feel like I need to write about this.’ … I feel like that’s when my actual good music started coming about.”

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A few years ago, Lian was interviewed by an artist friend as part of an installation for Invisible Footprints, a series of projects that documents the history of queer East and Southeast Asians in Toronto. Lian: “In her sculpture she ended up putting in a little callout because I had mentioned that I would really love to play music with people that I didn’t feel super intimidated by. I basically just mentioned how excluded I felt from the music industry, and Hillary and one of her former bandmates happened to come to this exhibit and see it and we connected online and that’s sort of how the band started.”

MARS ASPEN

Mars took piano and violin lessons as a kid, and is self-taught on ukulele, guitar and bass. They started songwriting in early high school as an emotional outlet, and later learned how to produce on Garageband. On their burst of music releases since 2020: “Honestly I think it was just ‘cause I started taking myself more seriously and realizing that, hey, I could do this if I wanted to… So I’m like, you know what? I’ll believe in myself for once. Go for it.”

whAT’S YOUR SONGWRITING PROCESS?

LANE WEBBER

Some of Lane’s best songwriting happens when he puts an experience to music before he’s ready to talk to anyone about it. “That’s when I’m lucky, ‘cause that’s when the best ones happen.” “Or one thing that I’ve actually really enjoyed doing is when I’m feeling something in the moment but I’m in no position to turn it into art yet, I’ll just kind of make like a rant in my notes app, or in my book. And then later, I’ll come back to those words and see how I can morph that into music.”

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Hannah: “Typically there is like one or a couple of people that write up the lyrics and then present it to the rest of the band, and then as a band we’ll build the sound around it. And whoever’s written the lyrics is usually presenting something from however they’re feeling, some experience they had, so they’re being pretty vulnerable with the rest of us. And then being able to relate as another member of the band to the contents of the lyrics I think adds another element of connectedness to the song. Like, I’m not just contributing a guitar part… Being able to relate certain feelings to the lyrics and maybe remembering some experiences that I’ve had that are relevant to the lyrics helps to also bring out a certain kind of sound out of me through my instrument.”

MARS ASPEN

“Usually at surface level, I’m like I keep it to myself, but when I keep it to myself I’m like ‘huh, it’s coming out somewhere’ … Music is sort of like a therapy session for me where I can just write all the feelings that I don’t wanna tell anyone. But then I tell everyone!”

  • Lane on capturing intimate moments in songs like “I Want to Know”:

    “It did so happen that it was a friend and I that were having some intimate moments… it literally sounds like a movie… the best way we were able to articulate how we were feeling was just to like sing about it… And so, the way I feel like I was able to capture that intimacy was the fact that it wasn’t for anyone else at that time… In these moments, I was writing to let this person know ‘Hey, this is how I feel.’ … It was more so like I was writing them a letter, and they were also writing those letters back. So, because it was actually just taken from our conversation I feel like that’s why… the intimacy kind of translates.”

  • Cutsleeve on the parts we could not abandon EP title:

    Hannah: “It encapsulates a lot of the themes that we cover in the songs throughout the EP… There’s some common themes that have to do with identity and queerness and all these intersections of our identity… When you’re navigating different spaces you always have to kind of like juggle or think about how much of yourself you can share and what of yourself you can share, what you have to leave behind.” She also notes the title’s connection to the theme of history through their track “1989”, which was written in commemoration of the Tiananmen Square Massacre that happened 32 years ago in Beijing.

  • Mars on portraying mental health in music:

    “The amount of artists that I listen to that also write about their own mental health kind of inspired me to do the same thing ‘cause I’m like, if this is a way that I can deal with the feelings and maybe help someone else deal with their feelings… it’s kind of like a big ol’ cycle.”

WHAT IMPACT DO YOU HOPE YOUR MUSIC HAS ON YOUR LISTENERS?

