Spotlight On: DEBBY FRIDAY
ABOUT this week’s podcast guest + radio hour featured interview:
We've just flipped the calendar to September, and on the 19th, Canada's annual Polaris Prize will be announced. Founded in 2006, the Polaris is Canada's equivalent of the Mercury Prize in the UK, given to the best full-length Canadian album based on “artistic merit, regardless of genre, sales, or record label”. And since we are here to talk inclusion in all aspects of the music industry on SHEROES, here are some numbers: in 2012, Feist was the first woman to take home the prize and though many have been nominated, in its sixteen years, only six women have won so far: Feist, Tanya Tagaq, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Lido Pimienta, Haviah Mighty, who became the first black woman and the first rapper to ever win the award in 2019, and 2020’s winner, Backxwash, who is the first trans woman to win. This year, the Montreal-born, Toronto-based artist and producer, Debby Friday could become the third queer black woman to win the prestigious prize. As a teenager, Debby was deep into the Montreal rave and club scene, and started DJ’ing, but finding herself inspired by all of the musicians and artists she was exposed to, she taught herself how to produce music herself, releasing her EP BITCHPUNK in 2018, followed quickly by her second self-produced EP DEATH DRIVE, in 2019. A self-described child of the internet, Debby dove deep into music discovery on Soundcloud, gathering influences from punk to techno to rock and roll, and everything in between. Fast forward to 2023, Debby Friday brought all of this together for one genre-bending full length debut GOOD LUCK, which arrived in March to critical acclaim. This time production duties were shared with Juno Award- and Polaris Prize-nominated composer-producer Graham Walsh. GOOD LUCK was among forty albums longlisted for the polaris in June, and then made it to the shortlist of ten in July, along with returning nominee, Feist, among others. It's an exciting moment to welcome Debby Friday as this week’s SHERO in the Spotlight.
ALSO on the SHEROES Radio Hour:
SHERO BIRTHDAYS:
Tarriona “Tank” Ball (Tank & The Bangas) 35th - 9/2
Dolores O’Riordan of The Cranberries - 9/6
Gloria Gaynor 80th - 9/7
Chrissie Hynde 72 - 9/7
Listen to the syndicated public radio SHEROES Radio hour: