Crate Digging with Vivek Shraya

We caught up with Vivek Shraya at Sonic Boom in Toronto to dig through some of the records that inspired VIVICA, her self-titled alter ego project, now on vinyl in a Baby Blue and Black Cornetto pressing.

Vivek Shraya is the definition of a multidisciplinary artist. She has built a body of work spanning music, literature, theatre, film and visual art. Her EP Part-Time Woman was longlisted for the Polaris Music Prize; she is a seven-time Lambda Literary Award finalist, and she’s also an Assistant Professor of Creative Writing at the University of Calgary and the founder of VS. Books, an award-winning imprint created to support emerging BIPOC writers.

She continues to move between mediums and genres, finding new ways to turn the world around her into creative expression. Her latest musical project, VIVICA, takes that instinct somewhere new through an alter ego built around dance music, humour, ego and taking up space.

Madonna - Erotica

Erotica by Madonna is one of the inspirations behind VIVICA. It's mostly known because of its connection to her sex book, which she was highly criticized for at the time. I think it was ahead of its time, and it got really overshadowed. This album has so many wonderful hit songs, like Rain, Bye Bye Baby, and Bad Girl.

There's a rich history of pop musicians creating alter egos to pursue new. For Erotica, Dita was her alter ego. I always think of Chris Gaines, Garth Brooks, when I think about alter egos. I think an alter ego gives you permission to do something off-center from what people know you for. I think I'm a very earnest artist, and I think people know me for being vulnerable in my work and talking about hard-hitting issues like misogyny, homophobia and racism. I wanted to create someone who was taking up a lot of space, and that’s why I came up with VIVICA. The album started as fantasy, but then it got really pushed into fiction. In this time when trans rights have been attacked, and trans people are under so much scrutiny, I needed a space to explore selfishness, ego and narcissism in a world that's telling me I shouldn't exist or I don't belong.

Beyoncé - Renaissance

I thought a lot about Beyoncé when making VIVICA. First, because of Sasha Fierce, which is another Iconic alter ego in music. Renaissance is her most danciest project, and with VIVICA I wanted to emulate a similar vibe. I wanted it to be upbeat, with no ballads. I wanted it to sound joyful, and I think dance music has that energy.

Lil' Kim - Hard Core

Inspiration comes in many forms, and it's not always direct. I'm a huge Lil' Kim fan and I love how she talks about sexuality in a kind of comedic way. She’s crass in a good way, and she does it a really tongue-in-cheek way. Her writing style inspires me. I think Lil' Kim is so good at bringing humour to explicit lyrics; it's raunchy, but also funny. There's a polar bear on the cover; it’s hilarious.

Check out VIVICA on Bandcamp.

To see what's in-store at Sonic Boom, please visit sonicboommusic.com.