LANE WEBBER

“Two things. One is that they can have an emotional moment with it as I do with other musicians. And I’ve had that happen. With songs I’ve released, I’ve had people come to me and say that they’ve rekindled something or they’ve gotten closure they needed with someone else, and hearing the song triggered that. I think that’s super cool… I also would love to just make people shake their booties… I’m gonna release some funk stuff soon and so I want people to dance! I want people to just smile and jump around when they hear my music. That sounds very lighthearted but I feel like that’s very important.”

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Hannah: “There’s a stereotype that Asian women or women-presenting people are meek and quiet and passive and here we are playing punk, alternative rock music and making lots of noise and shouting our frustrations through a crowd of people… Hopefully people in the audience will see that and feel more empowered to express themselves and how they’re feeling and not feel ashamed.” “And I hope that people will feel that they are not alone… We’ve had some people reach out to us… and them just saying ‘Wow I feel these lyrics so much, thank you for making this music’, and that’s really special to have that kind of feedback from people and see how it impacts them.”

MARS ASPEN

“I just hope that they get a sense of belonging… If you can feel at home within an artist’s work, then hands down, that’s like the best thing ever… I want you to feel safe and comfortable within my music, almost like a little house.”

IF YOU COULD OPEN FOR ANY ARTIST IN THE WORLD, WHO WOULD IT BE?

LANE WEBBER

“This is like so much of a longshot, but I would love to open for Bobby McFerrin… I don’t know if you’ll necessarily hear it in the stuff that I create all the time, but… Bobby McFerrin has been one of like my biggest inspirations. He’s just cool… He’s also someone that touches a bunch of genres… I think he’s like a crazy machine and it would be cool to open for him.”

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Amanda mentions that there are a few bands from East Asia that Cutsleeve enjoys. “There’s one from Taiwan called No Party for Cao Dong and if they ever came to Toronto, I’m sure collectively we would love to open for them or play with them.”

MARS ASPEN

“Probably Hayley Williams. Or Paramore… I love Hayley so much… I think we write similarly. We have similar genre jumps, too… Plus, she like raised me with her music... I feel like her baby.”

WHAT’S NEXT?

  • Lane Webber

    Lane has 2 EPs in the works! He’s dipping his toes in various genres, with the first EP being funk-pop influenced, and the second channeling American rock. He also just dropped a brand new song with Green Label called “Maybe It’s Love”.

  • cutsleeve

    cutsleeve just finished recording a new single set to release along with a music video in early 2022. They’ve also got another upcoming music video to one of the tracks on the parts we could not abandon.

  • Mars Aspen

    Mars is hoping to release another EP this Winter. Check out 2 of the singles that are already out: “Better” and “Lovesick”. ✧

FOLLOW THE ARTISTS TO STAY TUNED

WE ASKED YOU:

WHAT’S A SONG LYRIC YOU SCREAM AT THE TOP OF YOUR LUNGS?

We asked the Rebelle Zine community what you SCREAM at the top of your lungs and y’all came through.

POP OUT WITH THE TRUCK GET INTO IT YUH

 

I WILL TRANSCEND AND V O M I T THIS LOSER OUT OF ME

 
LOVVVVVVEEEEE NEVER KNEWWWW WHAT I WAS MISSING
 

SHE WEARS SHORT SKIRTS I WEAR T-SHIRTS

 

YOU CALL ME UP AGAIN JUST TO BREAK ME LIKE A PROMISE, SO CASUALLY CRUEL IN THE NAME OF BEING HONEST

THIS HAPPENED ONE, TWO, THREE TIMES TOO MUCHHH

 
MAMA OOOOOOOO
 

IM JUST A KID AND LIFE IS A NIGHTMARE

 
WHATS GOING ON! (AND I SAY HEY YEAH YEAH YEAHAH)

SO I PUT MY HANDS UP THEYRE PLAYING MY SONG THE BUTTERFLIES FLY AWAY

 
YOU BETRAAAAAAYED ME AND I KNOW THAT YOULL NEVER FEEL SORRY FOR THE WAY HURT YEAHHHH
 

THIS GIRL IS ON FIREEEE

We compiled your songs in a playlist so you can scream to your heart’s content.

