Taking Her Shot: Canabliss Talks Photography, Tattoos, & WAKAAN [Interview]

“What keeps life fascinating is the constant creativity of the soul.” 

An adage applicable to most creatives, but perhaps a perfect summary to the aspirations and career thus far of Canadian electronic artist, Canabliss. 

If it wasn’t adequately conveyed through her luminous pink hair, flashy wardrobe, and head-to-toe display of tattoos, Sam Infusini lives a life of abundant expression through different artistic mediums. As Canabliss, she hopes to invigorate the same empowerment through her music, but this ambition holds deeper roots in her life than simply music.

Native to a small town 40-miles north of Toronto, Sam Infusini grew up with vivid interests in art, music and video games. As she matured, her creativity and style have taken on an edgier flair, a duality present in the art she makes today.

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Her first EDM experience came at 17, venturing into Toronto for an A$AP Mob concert. The show opened with a ‘rave,’ which prompted her initial interest in the genre and, eventually, a regular habit of attending shows.

During this time, Infusini was networking and making friends in the scene, but succumbed to pressure to attend college. Still undecided on where she wanted to apply her creativity, she initially studied photography. While she liked capturing the vibrance of the world around her through her own unique lens, the technical side of school ultimately turned her off from pursuing it further. 

Infusini later began making frequent trips to L.A., which exposed her to bass music for the first time ever. “I always wanted to make [music], but I don’t think I got really inspired until I started hearing West Coast bass.” said Canabliss, who caught up with MP3 MAG while in quarantine following a trip to the States. “I thought, ‘Oh my god, this music is so cool.’ I’d never heard anything like it.”

While her passion and skills at the time pertained to tattoos, photography, and graffiti, Infusini started learning how to produce in her bedroom at home. Early on she was making pretty, lofi, but as she advanced, began to take on her current bass signature. Fusing her dual passion of creating art that’s both pretty and edgy, she settled on her moniker, Canabliss, to convey both.

Over the years, Infusini became more involved in the scene, which led to her first show bookings. Finding support in the tight-knit local scene, she managed to pick up gigs alongside TroyBoi, Peekaboo and Tripzy Leary.

This bubbling exposure drew the eye of WAKAAN and it’s management team, Optimystic Group, who would go on to sign the young artist in 2020. Already empowered by the support she received at home, Infusini now had a creative family that would fully support her endeavors while giving her the resources to be a better artist. 

“I find it motivating just to be a part of the WAKAAN community because of the positivity and support they all give,” said Canabliss. “They’re so open with everything. They’re like, ‘You do you.” I really respect that.”

While COVID cancelled her big plans for 2020, including first-ever festival appearance (Ever After), it did ultimately lead to her first ever drive-in booking and gave her time to be more creative at home.

The producer has lined up several releases to debut through the WAKAAN universe, and even has plans to launch her own music videos in the future.

Additionally, her newfound success and support system has allowed her time to grow her other passion, playing video games. As a child, Canabliss became ‘addicted’ to Nintendo and Modern Warfare. When the pandemic forced millions to stay indoors, the producer took to Twitch to livestream her gameplay and has found yet another outlet to grow her following.

Through WAKAAN and her newfound success, Canabliss feels empowered to be in a community that allows artists to be themselves. It’s given her full confidence to continue pursuing her passion, but also the clarity to take further creative control of her art.

“In the future, I definitely want to be heavily involved with the creative aspects of everything,” said Canabliss. “Graphic design, visuals, the whole aesthetic… I want to be hands on with all of it.”

Furthermore, the producer wants to empower other women around her and in the scene. She has always looked up to other women who ‘own’ their careers, decisions, and overall creativity.

“A lot of my brand is to want to empower other girls who think they can’t do those things because they’re harder or stereotypes. Women who did those things inspired me and made me believe I could do anything I wanted to do.”

FOLLOW CANABLISS:

SPOTIFY: spoti.fi/3dkAH7I

INSTAGRAM: instagram.com/canablissss

FACEBOOK: facebook.com/canablissss

TWITTER: twitter.com/canablisss

SOUNDCLOUD: soundcloud.com/canabliss

BANDCAMP: canabliss.bandcamp.com