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Music

SATE’S Rebirth Brings Soul Music for the Self

The Toronto blues-rock singer talks totem animals and dealing with her mother’s dementia.

Photo courtesy of Che Kothari

With the blood that fuels her high-energy shows, music has always coursed through SATE’s veins. As the daughter of “Canada’s First Lady of The Blues” Salome Bey, SATE—born Saidah Baba Talibah—has been exposed to jazz and blues all her life. She’s put her own albums out, sang background vocals on multiple others, and has even shared the stage at Toronto’s storied Massey Hall with her mother. Her decision to begin a brand new musical project, though, has begun with three EPs—Red, Black & Blue—that are “a journey into the multitude of emotions dealing with the three most important ladies of my life.” Each EP is represented by one of her totem animals: the Robin Red Breast, Black Panther, and Blue Morpho Butterfly. Those three important ladies are her mother, daughter, and sister. They’re all different records, but SATE’s raunchy, furious take on a classic genre runs through each one, the tunes distinctive because of Talibah’s incredible pipes. The EPs are the first steps in Talibah’s new journey as SATE, and one she insists was very necessary. “I needed to get this out,” Talibah says over coffee in Kensington Market. “I needed to have this rebirth. I needed to.”

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The three EPs will form what will be SATE’s debut record. Her PledgeMusic campaign to record them raised way over it’s intended goal, and part of the deal is that pledgers get to vote on what songs will end up on the 10-track album. When they started putting the record together, her and producer Tom McKay cut things down to 18 tracks from over 30 songs. There’s another aspect to the campaign, though. Without her mother’s influence, there’s a good chance SATE would never have existed. Salome Bey retired from performing in 2011 because of dementia. Because the cause is so close to her heart, Talibah is donating 10 per cent of any money raised above the original goal to the Alzheimer Society of Canada.

Noisey: What was recording the EPs like?
Talibah: Leading up to recording them, writing them, and working with my producer was pretty intense. It was an emotional piece of work. So it was magical to actually get in the room with those guys and have it all come to life, and just the fire and the passion. Everything that went into it was just exactly what I'd heard in my mind. Everyone was really in it and understanding and excited about it. It all came out exactly the way we wanted it.

Can you explain the relationship your EPs have with your totem animals?
Each EP is named for the colours of the totem animals. The Red EP is the robin, and the robin is about springtime and renewal and rebirth, and also letting go. The panther again is rebirth, and embracing darkness, feminine energy, power. And then the blue is rebirth again. It's a butterfly, so it's transformation, and going into the unknown but having faith in the unknown. It's a lot of letting go and transformation and rebirth in each one of them, but in different ways.

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How did you pick these animals?
I would say they picked me. I kind of listen to what's going on around me, watch what's going on around me. There are animals that kind of pop up in my spirit or I gravitate towards them, and I don't know if I'm the right person to say that they're my spirit animals, but that's what best describes them. These animals just follow me, and there's something about them. Every time spring comes along and I see a robin, I just get really excited and happy, and it makes me kind of go, "what is that about?" Every springtime that happens. When I looked into that it just really resonated with me. Just like the panther and the butterfly. There are other animals, but I didn't want to do like, seven EPs [laughs]. There's the squirrel, and the snake, and the wasp…

What does the song "Warrior" mean to you?
There are so many different meanings, but the one that I wrote it from was just to awaken that passion, that dream that you have that you've been leaving on the back burner. This is our time. Each one of us have something that we can offer the world, and to seize the day. But in the recent events of the world, especially what's going on in Baltimore, I think it's about having your voice heard. And burning down systems that hold you back.

Photo via SATE's Facebook

With SATE, do you feel like you're finally able to, not just have people hear your voice, but hear the voice you want them to hear?
Absolutely. There's a lot more freedom, a lot more focus, determination, perseverance. All of the experiences that I have, that I've learned from, what the album is about. These three women that I've taken their wisdom and become who I am. Life experiences, traveling the world, meeting different people, all of those things create who I am today. And that's really what SATE is: finding my voice and clearly putting it out there.

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How do you think your music empowers people?
I think it empowers people to do and be themselves, in all of the beauty and the ugly in the most human form, just to be authentic. To be raw, and roaring, and strong, and having people around to support that.

Do you think it's weird for Pledgers to have a final say in the track listing of your album?
Absolutely not. That's a no-brainer. I'm putting this out for people to listen to and love, so why wouldn't I want them to tell me what they love, what they dig, and just go from there? It's like an in-house survey… I think it really translates into the world if there are hands-down 500 people that say, "I love this song." Why wouldn't I listen to that?

You're donating a portion of the proceeds to the Alzheimer Society of Canada. Can you tell me a bit about your experience with your mother's dementia?
It is and it continues to be very challenging, especially since my mother is a singer, a communicator. It's really taken hold of her communication. Every once in a while she'll sing. Music is definitely something that awakens her, but it's hard to watch her not be her.

I've never thought about it that way, how weird it would be to not be able to communicate how you usually would.
I can only imagine what she's going through in her mind. If it's devastating me, it must be tearing her apart. And I mean there aren’t a lot of good days, but I have to focus on the fact she's still here.

What do you think the most important thing for people living with dementia to have?
A sense of dignity. Patience from their family, friends and loved ones. Understanding. Touch. Human contact. It's hard because for me, sometimes it feels like limbo, watching my mom be in limbo. It really can be any day, where anything can happen. So it's just about savouring the moments right now.

How has it affected your approach to your music?
It's definitely given me a hunger and desire to just put stuff out, and not be afraid. And to really honour her, because aside from being my mother, she's honestly the reason why I do what I do. So it's honouring her, and keeping her alive.

Matt Williams is a writer and photographer living in Toronto. — @MattGeeWilliams