Get to know Once a Tree, others in new JUNO TV series
Are you familiar with the Toronto-based duo Once a Tree? You’re about to be.
The husband-wife electro-R&B band is the focus of the first episode of Rising, a new show from JUNO TV that features bands explaining their relationships with music, their songwriting process and their releases.
Each episode features a different band or musician and explore the journey they take to make a new song or work out a piece of music.
“The series will give viewers a deeper look at artists’ profound connection to their music, what they’ve learned about themselves throughout their journey and the sacrifices they make to follow their dreams,” said Allan Reid, president and CEO of The JUNO Awards and MusiCounts in a statement. “The debut episode follows Once a Tree: two strangers living fascinating parallel lives who bonded through music.”
How parallel were the lives of Jayli and Hayden Wolf?
They grew up on opposite ends of British Columbia but were both raised as Jehovah’s Witnesses, a strict faith that prohibits, among other things tattoos, blood transfusions and celebrating most holidays. Neither of them remain in the practice, but they’ve had other things to bond over, including the hats Hayden made.
“Back in the day, he used to make these toques, and I saw this girl and I asked her where she got it from, and she told me it was this guy named Hayden,” Jayli told Noisey. She reached out to him via Facebook and they got to talking about their interest in music – ain’t that always the way? – he decided to meet her in real life to work on a song together.
“I was like, if you can give me a place to crash I’ll come and make music with you. After helping her with a shoot and doing some visuals for her, I ended up staying three weeks,” he said.
The rest, as they say, is the fodder for Once a Tree’s episode of Rising, which can be watched now on the JUNO’s YouTube channel.
Next up will be Night Lovell, which the JUNO’s describes as “one of Canada’s best kept secrets in rap.”
