D1do, Bex launch next chapter of #AFFiRMATiONanthems, ready to build mental health supportive community 

What began as a creative project that took off as a whirlwind writing session is continuing to evolve into something that’s more than just musical expression and artistic enthusiasm, as the Toronto-Hamilton based partnership of Bex and D1do release the video for their new song, “When I’m With You,” and discuss an interactive and immersive project at McMaster University. 

“This has actually been an ongoing relationship developing with Dr. Rachael Finnerty (a professor at McMaster). Her focus is on the actual music therapy science and where we come in is we’re almost like a case study of how you can use music as a form of therapy,” says D1do, the performance name for Anthony DiDomenico. “We have a webinar doing an explanation of #AFFiRMATiONanthems and how we’re integrating a science-backed (concept), which is affirmations, and integrating it into the entertainment of music to help people and make them feel a little bit better.” 

Dr. Finnerty, who is the founder of the Music Therapy Academy in addition to being a registered psychotherapist and credentialed music therapist, has worked with the musical duo in the past and out of those conversations will come an experience on the McMaster campus in September 2026.

“We’re part of her program right now. We’ve been really building this relationship, which recently led to the need to create an experience that’s really focused on this mission where her science and all the studies she’s done with her PhD can be taught and shown to more people,” he says. 

The video for the new song was released this week and, to help continue to build momentum, look for an Omni Interview taped at McMaster’s LIVELabs building to be released in September. This is all part of planting the seeds of a larger vision, a bigger effort to help people understand, first of all, that they’re not alone in having mental health struggles, and to help them find ways to bring themselves out of the darkness of depression and anxiety into a better light. 

The new song is more than just words and music, it’s “an anthem about self-love, connection and rediscovering who you are when surrounded by the right people.” 

Bringing together people who support you and see your vision for the future, who are there to help when you stumble, is central to the mission of #AFFiRMATiONanthems, but it’s also the core of how Bex and D1do came to work together. After meeting last March, they’ve written 100 songs together, a phenomenon D1do says is “streaming like lightning. The first day we met, because she performed at our show, I heard her song and it hit my heart,” he says of Bex. In their initial studio session, they wrote three songs together. “We knew there was something energetic here and we’ve been riding that ever since. It’s been magical.”

They’re both independent artists separately but #AFFiRMATiONanthems is a joint project that also has room for others to get involved — musically and artistically. “Whoever wants to be part of this movement can be. That’s the good part — it catches on,” says Bex, the artist name of Rebecca Madamba. This song is the fourth release under the #AFFiRMATiONanthems project. 

D1do had started some work on this effort before he met Bex, but the topic is one she’d already been working on. “It was always using music as a tool for myself, for my own therapy, and then I loved that it helped other people too,” she says of her involvement. “The feedback I would get is like ‘That helped me through this time.’ When I performed, how me and (D1do) connected was, I performed a song that was all about bringing out that inner confidence, which was so aligned with what he was already doing.”

This is a slow-burn of a longstanding vision and they’re encouraging people with whom the new songs resonates to get involved. In addition to preparing for next year’s installation and event, Bex and D1do have a GoFundMe started to help fundraise the current single and music video production for anyone who wants to support the mission. There will be a second fundraising effort in support of the McMaster event once details are finalized, with the goal of helping fund the first full- or part-time music therapist at McMaster to offer students mental health and wellness support. “That’s part of the bigger mission and it backs the science that Rachel’s own evidence has proven,” D1do says. “This measurably impacts the kids’ wellness. It’s a proactive approach to mental wellness, versus waiting to the point of emergency and recovery. This is a way for them to take part in programs and things that are going to help them along the way throughout their university process.” 

They’d like to see the program expand outside of McMaster, and Toronto, to involve college and university campuses across Canada. 

“It’s been unfolding,” he says. “It’s just kind of bringing together the right teams, the right people that align with the mission, and working together in unison to continue the story.” 

Updates on their #AFFiRMATiONanthems projects will be available on their social media profiles, including @d1domusic and @bexgalaxy.