BeatRoute Magazine Alberta print e-edition - February 2017

JUCY
SAHWN DESMAN
approaching music and life with passion and maturity
The Toronto born and raised prodigy, Shawn Desman, is
still doing what he loves and bringing his authentic self
to all that he does. Packing over two decades of musical
experience and stage performance under his belt, Shawn Desman
is coming through Alberta to serenade the heartstrings of new
and old fans on Valentine’s week.
Anyone who’s paid any attention to Canadian music since the
early 2000s will have heard his name; Desman has had a successful
career since his very debut, self-titled album in 2002, which went
gold in Canada. From there he went on to win a JUNO with his
follow up album, Back for More, for best R&B recording in 2006.
Since then Desman has kept busy with a variety of projects,
expanding his love for both musical production and dance. He runs
a Toronto-based dance competition, Move, which has become the
fastest growing dance competition nationwide. Whereas dance is his
original passion, music quickly fused with him, becoming something
he wanted to take the reins of. Over the years Desman has taken a
more hands-on approach to the production side of his music.
Trying not to become overwhelmed with writing and producing
all of his music, Desman relishes the fruits of the labor and growth
that accompanies each step he takes. “That’s the devil in the details,
you’re your biggest critic,” Desman explains. “When you’re so close to
the project you’re always questioning everything. I’m always looking
for outside ears and getting others’ opinions. That’s what’s been the
key to my success.”
His performance has also grown from the basic choreographed
dance routines, accompanied with pre-recorded background tracks.
Over the last four years Desman has been performing with a threepiece
band. “Before it was just me and a bunch of dancers jumpin’
around out there, but I think I’m passed the dancer stage now,”
Desman jokes. “It’s more about everything else, musically.”
Far removed from the slick, sidestepping, heartbreaking days of
his early 20s, Desman exudes a maturity that shows not just in his
dedication to his professional career, but within his personal life
as well. Along with producing music and dance, Desman balances
family life with his wife, Chantelle Leonardo, and their three children.
“Family life is crazy,” he laughed, before boasting, “but I wouldn’t
trade it for the world. There’s nothing like having a family and kids,
it’s amazing.”
Something else that has inspired Desman has been his involvement
with the organization Free the Children. After choreographing
for the We Day performance in 2001 and designing some promotional
shirts as well, he took a trip to Kenya and saw first-hand what
he was supporting. “It’s life changing, the things we take for granted.
Our problems are so miniscule in comparison to the things some
have to endure,” he says, highlighting how the trip put his life into a
new perspective. “We’re spoiled, and not through any fault of our
own. It’s just the cards we were dealt. So, it’s great to give back.”
Desman, like any good musical artist, also gives back to his fans
through his passion for performing. “Over the years I’ve been able to
garner a catalogue of songs that people love. The live band adds an
element of excitement and interaction. From the old stuff to the new
stuff and everything in between, it’s a fun show,” Desman encourages,
with a modest expression that confirms why he’s been able to
sustain a healthy and successful career without any of the blemishes
which many icons in the pop-star world seem to incur.
Get “Shook” with Shawn Desman at the Marquee in Calgary on
February 16th, Envy Nightclub on February 17th and Club NV in Fort
McMurray on February 18th.
Shawn Desman’s career is more prolific than you may remember.
by Jay King
WORTHY
prolific progenitor continues the switch-ups
Worthy is celebrating 10 years of running Anabatic Records.
At the onset of 2017, Sean Williams, also
know as Worthy, doesn’t have any manifesto-like
declarations about what he thinks
dance music needs to do in the new year, he’d
simply like to see a bit less cheese.
“My wish before was for it to get a little bit more
mainstream and people to take notice, and that’s
JUCY
kind of happened,” says Williams. “At this point I’d like
to see a little bit less cheesiness within in it I guess, the
music’s become a little bit too poppy.”
He laughs while saying this, a sign that he
probably doesn’t get too worked up about what’s
happening in the underground or the overground.
He’s spent the entirety of his career building his own
movements, first as a co-founder of the Dirtybird
parties in Golden Gate Park, and then as the founder
of Anabatic records.
The last three years in particular have not only propelled
him to new heights, they’ve taught him more
about how to keep innovating as an artist.
In 2014 he released his first full-length album, Disbehave.
Two years before its release, Williams found
himself feeling confined by routine.
“Before I was doing the album I was just like, ‘I
got to make this banger track, I got to make this big
dance floor hit,’ and I just hit this wall this one day,”
says Williams. “I just opened up my Ableton program,
and I just started writing this really different track.”
This deviation away from the familiar then became
one of the album’s central themes.
“Just from that one track, and just feeling kind of
burned out on making the big dance floor tracks,
that inspired me to start writing an album that was
more of a listening piece rather than a bunch of
dance floor hits,” says Williams.
Last year saw Williams transition back into making
singles, and this new focus stayed imbued in his
productions.
“From writing the album I definitely felt
I grew exponentially as an artist, just from
exploring all the different sounds that I allowed
myself to get into,” says Williams. “And I think
I’ve taken that into my productions as well, that
I’ve done since then.”
This is why many of his productions over the last
by Jonathan Crane
year have been released on labels other than Dirtybird
and Anabatic.
“Moving from [the album] I decided I wanted to
get back into just working on tracks, and trying to get
on some different labels that I haven’t explored before,
and just expose my sound to a broader audience
by doing these collaboration with these other labels
and their fan bases,” says Williams. “Just to kind of
build up my name a little bit more in a different way,
a different organic way.”
He cites Defected Records, in particular, as a label
that tends to differ substantially from the Dirtybird,
bass-infused sound.
“It’s refreshing, and artistically keeps me happy
and thinking forward,” says Williams. “So yeah, after
I finish a track done in a different direction, it’s like
‘okay where does this fit in?’”
This year marks the tenth anniversary of Anabatic,
and to celebrate Williams is releasing a compilation of
some of the central tracks in the label’s history.
“I just want to do a retrospective of all those really
good songs that I’ve had the opportunity to put out
there for all these different artists,” says Williams.
With all the roles that Williams has played over
the years, it’s apparent that his central role is that of
a progenitor. Whatever direction his music takes, the
road ahead is one that will continue to be decidedly
his, decidedly Worthy.
Worthy brings his One on One tour to the Hifi Club on
February 23rd.
BEATROUTE • FEBRUARY 2017 | 33