I first met Jesse Ohtake when I was writing for The CyberKrib, reviewing records and interviewing hip-hop, R&B and soul artists.

As the owner/founder of The Academy, Air Moves and other cultural initiatives, Jesse has spent decades building platforms for artists and bringing Toronto's music community together.

Today, we're talking about the records that shaped him, the hustle behind building a scene, and what it takes to keep the culture moving.

Tara Kannangara is an indie-pop singer-songwriter, producer and trumpeter.

Toronto musician Victor Xu, better known as Vixu, is a pianist, composer, producer, vocalist and songwriter.

Through his solo work and bands like Diskarte, he moves freely between jazz, R&B, hip-hop, indie, electronic and experimental.

On this episode, Victor talks about his early piano training, how Toronto's early-2000s music scene and Broken Social Scene sparked his love of collaboration, and paying tribute to Frank Ocean's Blonde.

Liz uninvited is a Toronto-based indie singer-songwriter whose intimate, emotionally raw music draws influence from Elliott Smith, Jeff Buckley and Fiona Apple.

A devoted Elliott Smith fan, she developed a unique connection to his music and legacy after collaborating with members of his creative circle in Los Angeles.

In the this episode, we talk to Liz as she traces the soundtrack of her childhood through her dad's favourite Afrobeat and highlife records, discusses embracing an OCD diagnosis and transforming that experience into music, and explores the lingering spirit of Elliott Smith in her own songwriting.

Lexxicon is a dancehall/Afropop artist from Toronto by way of Jamaica and the UK.

On his new album, Tropicon Islands, he strays away from his dancehall roots and dives head-first into a rich Afrobeats sound.

Guest co-host Amanie Illfated and I talked to Lexxicon about his new album and novel, the third season of Netflix's You, and why Canadian musicians often have to move to another country in order to make it.