✺ AN ODE TO MY INNER CHILD

By Alice Hirsch

I’ve been doing a series of self-portraits reminiscing me of my childhood. I was very clumsy as a child and when people saw it as a default, I decided to see it as a way to reminisce simpler times. Times where the only thing I had to worry was coming back home with another bruise. The series focuses a lot on me stumbling and contorting myself to express clumsiness. 

Instagram: @h.irsch / Twitter: @hcsrih / Tiktok: @h.irsch


✦ ‘ON THAT NOTE’ A CAPELLA: CHOOSE WELL

  • On That Note is an all-women and queer a cappella team from X University, formed by Lyara Malvar and Susanna Lee in early 2020.

    Only a year after its formation, the team has proven itself as a force to be reckoned with. In March 2021, On That Note competed in the International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella (ICCA) and placed second at their quarterfinal - a very impressive feat for a first-time competitor.

    Their 4-minute virtual set, entitled ‘Choose Well’ consists of two countering songs: Comfortable by Greta Isaac and I Find It Hard To Say (Rebel) by Lauryn Hill. It was arranged by Madi Tojicic, mixed by Lyara Malvar, edited by Sabrina Pye, and features solos from Susanna Lee and Roxie Ngindu.

  • Madi, one of the group’s Co-Music Directors, explained, “I had wanted to arrange Comfortable for a while - I've arranged other music by Greta Isaac in the past, and there are so many interesting layers to pull from in the original that fit really well into a treble range. It's a song about wanting to hide away from everything bad in the world, to stay ignorant but safe at all costs. Rebel was suggested by Lyara, our other Musical Director, as a foil to this meaning - it's a call to action, to notice that everything isn't all right, and that we can't stay willfully ignorant and let things continue to happen the way that they have for so long.

  • Musically, where Comfortable is angular, harsh and desperate, alternating between dissonant and open textures, Rebel is lush and softer in some areas, but blossoms into fullness and challenge and hope! In Comfortable, the arranging choices are deliberately frantic, constantly demanding the audience's attention, while Rebel's simpler rhythmic palette lets the singing speak for itself. Both are driving in their own way, but in Rebel this drive is steadfast and resolute. This musical tension is meant to reflect the challenge of acknowledging how scary and broken the world is, which can be daunting and horrifying, but also necessary for any kind of change to be made. It's about examining your own privilege and holding yourself accountable. “It is an invitation to stay aware, and to choose, because even refusing to make a choice is, in itself a choice.”

  • The ICCA is usually held live, but was adapted to an online format for the Spring 2021 competition. This required a cappella teams to quickly learn a new set of virtual skills and pivot how they run rehearsals.

    “I have to give [Lyara] credit,” said Co-Executive Director Susanna. “They did a lot of the post stuff… I didn’t know you have to time it, you have to tune it, you have to do all these post-production things.”

    She also shouted out Sabrina, the ‘Choose Well’ video editor. “[She] just joined OTN last Fall, and then we were like ‘Hey, does anybody know how to edit video?’ Sabrina totally was like ‘Oh my god, I love doing it. I would be down to.’”

  • Despite not being able to meet each other in person until recently, On That Note has still managed to form a strong bond as a community. Co-Executive Director Johannah Alilio said, “Everyone was just so open to it... Quarantine and COVID was such an isolating time that everyone was just deprived of people and wanted to foster that connection.”

    “A big part of my job was to hopefully foster that community,” Susanna said. “Sometimes a large portion of our rehearsal was getting to know each other because you can’t have those side conversations and form relationships [at virtual rehearsal].”

    “Susanna would always start rehearsal with an icebreaker and that really got us out of our shells,” said Johannah.

