Jasper Sloan Yip (British Columbia)
Born and raised in Vancouver, Jasper Sloan Yip had a humble start in the music biz. He gave his first performance in 2007 on a stage he built in the backyard of his childhood home. Then, only three days later, he boarded a one-way flight to Paris, and toured fifteen countries and three continents while writing much of his debut album, Every Day and All At Once. He released that recording on his 23rd birthday in 2010.
Three years later, at the helm of an experimental folk-rock sextet, Jasper released his ambitious follow up, Foxtrot. The earnest naiveté that characterized his first release was replaced with pensive introspection and expansive instrumentation. The result was a mosaic of nine different songs that offered a unified narrative about the pains and joys of life, love and art.
The album was an immediate success. Its first single “Show Your Teeth” climbed to the top-ten on CBC Radio 2, 3, and several college charts across the country. The song also landed Jasper a $10,000 “Best of BC” award, while the album’s title track received a $5,000 Public Records Video Grant award. Capping off the year, CBC Radio 2 and 3 both included “Show Your Teeth” on their respective Best Songs of 2013 lists, and The Province named Foxtrot one of the year’s top ten indie records.
Fast forward to 2015, Jasper and the band are at work preparing to record his third album in Vancouver’s historic and recently revived Mushroom Studio. We’re looking forward to a bit of a preview of the new album at this year’s Festival.
