Japanese-Canadian songwriter
Jonah Yano makes smooth, jazzy soul-pop tinged with hip-hop and electronic elements. His debut album,
Souvenir, was released in 2020.
Born in Hiroshima,
Yano emigrated to Vancouver with his mother in 1998, when very young, after the separation of his parents. At the age of six, his grandmother introduced him to the piano; later he picked up the guitar and began writing his own songs. In 2016 he began recording demos on his phone; moving to Toronto, he started putting songs online and immersed himself in the thriving local music scene, gradually honing his skills. His first recorded appearance was in 2018, when he was featured on indie pop-rap duo Moneyphone's track "On Lock." Shortly thereafter, he released his own debut solo single "Rolex, The Ocean," on which his signature sound arrived fully formed: smooth, jazzy soul-pop set to hip-hop-style beats, topped with
Yano's high-pitched, impassioned vocals. In 2019 he signed to
Innovative Leisure, which released his debut EP, Nervous. On it he collaborated with labelmates
Badbadnotgood, and expanded his sound with more electronic elements. The following year saw the release of
Yano's debut full-length album,
Souvenir. A deeply personal work, its centerpiece was "Shoes," a song originally written and recorded by
Yano's father Tatsuya Muraoka in the '90s, and completed by
Yano following their 2019 reconciliation. ~ John D. Buchanan