It’s hard not to be captivated by an artist who bares their soul in their music. When you can feel every inch of emotion in a song, you just know that they’ve poured their heart and soul into it and most likely feel the utmost relief for being able to do so. However, coming across artists with such conviction can be quite rare. Luckily, we’ve stumbled across an absolute treasure that we must share with you today.
Aphrose, also known as Joanna Mohammed, is an independent indie-soul artist from Toronto who wears her heart on her sleeve. The talented singer-songwriter has been honing her craft since the age of six, and alongside working on her own music, has made a name for herself as a backup and session singer for many established Canadian artists. Fun fact, Aphrose features as a backing singer in Julia Carlucci’s ‘Take Me Down’ video which we exclusively premiered earlier this year!
She released an eponymous EP as Joanna back in 2009 but since then, a lot has changed in her life. Alongside happy moments, Aphrose has been through harrowing and difficult life experiences which required her to channel her inner strength, and later inspired her to change her artist name.
Speaking about her new name, Aphrose said: “I’ve been raised and taught by some of the strongest, most loving women in the world. My mother’s birth name was Aphrose and I chose my new name to honour her and the many powerful women in my life who give me strength and purpose.”
After taking a hiatus to refocus her energy, the talented beauty is ready to take on the world with her debut single as Aphrose. ‘The Middle’ is a soulful RnB offering, laced with an old-school vibe and rounded off by the singer’s passionate vocals. The track deals with a long-term relationship and its draining effect when one person is giving more than the other. It’s evident that Aphrose has poured her everything into this song as it is incredibly stirring both lyrically and vocally. ‘The Middle’ is so powerful, and the addition of backing vocals accentuates the emotion throughout.
Speaking about the track, Aphrose said: “‘The Middle’ is all about feeling stuck and frustrated in a long term relationship, where each party starts to take advantage of each other emotionally and further drift apart in the process. At the time, I was felt like I was pulling a lot of the weight emotionally and financially in my relationship with my partner, and we were going through a really hard time together mired by family tragedy and economic instability. I felt drained all the time and we were constantly getting into fights because we weren’t trying to really see each other and empathize. I felt like he was drifting emotionally and I needed him to figuratively “meet me halfway, in the middle” so that we could start to heal.”
Take a listen to ‘The Middle’ below.
‘The Middle’ will form part of Aphrose’s six-track debut EP which will be released later this year. We can expect a body of work which will reflect her experiences and her new outlook on life.
Over the years, she has been able to find her true voice as a songwriter and vocalist. After providing support for some of Canada’s existing talent, we’re delighted to see Aphrose truly shine as a superb artist in her own right. Mark our words, her future is bright and APHROSE is a name you’ll be seeing in lights.
Be sure to follow Aphrose’s journey on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.