Episode 12
March 14, 2019
Music Scenes
Hosted by Nadia Halim with Simon Borer Kristin Fung
”I realized at a certain point I’m not good at making friends with people just by talking to them, that’s something I don’t have a lot of experience with. People I do like, my default is always, ‘Let’s make something together.’”
From the “immediate family” of a community theatre production, to the “Lord of the Rings fellowship type situation” of touring with a band, close relationships with collaborators are a big part of being a musician. I talk to two Toronto-based musicians about how technology and economics have changed the music scene over the past couple of decades (not necessarily for the better or worse), and how music has always been a part of how they see themselves and how they connect with other people. Find out why Kristin has a love/hate relationship with Instagram, what it meant to Simon in the mid-’90s to see someone wearing an Operation Ivy patch, and how the ukulele can be “an instrument of peace and community building”.
![[Episode artwork]](/images/podcast/art/s/unlonely.png)
Guests.
Simon Borer has been hanging around the Toronto music for the better part of two decades, starting as a doorman at the Silver Dollar, watching Dan Burke’s every move, then as the frontman for Entire Cities, touring the country and opening for artists like Sloan, Rock Plaza Central and Wolf Parade. Currently he records under the name Traplines, and is in production on his first feature film.
Kristin Fung’s dynamic and versatile performances as a vocalist, keyboardist, and composer traverse multiple musical landscapes. She leads her own R&B band in original tunes infused with her signature super funky soul grooves. She is a member of Anthony Braxton’s Tri-Centric Vocal Ensemble, and a featured soloist in the live and recorded versions of Braxton’s experimental opera Trillium J. She’s also part of Christine Duncan’s The Element Choir; creator of celeste, a contemporary vocal/dance trio; and she’s half of the hip folky duo K Funk and Lady Ree. She has performed at many venues in Toronto and beyond.