If Lido Pimienta is a new name to you, you’re in for an absolute treat. The Columbian-born, Toronto-based mother has been smashing stereotype constructs in every direction, and her latest LP La Papessa fended off the likes of Leonard Cohen and Feist to win the 2017 Polaris Prize two months ago.

Dealing directly with themes of identity and independence, La Papessa is the voice of a true artist: one who is not afraid to call out racism and sexism head on.

Musically, the album takes inspiration from the most far reaching corners of the Americas: the desert of Indigenous Wayuu land, the Columbian mountains and her native Canada. All of these sounds, cultures and settings collide beautifully on the album, which is held together by Pimienta’s piercing, warm vocal.

Fresh off the back of her European tour which saw Pimienta play in Paris, London and Reykjavik, we caught up with her to chat about motherhood, Latinx, and the artists who excite her most at the moment.

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TMR: Your album La Papessa won the Polaris Prize last week, fending off the likes of Leonard Cohen and Feist in the process. Huge congratulations - can you tell us a bit about how that felt?

It was a moment of awe and disbelief. It was only when I had my family and friends on stage with me accepting the award that I believed it was truly happening, it was my moment. Moments before they announced the winner, my son asked me if I would win, and I told him that A Tribe Called Red would win and that we would run up on stage with them because I have songs on their album that we worked on together. So when they announced my name, my son began to cry. It was surreal and so sweet to share with my son and mother that moment of joy and pride.

TMR: What does La Papessa mean to you and how would you like people to feel when they hear it?

La Papessa is a tale of survival. It is an album meant to uplift spirits. I know that people who listen to it are empowered by the sound and by my voice.

TMR: Not only did you release the album without the help or financial backing of a record label, but you also produced the entire album yourself.  How was that process and will you do the same for your future records?

I received a grant from Ontario Arts Council. It was not the full amount that I had requested but it was enough to go to a professional studio and bring all the elements together to be recorded and mixed. I did not produce everything entirely myself. I collaborated with Robert Drisdelle on brass/woodwinds, Brandon Valdivia on live percussion, and Kvesche Bijons-Ebacher and Blake Blakely on production. The album did not happen in a premeditated way. The songs were written as a therapeutic process for me. I performed them before they were recorded, and depending on audience response, I would decide if I were to keep adding elements to them. The beginning of the process started as a way to release pain caused by the separation from certain people in my life, from coming to terms with death, from accepting my new life in a big city alone with no family except my young son, etc. The more I let the new people in my life, those who I collaborated with for live performances, to add their voices to the work and to the recordings, the more it transformed the sound on the record into a joyful trip towards my own empowerment. For future, I will have less cooks in the kitchen, but will still invite different voices to join and share my sound.

TMR: We loved your tweet after the award ceremony which said: “The outpouring of love is overwhelming. Daze and confusion persist. I'll write more thanks after I drop my son at school ok?”. How do you feel about being a role model for single mothers worldwide?  

Mothers and single mothers generally have a priority list that consists of making and doing everything for the sake of our children. So in my case, no matter the level of notoriety, I still have to make sure my kid’s lunch is delicious and nutritious! I do not know anything but single motherhood. I was raised by a single mother of three; our father died of cancer when we were very young so she has been my example since I was born, an example of making it work and fighting for your kids and ensuring they are fed and dressed and happy. I don’t know if I am an example to single mothers worldwide, but if I am, I am happy to demonstrate that it is possible to be an artist and a mother, no matter how impossible western notions of parenthood make it seem.

TMR: What music did you grow up listening to, and how did it affect the music that you write now?

I grew up listening to Vallenato and Afro Colombian music, death and power metal and pop and electronic music. I think I was able to absorb quite a wide range of music from different corners of the world. What has affected my music and performance the most was my involvement in carnivals in my hometown (Barranquilla) singing in the street with a drum and dance group, projecting to a large crowd. My formative years in music consisted of that, projection and passion and an absolute command of the space. So when I write my songs, that same strength I learned as a tween has carried me through to this point in my musical path.



TMR: The album features some incredible musicians - Melody McKiver who is indigenous Anishinaabe, Andrea Echeverri and Diana Pereira from Colombia, and Dominican Duo, Las Acevedo, from Dominica. How did you come to choose those particular musical partners for the album?

Before La Papessa, I had a music career in Colombia, and I have always been an avid collaborator and voice in the music scene down there. So the invitations to sing on my album for these fantastic music muses in South America happened due to the community we share. The same with people like Melody - we admire each other, we are concerned with the same things, we uplift one another, and we inspire each other with our music and friendship. Collaboration and inclusion of other strong voices is key in my process.

TMR: You’re an incredible advocate for the Latinx movement – can you tell us a bit about where this came from and why the movement is so important to you?

I did not know there was a “movement” because Latinx means so much to so many in our diaspora. My “involvement” did not “come from” anywhere. I am who I am and I cannot escape it. Whether I claim it or not, I will always be a representative of a group which is under-represented, under-funded, and mostly invisible in the media. So if there is a new movement, I am proud to take part. Anything I can do so that I am not one of few, I will do. I will take steps so that it is made into more of the “norm”. It is wonderful to know more unique voices are being uplifted and shared with the world. The exotication of latinx “sexy” bodies is a tired trope at this point. So, if I belong to a movement, then I would call it the “latinx avant garde”, as a way to reclaim our position as true trend setters in arts and culture.

TMR: You’ve recently had a run of shows over Europe including Iceland Airwaves, Pitchfork Avant-Garden Festival in Paris and a first-ever London show at the Sebright Arms. How have you found the reception to you and your music over in Europe and will you be returning soon?

The reception was lovely. It was perfect. I felt loved, accepted and encouraged to be my absolute self. I shared stories with people in London and Amsterdam who do not understand what I say word-for-word, but who understand my point of view and my intentions. We shared stories of survival of domestic abuse, we shared stories of sexual liberation, and we spoke about divorce and what it even means to be married in 2017. I found my experience very “homey”; it was almost as if I was returning home. It is a strange feeling to describe for I could not be less European as it is, but it was something about our shared hunger for life that helped us connect in a way that only young people like us who are stuck in forced inheritance of poorly-ran nations, financial crises, and the impossible dream of homeownership could ever have. I loved it and will be returning very soon.

TMR: We run a regular feature when we ask artists to ‘shout out’ their favourite up-and-coming artists –is there anyone who you would like to shout out, and if so can you explain why?

Century Egg (Halifax), Kirsten Olivia (Halifax), Special Costello (Halifax), Sydanie (Toronto), Obuxum (Toronto), Above Top Secret (Toronto), Witch Prophet (Toronto), Jeremy Dutcher (Toronto), Ah Mer Ah Su (Oakland), Carolina Brown (Toronto), Quantum Tangle (Yellowknife), Babely Shades (Ottawa/Montreal/Toronto), WHOOP-Szo (London), and Baby Cages (Toronto/Guelph).

Because they are all great and inspiring.

TMR: What can we expect in the year to come from Lido Pimienta?

More videos, more live shows and collaborations, more touring, directing more videos for other artists, and hopefully a new baby.



-Holly Manners