Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to RAMÉ. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

RAMÉ, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.

Immigration was one of the biggest risks I’ve ever taken. I was studying music in Chile and the opportunity to come to Montreal to study jazz presented. I didn’t think about it twice. I had been dreaming about leaving to pursue my dream, so I did. I took all my belongings and left my family, my friends, my territory, my life. Part of my soul separated into two and I just had to live with that for a while. The risk of not knowing what my life in Canada was gonna be, the anxiety of the new culture, the new languages, the new people. A new, completely foreign environment suddenly bathing me even on the days I didn’t want to. Covid didn’t allow me to study in the entire first year since I arrived to Canada. I had to go back to Chile after my visa expired and apply to school for a second time. I migrated twice. I came back to finally study at a jazz program. Everything felt like a dream. The happiness and excitement of being in somewhere completely new wash away the sadness for a little, until the end of the day comes and you realize your entire life changed drastically and all your loved ones are so far away, everything for pursuing a dream that is itself a huge risk. Studying jazz at Vanier College was one of the biggest blessings that this life has given me. I got to learn so many beautiful things and ways, so many professors that still stay in the back of my head as I practice music as a job. For sure I still live with the physical and psychological consequences of migrating. It is a process that comes with so much grief. Despite everything, I wouldn’t change a thing. To me, the risk was, and is, worth it every single day of my life.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I sing since I have memory. My poems started coming to life when I was a very anxious 10 year-old girl looking for a way to deal with a very traumatizing childhood. I combined both my musicality and my poetry when I composed my first song, at the age of 16. Since then, composition has been my refuge and my salvation. I started composing about the struggles of living in Latin America. The injustice, the uncomfortable, the painful things. I wrote as a way to save myself from despair, but I realized, once I started singing to people, that I could create a safe space for others to feel everything we don’t always allow ourselves to. People could feel represented and understood, and could find a way to have a sense community. It’s then when I decided to name myself RAMÉ, which means “The beauty of chaos”. I understand chaos as a forever-existing natural force. I understand the human necessity to make it beautiful, so we can continue to live a meaningful life despite all the sickness of the world. Since immigrating to Canada, I also started to sing about all the changes and adaptation processes that come with it. My core mission with my music is to create community around art. To make people feel understood and heard. To give them, also, the space to feel what hurts without being told to move on quickly. The only way out is through, and I believe that art is such an important channel to understand our inner, beautiful chaos as human beings. It is also a beautiful way to deal with this scary, chaotic, and weird, wonderful world.

Looking back, are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

There is always someone who has the information you need. I wish I started asking questions about the things I needed to know earlier. How to pitch to a label, when to do it. How to organize a gig, how to contact venues to book one. How to put a band together and how to contact and offer deals to musicians. From musicianship to the business of the music industry, there is always someone willing to share their knowledge and help you out. We are so scared to ask for help, that we take twice as long to achieve our goals before asking a question that could take 5 minutes of someone else’s time. I learned that, in this industry, contacts are important not only because they will help you move through the business, but because of the information they withheld. I am so grateful of each person that has been willing to help me and given me a push to achieve my goals. I’ve played festivals because a musician friend had an excel list of all the festivals that were opening artist submissions, when they were opening, and their deadlines. I took that list and started adding more. Now I use it every year, and I have also sent it to other musicians who needed some help. Community is based on sharing, and one of the most important things we can share in this industry is knowledge.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

Every time I get to perform live with my band, and I hear that music that has been in my head for years finally coming to life, it’s simply priceless. The most rewarding feeling in my life has been when I get to give my soul into a performance and I get to also impact other souls. When I forget about perfection and technique, and I just get to live that little, tiny moment at its full potential. For sure not every performance is the same. We are not always the same. Sometimes you’re in a really bad place, sometimes you’re just not completely there. And as human beings, of course everything that is happening to us will affect the way we perform. Sometimes the best thing to do in those cases is relying on technique or on the acting process, to be able to maintain a high quality performance on. But whenever I have been able to meditate, to breathe, to do all my warm-ups and to feel like my body is ready to rely on itself, I can let go. When I let go, then is pure soul. And the audience perceives everything. They react, they interact, they become part of the performance. Whenever I do achieve it, there is always a group of people that need to talk to me after just to tell me how we impacted their lives. There is when everything makes sense. Every hour of practice and hard work is worth it. Nothing can compare to that.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://linktr.ee/RAMEmusic
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/music.rame
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61581714231663
• Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/4DxFJ35LmdRuW34PetK7v3?si=XTfYwBkwSo6foPE3xpUQ9w

Image Credits

Josh Kirschner
Sydney Bishop