Fresh Sounds Canada: New Songs from yung kai, Reuben and the Bullhorn Singers & More
This week's must hear songs also include Cassia Hardy, Thanya Iyer and Jashim.
MINNIE and yung kai
In Fresh Sounds Canada, Billboard Canada puts you on to the must-hear songs of the week by artists on the rise and those about to break. Here's what we're listening to this week.
yung kai (with MINNIE), “blue”
Singer-songwriter yung kai (who draws inspiration from his upbringing in Shanghai and Vancouver) had a viral hit with the lovelorn “blue,” whose social media success propelled him onto the Billboard Canadian Hot 100 and big stages in Indonesia and the Philippines. With the 22-year-old's global profile growing in both North America and Asia, he’s given the track a big boost: a new guest verse from MINNIE of K-pop powerhouse girl group (G)I-DLE. yung kai wrote the song while watching a Chinese drama on Discord with a girl he had a crush on, and the new version slowly removes the romantic distance, especially when their voices join together in union as light as air. – Richard Trapunski
Reuben and The Bullhorn Singers, “All These Roads”
In 2021 at The Calgary Stampede, indie-folk artists Reuben and the Dark collaborated with Blackfoot pow-wow group The Bullhorn Singers for a special team-up. The powerful sound, and its response, stuck with them, and now they have a whole collaborative project called Reuben & The Bullhorn Singers. This ATCO Spacelab live version of their song “All These Roads” shows the power of every element in the new band, which is designed to create “the conversation after reconciliation.” They’ll further that message with the All These Roads tour, which will take them throughout Canada and to dates at several First Nation Reserve communities. Find the full list of dates here. – Richard Trapunski
Cassia Hardy, “Two Houses”
“We were this close to getting comfortable,” sings Cassia Hardy on her new single, “Two Houses.” The song is an ode to two homes in amiskwacîy-wâskahikan (Edmonton) that no longer stand — including a house venue, Chess House, that was a rare safe space for queer artists in the city. This is a story about the daily injustice of the housing crisis, told with love and a glam rock flair. “Two Houses” veers between impassioned verses and melancholic instrumentals fleshed out by woozy synths and a backing chorus. There’s shades of Bowie and Dan Bejar here, plus a fire that shows off Hardy’s years in the punk scene. (She previously long-listed for the Polaris Prize with her band Wares.) Her debut solo album, In Relation, is out May 23, and promises more open-hearted, incisive dispatches. – Rosie Long Decter
Thanya Iyer, “What Can We Grow That We Can’t See From Here?”
Montreal jazz-folk songwriter Thanya Iyer is planting seeds. Her third full-length, TIDE/TIED is set for release April 30, and her latest single offers a taste of the meal to come. "What can we grow that we can't see from here?" features Iyer’s enchanting voice as she meditates on growth and interconnectedness. The song develops with a busy soundscape of percolating percussion and plucked strings, plus some stuttering synths that sound almost like morse code. It’s accompanied by a must-watch fantastical video, which builds on the song’s suggestion that we are always in conversation with the world around us, whether we notice it or not.– Rosie Long Decter
Editor’s Pick: Jashim, “Giela”
Who would’ve thought Montreal would shine through a new wave of boundary-pushing Latin artists?
A rising force from Montreal, Jashim is injecting fresh energy into the city’s growing Latinx underground scene. While acts like Isabella Lovestory bring a bold, hyper-sensual energy to the forefront, Jashim drifts in another direction – dreamy, playful, and deeply collaborative, where visuals blur into emotion and community is part of the sound. “Giela” marks the first single from lil visions, Jashim’s upcoming EP project co-produced with FunkyWhat. The track blends Dembow and hyperpop into a bold new sound Jashim calls post-reggaeton – a futuristic, genre-bending spin on Latin club music. It’s a full-body trip, a glitch in the system, a cracked heart – and above all, a mirror of the moment we’re in. The playful, cartoon-inspired video pushes this world even further, turning heartbreak into something bright, weird and strangely joyful. – Yasmine Seck
