R&B musician TOVA aims to share his stories with his listeners through a wide array of songs. Beginning his career in 2020, TOVA does not let his musical identity constrict his art.
"The best way to describe the music I make is that I hop around on whatever instrument is available to me and end up making the stuff I want to hear. Right now it's very R&N and neo-soul because that's the kind of stuff I really enjoy but who knows, maybe tomorrow I wake up and I decide hey you know what, I heard a country song on the radio the other day and it slaps, and who knows maybe I'll start making country."
But regardless of genre, TOVA aims to make music that speaks to both him and the listener. With the overall goal of invoking an emotion, he has been able to achieve just that through his numerous amount of singles.
"When it comes to the music I make, it's important that the music speaks to me first, of course, because if it doesn't inspire me, if it doesn't make me feel things, then I have almost zero chance of making anybody feel things."
When asked about the growth of music in Saskatchewan, TOVA notes both the growing diversity of genres and demographics in the province. In doing so, it has provided people of colour more options to explore the industry. He mentions the recent success of "Jalebi Baby" by Regina local Tesher and Jason Derulo.
"When I speak to my friends who don't live in Saskatchewan they're like 'oh I'm sure everywhere is country and folk and whatnot' and sure that's popular in Saskatchewan (but to be fair country music is popular everywhere). But with that being said, there is right now a growing movement of music that sounds different and it is coming from people who look a little different from what the stereotypical Saskatchewan person would have looked like thirty or forty years ago, and that is great."
In the same conversation about cultural influences on music, TOVA believes that it is something that is inherently ingrained in someone's art and that it should not be controlled.
"Culture is part of the individual and when we have people try to control these things, what might happen is that they are making things that are not fully or entirely them, and as a result the general public is missing out on a lot of substance, and that's a shame, it's a crying shame for everybody involved."
To conclude, TOVA's main message to his listeners is to inspire more creatives in the world. He hopes that his own storytelling is the spark for others to do the same.
"There are stories all around us. If we stop for a moment to pay attention, we might find that these stories are there and it would be cool to tell these stories. Maybe for someone that is listening or reading or watching this at some point, it would be cool that they take this as the sign they've been waiting for to go start telling stories of their own whether it be music or art or writing or pictures or what have you. The world could always do with more creatives."
TOVA's new single comes out February 14, 2022
For more information about TOVA, visit;
Our Making Art in Saskatchewan interview with TOVA
