The VAFF x HOMECOMING x SOCAN Music Sync Camp brought together a group of Asian and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Canadian artists, songwriters, and producers from across British Columbia with the goal of fostering new creative connections and collaborations on film, television, and video game sync briefs.
The song camp—held at Headspace Studios in Vancouver—helped celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Vancouver Asian Film Festival (VAFF), and marked the inaugural partnership between VAFF, HOMECOMING, and SOCAN.
Music creators across the three-day event included: Aileen De La Cruz, ash angel, John Concepcion, MADLUCKY, Nathan Chiu, NIKKAELA, Terence Lam, TRSTN, Tyson Venegas, Seven Taviss, SORAH, and Warren Dean Flandez.
During the camp, music creators were given guidance on syncs for film, television, and video games. They were separated into new groups each day to work on as many collaborations as possible. Throughout, attendees were given real-time industry feedback on their work provided by music supervisors and more. Songs that came out of the camp travelled the spectrum of dance pop with sparkly electronic, soul, or rock-like elements as key signifiers for each and representative of the styles of creators.
Of it being an AAPI focused camp, SORAH says, “Collaborating with other AAPI creators made me feel right at home. The shared culture felt familiar and relatable, so I didn’t feel any pressure to act in a certain way or assimilate. That safety gave me the comfort and confidence to just be my best creative self.”
Song camps at SOCAN give writers, producers, and music creators of all types the opportunity to connect with one another. This was especially resonant for TRSTN, a Chinese-Canadian dance/electro and pop producer and artist who recently relocated to Vancouver.
“Everyone had something great to offer in the music creation and getting to know them better through it is to me, such an amazing way to connect with them,” he explains. “Seeing everyone connect so naturally through the same shared experiences was beautiful, and it inspires me to reach farther into my personal journey of identity.”