  • “40-minute debate about pie vs. cake,” Madi interjected, recalling a conversation between the group members.

    Susanna laughed. “It was intense sometimes!”

    Madi noted the sense of comfort that comes with being in an all-women and queer group. “Even just the bare minimum of calling things ‘soprano and alto’, and not saying ‘Hey ladies!’... That kind of thing was really welcome to a lot of queer members, especially.”

    This upcoming year, the ICCA will be held live on stage once again, and this is On That Note’s first chance to compete in-person together.

    Lyara shared their anticipation. “I’m just really excited to get our toes wet and have this new experience with everyone… I think the approach really, for me at least, is to just kind of have a good time and learn from this experience.” ✧

  • Be sure to check out otn.acappella on Instagram to follow this show-stopping team’s journey.

✺ SAVIORS

Fionna Mason

Mirror mirror in my hands
Can the world be whole again?

Every moment, the children
They live to scrub their hands,
Clean sins that plague the earth,
Clean “isms” that run rampant
Through their homes, hardly
Living, hardly breathing.
They don’t want to be sick anymore!
So they wash until raw.

Scour hashtags for the smell of injustice,
Right wrongs with the tip-tap click-clack
Of aching fingers on hardened glass.
One word and the cavalry attacks,
Threatens until sinners take their words back.
Barbaric. Gets the job done, one less
Evil under the sun.

For every battle won two more are sparked
So they turn to the crystal ball for guidance.
Mirror mirror in my hands
Can the world be whole again?


Each victory tainted with bitter knowledge
Of even more lost.
Face looking back is weathered
With scars and wrinkles.
A warrior’s legacy.
Laugh lines? Crow’s feet?

Warriors need rest
But words ring loud in tired ears
“Your silence is deafening.” a moment
Of shut eye. Wake with a start,
“You stopped fighting,” they say
Do you no longer believe in peace?”

Startling reflection raises
Pressing question.
Mirror mirror in my hands
Can the world be whole again?


IG: @fionna_mason_arts, @fionna_mason
 

✦ MUSIC, GENDER, AND THE QUEER-CODED VILLAIN

By: Maeve Devries

Alternative music artist Jhariah (@jhariah_) asked his TikTok followers why so many people have described his music as simply “gender”.

“If any of y’all thought at length about the relationship between theatrical, dramatic songs and the concept of gender as a whole, let me know.”

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Anyone who’s questioned their relationship to gender is familiar with its abstract and often complex nature.

Some commenters found it pointless to try and whittle it down to a logical explanation

 
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But many commenters made the connection between gender, music and self expression.

 
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And that’s exactly it. Aesthetics inform our cultural understanding of gender. We perceive things like clothing, hair, and body language as having varying levels of masculinity and femininity. This even spills into art forms like music.


Jhariah’s powerful, theatrical music style reminds his listeners of a certain archetypal character: the over-the-top, queer-coded villain. This is likely influenced by audiovisual media they’ve consumed such as movies, TV, and theatre, where similar music is connected to these types of villain characters.

When we listen to and perform music (even if it’s just lip syncing in our bathroom mirrors with headphones on), we often feel like the protagonist of the song. The listener becomes the performer. And for those who don’t necessarily align with their assigned gender at birth, this can provide a sense of gender euphoria. Jhariah’s listeners don’t just enjoy the sound of his music, they enjoy the persona that it allows them to become.

So, Jhariah, I hope that answers your question! ✧

 
 

✺ BLEU VALENTINE

IG: @bleuvalentinemusic | TikTok: @bbybleumusic

I am a singer-songwriter.  This song is especially important to me just based off of the raw emotion I was feeling when I created it.  I came home and started messing around on my computer.  I’m still pretty new to producing so the song just kind of fell out of me for lack of a better word. I ended up actually free styling all of the lyrics and it’s incredibly important to me.  I think this song let me be vulnerable in a way I haven’t yet, and I think allowing myself to feel those emotions and express them in that way has made all the difference in the way that I create.

