Saschali beginning to get noticed
Posted By LAUREN FIELDING, SPECIAL TO THE DAILY OBSERVER
Posted 2 months ago
In a sea of people looking to stand out and make it big in an industry that can either make or break you, Saschali Brunette is one person who managed to rise above the rest.
Born in Chalk River, Ms. Brunette grew up in a family whose passion for music was a part of her everyday life. She was raised in a home where singing and performing was a normal part of family gatherings and events, and she often sung for friends and relatives.
"I was very young when I would sing for everyone," Ms. Brunette said. "I was so nervous that I had little butterflies in my stomach, but when the song was over I wanted nothing more than to do it over and over again."
Ms. Brunette's mother, Sonia Brunette-Quirion, was one of the people that inspired Saschali to pursue her love of music and performing. Mrs. Brunette-Quirion recently received an award at Pembroke's Tribute Night, alongside her brother Mickey McGivern and her father Bud Brunette, another well-known local artist.
"My mother was my biggest inspiration, she would sing the most wonderful songs and everyone would just hang on her every breath," Ms. Brunette said. "I wanted to get over my stage fright and be able to not worry about what people thought of me and sing my heart out. I was very young when my mom encouraged me to sing with her in front of friends and family."
Ms. Brunette attended St. Jean Baptiste School as a child and Jeanne-Lajoie when she was a teenager. She left home at 16, and moved around until she made it to Montreal.
While in Montreal, Ms. Brunette began to search for people who would help her make it in the music industry. She had realized that it would take leaving her hometown to really be successful, and when she arrived in Montreal she took jobs as a bartender in local bars so she could be as close to the club scene as possible.
"I think the music industry and the bar life go hand in hand, giving me the advantage of meeting people who were like me - a starving artist - or people who made music or produced it," she said. "I always followed up with people I knew and met in the industry to further projects or just to be a friend, considering we had a lot in common."
Always determined to follow her dreams, Ms. Brunette made a significant effort to track down people who could help her make connections, and she managed to exchange numbers and talk to a few very influential people. She was eager and open to suggestions made by producers or musicians, and soon landed a job as a backup vocalist for DJ and comedian Sugar Sammy.
Ms. Brunette worked with Sugar Sammy and was his harmonizing voice for a few years, performing with him in the Canadian Music Week in 2002 and Hip Hop Forever in 2003. Although she enjoyed working as a backup vocalist, she still felt a pull for something more.
Ms. Brunette always idolized musicians like Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston, both powerful female solo artists, and dreamed that she could be admired like they were. With this goal in mind, Ms. Brunette network in the industry, and soon met producer Germain Gauthier. Mr. Gauthier and his associates helped her to further her career, and soon she was working on various compositions and singing on compilation records through Mr. Gauthier's cousin Pierre Gauthier's record company, Fly Records.
Ms. Brunette was also involved in the performance analysis site HitLab.com, where aspiring musicians can submit songs they have written and sung to be evaluated by the general public. The top 12 vote getters are given the opportunity to perform for artist and hit-maker Akon in a showcase in front of dozens of record company executives and fans. Ms. Brunette never stopped to consider the competition, but stuck to the need to prove herself and make herself known.
"Just the fact that I was noticed and had the opportunity to perform in front of Akon was enough, I wasn't really thinking about the competition, but more on the chance I had to prove myself," she said. "I had already accomplished getting a high score on the site and I just found myself very lucky to get my shot. HitLab is a big part of my life and I enjoy every minute of it."
Her determination paid off when Ms. Brunette was chosen out of the other performers in the showcase to be part of Akon's production company KonLive. She has already recorded a selection of songs with Akon and other well-known artists, and will be releasing her own solo album by the end of this year.
Ms. Brunette is estatic about the opportunities she's been given, and wants nothing more than to continue to do what she is doing now - performing and having her voice heard.
"People only dream about what it's like to be in my shoes, and I'm so grateful for this chance. Who knows where I'll end up in the future, but if it gets even better than this someone's going to have to bring me back to earth, 'cause I'll be in heaven," she mused.
"When you work with the best producers, writers and of course Akon, it's only natural that you get the best product. I enjoy being in the studio and working in these conditions, because it brings the best out of me and helps me excel in what I can do."
