Local artist recognized by Canadian Independent Music Video Awards

Waterloo Region-based musician JP Sunga was nominated for two music video awards, and while not proceeding in the nomination process to receive them, he feels honoured. 

The songs from the album he is currently working on, “Listen to your Heart” and “For your Sympathy” were the two nominated. 

“For someone who is an independent artist, and for me, I am not even trying to even be at that level, so to be acknowledged for my work is incredible.”

In an interview with KitchenerToday, Sunga noted that “Listen to your Heart” deals with themes of going through dark times, and the video shows Sunga on the piano with a woman performing an abstract dance around him as a way to show the collective feelings of someone who is feeling down. “It's about encouraging them to find that light inside of them even if they don't feel it there or see it there.” 

He went on to say that this song was inspired by some of his friends suffering from depression and coming out the other side. “I wanted to put something out into the world to give hope to those people who might be suffering in silence.” 

The other song, “For your Sympathy,” takes a different artistic approach as it uses stop motion animation with the assistance of a Russian artist and depicts messages of the complicated emotions one will go through after mourning and the hardships of staying connected to the important people in your life. This song comes after the death of Sunga's mother. “It plays with that emotion that you are already feeling with the loss of a loved one and now concerned about your friendship but also still having hope that person will show up for you.”

The video itself shows a paper plane being tossed out with messages in the hope of reconnecting with someone and shows the memories of being with those friends. 

The latest song in the album that Sunga produced was “In my Bones,” an upbeat pop song that explores the themes of self-doubt and finding a way to muster the courage to find confidence in oneself. “Sometimes we get in the way of ourselves when pursuing our own goals or dreams. 'In My Bones' is about finally surrendering to the idea that you will achieve what your heart knows you are fully capable of achieving. It is essentially an anthem that celebrates overcoming self-doubt.”

The video that accompanies it is an ode to Waterloo Region that depicts many recognizable landmarks like the Spur Line Trail and Sunga even notes that he has had people try to name all of the places they recognize in the video. 

Sunga said that he hopes to complete the album by the end of the calendar year by producing several more songs. 

If you are interested in checking out some of his work, visit his YouTube channel.