✺ K.O.BESHA

IG, Spotify, Apple Music: @K.O.besha | Twitter: @K_O_besha

 
I make music and tell stories. As someone who has moved across continents several times, everything I do is centred around community. Community is what connects us across the planet and every community needs artists to be the voices that fight for every story to be told.

MUSIC HOROSCOPES

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ARIES

Takaayla - Run From Me

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TAURUS

Lane Webber - I want to know

GEMINI

Erika de Casier - Puppy Love

CANCER

GRAE - Spinning

LEO

Omar Apollo - I’m Amazing

VIRGO

Tei Shi - Even If It Hurts (ft. Blood Orange)

 

LIBRA

dodie - Would You Be So Kind

SCORPIO

Yves Tumor - Gospel For A New Century

SAGGITARIUS

Weyes Blood - Movies

CAPRICORN

Kehlani - Honey

AQUARIUS

Alice Merton - Hero

PISCES

Alex Mali - Start it Up

 

REBELLE ZINE TEAM MONTHLY FAVES

SUPPORT LOCAL BIZ

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CREATIONSETERNA | IG: @creationseterna

Hi! My name is Tatjana and I’m a multidisciplinary artist and sometimes I dabble with Astrology! Lately I’ve been creating zodiac portraits of people’s big three (sun, moon & rising signs) along with booklets with research I do for the piece as an artist statement for those who want to understand the thinking behind their portrait or just want to know about the awesome stories, myths and legends surrounding their astrological signs. I think that sharing knowledge about the zodiac and where these stories surrounding the signs come from can be a really enriching way to look at astrology as a whole. :)

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UNTITLED NAILS | IG: @untitlednails

Untitled Nails is a small nails business created by Carmen Kang. What began as a love for nail art, grew to become a creative process to work with fun nail designs on Carmen and her friends, to now a press on nail business. Untitled functions as an inclusive place for all nail art lovers, to help turn their vision into a reality. It’s a place for everyone to feel welcome and help them express themselves through their nails.

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FELTED FRIENDS IG: @feltedfriends.kt TikTok: @feltedfriends.kt

I make soft sculptures out of felt, some are very complex, others are simple and meant more as charms. It started as a therapeutic hobby and evolved into a small business with the support of so many loved ones around me. The felt works have helped me so much, and I think they bring joy to anyone who sees them. The website that I made with my partner is also a huge part of this, we were completely new to coding/small business interfacing and we figured it all out together to make something unique that we're incredibly proud of.

COLLECTIBLE CONTENT <3

Click to download :)

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ISSUE 01: ECHO PDF (INTERACTIVE)

ISSUE 01: ECHO PDF (SMALLER FILE)

CREDITS

  • PRODUCTION

    CREATIVE DIRECTOR / PHOTOGRAPHER: Sarah McIntyre

    WEB DESIGNER: Jenny Balite

    PRODUCER / WRITER: Maeve Devries

    COMMUNICATIONS MANAGER: Leila Poupada

    GRAPHIC DESIGNER: Serina Knight

    VIDEOGRAPHER: Miku Sakamoto

  • ZINE CONTRIBUTORS

    Lane Webber

    Mars Aspen

    Cutsleeve

    On That Note A Cappella

    Alice Hirsch (An Ode To My Inner Child)

    Fionna Mason (Saviors)

    K.O.besha

    Bleu Valentine

    Kaylee (Felted Friends)

    Tatjana Reithofer (CreationsETERNA)

    Carmen Kang (Untitled Nails)

  • SOCIAL MEDIA CONTRIBUTORS

    Michelle Treacy (High Heels in the MoshPit)

    Rémie Ostrosser-Strong (Tomgue)

    Miguel Latigar (Game Night)

    Sandra Likungu (Denial)

    May Chreideh (A DYSTOPIAN WITH A MASK)

    batty ! (mural)

    Magda Milne (Colourful Mess)