Dominique Fils-Aimé is a two-time Juno Award winning singer-songwriter from Montreal whose parents immigrated to Canada from Haiti. She just released My World is the Sun, the second collection in what will be her second trilogy of albums.
Fils-Aimé never intended to become a musician. She studied psychology, philosophy, photography, and fashion design, and worked doing psychological support for employees, and helping people with autism. After becoming burnt out on that work, she turned to music for personal therapy as a healing force.
Her first trilogy was an exploration of the history of African music and her musical influences including Nina Simone, Erykah Badu, and BB King. The first release in the series, her debut album, Nameless, was dedicated to the blues. Following that, was Stay Tuned, focused on jazz, and then Three Little Words, a study of soul.
Having spent time digging into musical styles, she chose to work on her own truth with the first installment of her follow-up trilogy which began in 2023 with Our Roots Run Deep. The album was nominated for the 2024 Polaris Prize and took home the Juno Award for Best Vocal Jazz album, and the 2024 Félix, an award specific to Quebec, for Jazz Album of the Year.
Now Fils-Aimé continues her personal exploration with My World is the Sun. It opens with a connection to her personal lineage — the track Ma Mélodie is a classical-based guitar piece featuring a 1970's cassette recording of her mother, Claudette Thomas. Ma Mélodie sets the tone for the atmospheric soul that follows.
My World is the Sun is the kind of album meant to be heard all the way through. The instrumentation is stripped back, leaving room for the velvety, often multi-tracked vocals to tell the story.
Tune into Open Air to hear tracks from My World is the Sun, weekdays 9am-3pm on JPR’s Rhythm and News Service.
