What sparked your interest in pursuing a career in music, and what was your journey to becoming a musician or band like?
I was born and raised in Windsor. I am of Ecuadorian descent with a touch of Austrian. I am bilingual, I speak English and Spanish. I started making music at age 12 by rapping lyrics I had written down and trying to create different flows with the words. I would scroll through YouTube and find different instrumentals that I could potentially rap over and start recording myself to the instrumental. I found a free audio editing software called Audacity to record my vocals over beats and, slowly but surely, I started to put together songs written on my own. I worked countless hours on finding my sound and figuring out how I can become a better songwriter by listening to the criticism of others.
I re-member playing competitive hockey growing up and breaking my collarbone when I was 15 years old. Believe it or not, this injury turned my focus to music even more with much more time on my hands while I was recovery. I fell in love with music and developed a deep passion during this time. I started posting music publicly on my YouTube channel under the rap name “Trippy OG”. I remember being ridiculed and criticized at school for my music at first with some people thinking it was good while other people thinking it was bad.
I had a very polarizing effect on my coming out party. To be completely honest, I probably wasn’t that great but I knew I had something to offer to the world of music and the burning desire was not going way anytime. My music evolution took waves and turns. At first, I was more into hip-hop/trap rap through my early teens and then transitioned into a more melodic style of hip-hop by incorporating more of a singing tone. Singing came along for me later at the age of 16 and since then I’ve been completely inspired by the art of it. I am a passionate emotional guy at heart so by having the ability to sing, it almost became therapeutic for me.
I was able to let my emotions be heard through my mu-sic and be more diverse when it comes to songwriting and making music. I kept on releasing songs through my high school years under the name of Trippy OG and Young Tavy but I decided to take a break from music completely at the age of 18. I ended up deleting all my music from social media and started to re-evaluate who I am as a musical artist. I felt like the past music did not represent who I truly was and that it was time for a mature change. In September of 2020, I decided to come back to music for good and give it my best shot. I created a new YouTube channel under the name of “Tavy Official” and started to post numerous singles, EPs and music videos till this day. I accumulated over 16,000 subscribers on YouTube with close to 100,000 channel views altogether on my videos.
I teamed up with creative professionals like Garett Mckelvie and Gene Schilling to create some beautiful cinematography for my music. I worked with Justin Dow and Marty Bak at SLR Studios to help me elevate my sound and release the best quality work I can to the world. I also decided to take vocal lessons with a hometown legend Pete Palazzolo at Canadian Conservatory School of Music. Pete has helped me tremendously in terms of my songwriting, beat making and vocal tone. He played a crucial rule getting me to where I am today. Pete pushed me to go out and sing live for the first time. I did my first live performance at Raise Your Voice Singing Competition hosted by Walter Rig-gi and Rob Palombo. Amazing experience and this boosted my confidence to sing live in front of people. Ever since then I’ve competed in singing competitions across Ontario and look forward to continue singing live.
How did you come up with your artist name?
I came up with the stage name of “Tavy” by taking inspiration from my real name “Oc-tavio”. People would call me Tavy growing up as a nickname and it just stuck to me as soon as I heard it. I feel like it really describes who I am and reminds me just to be my real authentic self. It’s short and memorable and easy to remember in my opinion.
Do you have any recorded music available for fans?
Yes, I have a total of 23 songs officially out and accessible to the public across a variety of different streaming platforms. The most popular streaming platforms being Apple Music and Spotify. Simply search “Tavy” on any streaming platform and my music will pop up. I also have some cool visuals associated with my music available to my fans on my YouTube channel “Tavy Official”. My biggest performance video closing in on 11,000 views on YouTube named “From Time Freestyle” was a live performance shot by Gene Schilling. I performed it inside SLR Studios and by releasing a video like this, you get a new perspective and feel towards my music.
How would you describe your music?
I would describe my music as soothing, easy to listen to and vulnerable. There’s a sense of vulnerability added to my music in relation to love. I would classify my music in the Pop/RnB genre. However, I do dip my toes a bit into the hip-hop and Spanish reggaeton world. I am bilingual, so speaking Spanish has helped me broaden my audience and get into the music genre of reggaeton. I only have one song so far in Spanish named “Mirame” but plan on releasing more in the future. That said, you can tell I am very diverse with my music. I like to be that chameleon that blends in everywhere he goes if he can. It’s hard to put me in a box when I love a wide range of music. If you decide to listen to my music, you will notice quickly that I can have a song for every mood that you are in.
What makes your music stand out from the others?
My versatility of being able to speak two languages and sing/rap in both Spanish and English. Creating music ranging from melodic hip-hop to pop EDM style music, I have music to fit any kind of mood you’re in. I switch my vocal tone and cadences depending on the song I am creating and make sure you feel my music with every note I sing. I also produce my own records and make sure I am 100% responsible for every sound you hear on the record. I write all the lyrics to my music on my own so that every time you turn on a Tavy song, you know that he came straight from him. This is how I keep 100% authenticity in my music and plan to keep it that way for years to come.
