{"id":31276,"date":"2022-05-12T18:30:48","date_gmt":"2022-05-12T22:30:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/?p=31276"},"modified":"2022-05-12T19:12:00","modified_gmt":"2022-05-12T23:12:00","slug":"tika-brings-musical-journey-to-cultural-centre-and-youre-invited-along-on-the-ride","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/tika-brings-musical-journey-to-cultural-centre-and-youre-invited-along-on-the-ride\/","title":{"rendered":"TiKA brings musical journey to Cultural Centre and you\u2019re invited along on the ride"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

As a former youth worker for more than seven years, there came a time where TiKA felt overextended.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Almost instinctively she turned inwards and began to explore what was deep within. She found her voice in doing so, turning her attention to music.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The musical journey has been a very personal one for the Montreal-based multi-disciplinary artist and, through the simple act of listening, her musical journey can become a very personal one for audiences as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Local music lovers are invited to come together with TiKA for the journey when she takes the stage at St. Andrew\u2019s College next Friday, May 20, hosted by the Aurora Cultural Centre.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEmbracing the genre rightfully coined as \u2018futuristic nostalgia,\u2019 TiKA\u2019s compositions offer \u2018ethereal sounds that wrap around you, reminding you of other memories,\u2019\u201d says the Cultural Centre of the musician whose first album, Anywhere But Here, came out in 2019. \u201cHer songs address deeply personal relationships to ones inspired by TiKA\u2019s Jamaican roots, to others that are sonic representations of conversations with the self.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These conversations weren\u2019t always easy. There was \u201cbitterness or resentment for the decisions made in the past,\u201d she said, including having a lack of boundaries and not understanding the importance of self-advocacy and self-care.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There came a point, however, where these conversations became less difficult and gave way for a healing journey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt became more about healing, more of what I needed to heal myself and then, in turn, I learned I could be a conduit to assist in healing others \u2013 at first it was almost a resentment, I feel, from over-giving and not understanding that I have needs, too,\u201d she explains. \u201cAfter maybe my first EP, Carry On, was released around there, it kind of awakened that it was deeper than just a performance or just songs; there are opportunities for me to connect and have a deeper and more meaningful connection to other people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn a way, a lot of my music was initially ego-driven, I feel, and it starts to become a lot more personal when I released the album and felt there was a real purge. At that point, I hadn\u2019t really spoken musically or verbally about some of the experiences I had; I just wasn\u2019t that kind of person at all, prior. I was obsessed with having dominion over myself and awakening to that reality, and I didn\u2019t have this awareness before.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Putting such a journey out there can be a difficult move for any musician, but when she found her very personal life experiences connected with audiences in a deep way, it was a feeling of \u201caffirmation.\u201d It also awakened what she describes as \u201cbeing of service\u201d to others through song.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As an artist, TiKA now looks at the music she creates through this lens of service, but says she\u2019s unsure whether that is a good thing or a bad thing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI was raised as a Pentecostal Christian, so there was always this \u2018What would Jesus do?\u2019 vibe,\u201d she says. \u201cI think before I thought \u2018of service\u2019 meant I had to work because, quite frankly, that is how I was raised, but then I started performing more and seeing the reactions from people realizing this was healing for a lot of folks, I realized I am still of service and can treat this as a mode of service.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All of the new music she is currently writing is intended to \u201cboth heal the folks that I am on stage healing and connecting with, but also to heal myself.\u201d In many ways it\u2019s like a continuum, a call and response, and ebb and flow of connection \u2013 and, indeed, creating a circle of love and life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI want to be spoken into in a loving way,\u201d she says. \u201cI wish to maintain relationships that are reciprocal where I am spoken to in a loving way and I am speaking to people I adore in a loving way and we create this continuous circle of love or life. Speaking life into others, speaking love into others in an intentional way. A lot of my music is soulful, affirmational music and I think folks really need that, especially during a time like this when things are so uncertain and the questioning of trust, like what is going to happen?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI feel like one of the things I learned in my upbringing was the more we speak love into one another and the more we speak life into the earth, each other, ourselves\u2026 it is something I am really committed to at this point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI just want people to bring an open heart and an open mind and turn the phone off \u2013 it\u2019s about connection, and it\u2019s about being present, and just staying open. We\u2019re going to go on the journey together.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Aurora Cultural Centre presents TiKA on stage Friday, May 20 from 7.30 \u2013 9 p.m. at St. Andrew\u2019s College. For tickets and further information, visit auroraculturalcentre.ca\/event\/tika or call 905-713-1818.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Brock Weir
Editor
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter<\/strong><\/p>\n\"Facebook\"<\/a>\"twitter\"<\/a>\"mail\"<\/a>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As a former youth worker for more than seven years, there came a time where TiKA felt overextended. Almost instinctively she turned inwards and began to explore what was deep within. She found her voice in doing so, turning her attention to music. The musical journey has been a very personal one for the Montreal-based […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[4,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-31276","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general_news","category-news"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3D2k4-88s","publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-08-14 12:54:57","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31276","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31276"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31276\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31276"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31276"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31276"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}