JAD

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JAD evades definition accidentally, intentionally. A young life spent caught between identities, JAD’s music seems to follow suit — not lost, per se, as it is unwavering in its right to exist in multitudes and in-betweens. Born in Canada to Lebanese immigrants, the implications of identity, both public and private, have been the unraveling and re-synthesis of this artist.

Having released an album, “Still Life”, in 2017, with songs such as “These Days” and “Knuckle Sandwich” catching the attention of an animator at CalArts, JAD provided the music to an animated short that played at the 2018 CalArts Producers Show in Santa Clarita, CA — quickly proving JAD’s music to be borderless. Followed by two singles recorded at the late Elliott Smith’s New Monkey Studio, JAD has taken a DIY approach with a bedroom setup, allowing him more room to experiment and develop while laying the foundation for a prolific future. JAD recorded, produced, mixed, and independently released “Don’t Let the Sun Set on Me” in April 2022, to high praise and a spot on Exclaim!’s Spotify playlist “The Eh-list!” amongst incredible Canadian talent, both emerging and veteran.

In May 2022, JAD spent a month in France as an artist-in-residence working on new material. While in France, he was invited to play in concert, marking his first European performance. He also took up painting – his work was selected to be kept as part of the gallery’s permanent collection. Coincidentally – or perhaps not at all – shortly after his time in Europe, while in New York, he was surprised to discover the work of an extended family member as part of the permanent collection at the MoMA, previously unbeknownst to him.

Deeply introspective and empathetic in his attempt to understand, JAD interrogates the semantics of love and connection in an age of apathy and influence. By way of stark vulnerability, he expresses intricate and nuanced emotional circumstances with prescience and lucidity. In the spirit of his influences, JAD intends to remain undefinable and unconfined in the exploration of his world; elusive in his attempt to understand.

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