Ten minute tea with Afternoon Tea. Spend ten minutes with Afternoon Tea. In the time it takes to boil one kettle, and let one cup of tea steep, we will have your daily art + music fix covered. Take your afternoon tea break with our Afternoon Tea curators.
Today’s tea + soundtrack + visuals is curated by Jeremy Voltz. Toronto-based indie-soul artist, Jeremy Voltz, is embracing a grittier pop sound on his new collaboration with singer-songwriter, Oliver Charles. Voltz‘s first new single of 2023, “Miracles,” is about the courage to journey, leave one’s old life behind, and trust the process.
“Miracles” embraces the belief that great things will happen out of sheer force of will, mirroring the trust that Voltz put in Charles when he first travelled to Montreal to collaborate with the then stranger.
The acoustic guitar and vocal-led track unfurls into a richly dark and eerie soul-infused release. Bass synth, epic drums, and organ channel the stubborn desire behind one’s willingness to go for it, inspiring a sense of awe in pursuing one’s dreams.
Stream + share “Miracles” now:
“Past mistakes and road blocks can’t strip away the beauty and majesty of self-determination and belief in oneself. Your journey is your own, and it’s up to each of us to find and hold on to the magic and miracles within our story,” explains Voltz.
One piece of music:
On this early Monday morning, I’m listening to “Can’t Hold Me” by Emily King. I come back to this song often. It’s joyful, it grooves, it’s intimate… it’s a good way to start a week off. I saw Emily perform at the Drake Underground a couple years ago. It was just her and an acoustic guitar player. She has a glowing, huge personality, and as effusive as she was, her guitar player was the opposite in the best way. He was calm, stoic, and barely reacted to anything she said or did. Their chemistry was perfect, and in general it was one of the best shows I’ve seen. I sometimes overcomplicate my shows, and try to fill every moment with bells and whistles. This show was a great reminder that the best shows are sometimes just the performer being authentically present with the people in the room and sharing their gift in the most intimate, stripped down way.
One Visual:
When I went searching for an illustrator for my lyric book, I studied the work of probably a hundred different local artists. This piece ‘Namazu’ by Julia Louise Pereira jumped out at me. I love the color, constrast, texture, and detail in this piece. It’s the start of a story that I want to know the ending of. It made me lean in and investigate. I reached out to Julia, told her about my project, and amazingly she agreed to hand-illustrate my 32 page book with watercolor and gouache. I am completely in love with the illustrations she did, the story we came up with, and the way she brought the character to life. Please follow her on instagram @ohlordyitsjulia, where you can see this work and the many gorgeous illustrations she made for my book “One Day at a Time” that are absolutely beautiful. Ok, I could gush about Julia’s work for ever, but a picture is worth…. well, you know.
One tea:
Today I’m drinking a London Fog. It’s your classic Earl Grey milk latte with vanilla extract and a bit of sugar. I love them when I need a little boost of caffeine but don’t feel like coffee. It’s that little bit of self-care I need on a Monday morning to start the week off!
Tea + Me 