Premanition
... is a compelling and atmosphere inducing artist, songwriter, vocalist and producer from Canada. She does it all and more with her powerful vocals, emotive lyrics and knack for telling stories with fantastical and magical elements with a large dose of authenticity. From where she started with acoustic folk pop roots with her debut EP, Head Games, Premanition has expanded to new territory with her love of dark synths and pop music.
Q&A
Who is the "human" behind the artist Premanition?
I’m Prema aka Premanition, and I have been making art for as long as I can remember…I was born in Bangladesh, and my family immigrated to Canada when I was 4. My first love was reading and writing. I recall spending hours in my school library and public libraries around town, just devouring all sorts of stories.
It was what sparked my imagination from an early age, and as I got older, the urge to tell stories and make art only got stronger. I went to school and studied electrical engineering, after completing a year of psychology. I have always been interested in how things work, mainly humans. This fascination is what pushes me to search for meaning, no matter what I’m doing.
Who inspired you to make music in general?
Of course there is no single person to credit this to, there’s a whole spectrum of artists that inspire me. My family was my first exposure to arts and culture, my grandfather, Masud Karim, was a renown lyricist in Bangladesh, and my grandmother Dilowara Begum, was a TV and radio singer. When I was a kid, my mother sang at cultural shows and I remember watching her from backstage, in awe. It was this way I gained an interest in the arts. As I grew older, I really loved all sorts of music. Some of the most formative artists to impact me during my teen years was Evanescence, Sara Bareilles, and My Chemical Romance. Later on, Lights was a big influence as well.
"Worthy'' sounds amazing, what was your inspiration and what was the most time intensive part to record it?
Thank you so much, I’m glad you enjoyed it! Worthy was written when I was spiraling in my own negativity. I wondered why I was standing in my own way, because of fear or feeling that I didn’t deserve to do something greater - and that paralyzed me a lot of the time.
I felt like I wasn’t allowed to do certain things because I didn’t deserve them yet and as I wrote this song, I realized that my own worth is assigned by me. So sometimes, perhaps I don’t feel as worthy, but I keep trying to be.
That’s why this song is so close to my heart, it’s a reminder that I am not my feelings and I can keep going - despite the negativity…The most intensive part for time, was definitely the vocals, there’s nearly 40 vocal tracks in that song, because I wanted it to be very ethereal. So that took a while lol...:P
The hardest part being "Indie" is …?
Well there’s a few challenges of course when you are trying to accomplish something alone. I would say one of the biggest challenges being an indie artist is that you have to really manage your time, especially when you don’t have a team. For example, I have a full time job, plus a side job that involves gigging around town, plus another job doing commercial voiceovers.
Amidst my dedication to those, I have music videos to film and edit, songs to record, marketing to complete, album artwork to make, social media to keep up with, promotion to do, and a live set to create for the new album.
There’s many other things that are unique to me, such as writing a novel associated with the upcoming album, for I am a special kind of glutton for punishment haha. But it’s all good, I do this because there is an irresistible urge to do so.
What's your favorite Venue in Calgary?
Calgary has so many fantastic venues that I have had the pleasure of discovering over the years! My very first acoustic show was in this tiny tea shop back when I was 15, called Oolong Teahouse, so it holds a special place in my heart.
My favourite venue in Calgary was Cafe Koi, which was a beautiful space that really was a community pillar. I held my album release show there when Head Games came out, and did some open mic nights there. Cafe Koi was a place that had music, poetry or art happening basically every single night. It was such an encouraging place for new and seasoned artists to feel welcome to do their thing. Unforuntatley, it shut down from July 2022, however, myself and many others will always remember Cafe Koi's epic stage, warm lights and noodle bowls.
Let us know a song you can't listen to anymore although it was a favorite one in the past?
Haha, this is a funny question. I am going to say, it’s the song “I Don’t Love You” by My Chemical Romance. I used to listen to that song all the time when I was a teenager, but as I got older the song actually made me feel too sad, so as much as I love that entire album (The Black Parade) sometimes I skip over that song since it makes me feel sad again.
What’s next for you?
I feel both excited and nervous as hell for the next things! After Worthy, which is the second single off of my upcoming album, we have four more singles lined up to be released within a couple months of each other.
I’m really excited for this era of my music, which is not just telling a story, but also is my debut into electropop. This era will be haunting and magical, and I just can’t wait to show everybody this new side of me!