Name your two biggest musical influences, and why?
One of my biggest inspirations when it comes to music has to be Drake. You can probably hear some similarities in my music with his. His ability to sing notes and rap has always captured my attention and the way he does it is always memorable and heartfelt. You can tell Drake sings from his heart, and I try to do the same thing on every song I create. I remember being like 10 years old, singing and rapping in the mirror acting like I’m Drake himself. Little did I know I would be making my own music and creating a similar vibe. I also like how Drake isn’t scared to be vulnerable in his music and expresses how he really feels through his lyrics. I do the same thing because I know someone in this world needs to hear authenticity and relate to the lyrics being sung.
Another big inspiration for me must be Tory Lanez. Tory is a relentless hard-working artist that continues to release wide ranges of music. His versatility is unmatched by at-tempting to sing Spanish on a song with Ozuna called “Pa Mi” and then going back to a hip-hop style song called “Forever”. Again, it’s the versatility that really draws me into someone’s artistry because they probably have a song for every mood that you are in. Tory is also another artist that really makes you feel what he’s saying. You can feel the emotion and euphoric energy when he sings or raps in his songs. I try to implement the same euphoric energy into my songs because it’s important for me to know that my listener is going through an experience while listening wherever they are.
I will be also attending CMTC (Canadian Model Talent Convention) in May of 2024 in Toronto. There is a singing competition taking place at this convention and it will be a great opportunity for me to sing in front of talent agents across Canada and the U.S. in hoping of landing a contract.
Who writes your songs? What are the main themes or topics for most of your songs?
I write my own songs and I tend to take this very seriously. When people listen to my music, I want them to know that they are genuinely listening to Tavy and no one else. I do have co producers on some of my records, but the idea and concept of my records all start with me. When it comes to writing raps or hip-hop songs, having a co-writer for those type of songs is usually looked down upon.
The main theme for a lot of my songs is love and relationships. Growing up, I had my fair share of heartbreaks and disappointments but it’s with these experiences that you can learn to grow from them. I feel like a lot of people go through the same things in life involving relationship problems and by being vulnerable about it, you can impact someone else’s life in a positive way. However, I am starting to theme out to more of club music vibe. With my new record “Bring It Up”, you can tell that there is a lot of electronic dance music elements inside of it. I’m starting to love creating music that makes people dance and live inside the moment.
What has been your biggest challenge as a band? Have you been able to overcome that challenge? If so, how?
The biggest challenge for me as an artist that I had to overcome would be marketing strategies. Getting your music heard can be extremely difficult without the proper funding and connections. I spent some time in the first year of my music career passing out business cards around the city. The business cards had my logo in the front of the card and my social media information in the back. I would pass these cards around Devonshire mall and other various locations in Windsor. This was a very hard old school method of marketing, but it gave me a real life interaction with potential fans. I also met some cool artists on the way who were trying to achieve the same dream. Simultaneously while doing in person marketing, I spent 3 years doing online marketing on a website named Omegle. Omegle is an online webcam interaction website that gives you the ability to connect with random strangers around the world. I would talk to random strangers around the world live on webcam and tell them about my music. I gained most of my 16,000 subscribers on YouTube using Omegle. It was cool meeting people from across the world and hearing their different opinions on my music. I thought this was effective too because you’re putting an actual face behind your music. Meeting and talking to these strangers via webcam can also leave a memory about how you presented yourself and interacted with them. Leaving a positive first impression can lead to them becoming fans. Unfortunately, Omegle has shut down their service and it is no longer available to the public. As a result of this, I have shifted towards TikTok and playlist submission opportunities to get my music heard. I will also be posting cover song performance videos soon on my YouTube and TikTok. It’s all about persistency and consistency for me and I look forward to finding new methods to market my music.
What current projects are you working on at the moment?
I am working on right now is a new single expected to be released sometime around March of 2024. I am expected to release a single similar to an Usher style club record. I’ve been revisiting a lot of older music from the 2012 – 2015 era of pop by listening to Jay Sean, Taio Cruz and Akon to name a few. I love the euphoria I get from these records, and I want to bring that back with my new music. I will be producing this record as well and making sure all the sounds are connecting fully.
I will be also attending CMTC (Canadian Model Talent Convention) in May of 2024 in Toronto. There is a singing competition taking place at this convention and it will be a great opportunity for me to sing in front of talent agents across Canada and the U.S. in hoping of landing a contract.
Youtube.com: @TavyOfficial
Spotify: Tavy
Instagram: @tavyofficialmusic
Apple Music: Tavy
Facebook: @Tavyofficialmusic
