Semiah Brings "Point of View" to the Mod Club With Paper Skies

Semiah, a Mohawk pop artist from Six Nations, joined Paper Skies at Toronto's Mod Club on Oct. 9 to perform their collaboration, "Point of View". In written answers sent to IND after the show, she described a nervous entrance followed by a crowd singing the song back to her.

"It was amazing to hear a whole room singing your song back to you."

Semiah said the appearance was a dream show for a longtime dubstep fan: she had wanted to perform amid a large crowd and lasers, and had watched artists she admired play the same venue. She described Paper Skies' audience as welcoming. The artist's supplied account describes the concert as sold out.

The collaboration began when an audio engineer sent Paper Skies a video from Semiah's LVR GRL EP release party, she wrote. He had been looking for a vocalist who could reach high notes. Months later, the two met at a Toronto studio, where he arrived with production and a melody idea that they developed into "Point of View".

Semiah said they worked from about 11 p.m. until 6 a.m., with Paper Skies due to fly out for another show that morning. Recording the song challenged her to use a straighter vocal tone, rather than the vibrato familiar from her earlier singing. The track appears on his album Greyscale.

Her stage clothing also carried a connection to home. Semiah described choosing a Thunderbirds lacrosse jersey as a reference for people from Six Nations and a way to bring something from her community into a pop performance.

Show credits supplied by Semiah name Daniel Sanchez as show director and Salem Russell as tour lead. The photographs are credited to Paul Ignacio.

In her Oct. 19 answers, Semiah said she was finishing the mix and visuals for the R&B hand-drum song "Broken Heart", without an exact release date. She also described plans for more writing and an EP the following spring.