Feature Friday: Quest

Can you tell me a little bit about your journey as a music producer?

I started in high school in the 90’s selling cassette mixtapes as a DJ, then I went to The Audio Recording Academy to learn the craft of audio engineering while learning the craft of beat making through my mentor Da Heala. In 2003, I started recording and producing albums of the local hip-hop community English and French. In 2009, I really started to develop my sound and brand as “Quest, the music producer”. I then developed my first brand called DFP (Delit de Fuite Production) from 2009 till 2019. In 2019 I changed up the brand to Dreamland Studios. I also gave an audio engineer/producer masterclass for Invest Ottawa that year. For 2 years, I have been the artistic director and co-producer for a festival called ‘’Homegrown / Cultivé ici’’. And now my latest venture is called SND*TRK.

What inspires you most?

Meeting creative humans and artists as well as the idea of creating something from scratch with them. Learning who they are and guiding them in their creative process. Seeing someone develop their passions in life, that for me is inspiring.

Your recent exhibition SND*TRK, is a big accomplishment. Can you tell us a little bit about the project?

This is my proudest moment of my career so far. It was a dream to do a photo exhibit one day! The project took 9 months to complete. I put together an exhibit of 25 portraits taken on film cameras (my dad's  camera from the 70s) and every portrait has an exclusive song attached to it via QR code, every song reflects the artists in the portrait. 

For now, you can only hear the songs by scannin the QR codes at the exhibit at L’Imagier in Gatineau (the exposition runs from September 16th, 2022 til October 16th, 2022) but the entire album of 25 songs will be available on all streaming platforms on October 17th, 2022. All the frames are second hand, the decor is inspired by the 90’s, which is why I took photos on film and all the songs were produced by me at Dreamland Studio. All this was possible with the help of Black Market Framework and funding from the City of Ottawa. To have the presence of my late friend Dip Black on it makes it even more special!

What is your vision for the future of the music industry in Ottawa?

My vision is to see more and more opportunities for local festivals to establish themselves, to see bigger and better platforms for local musicians to showcase their music, and top quality opportunities for local artists to learn and grow through workshops, networking, and events. I’d love to see Ottawa grow into a city known for its creative culture.

What are 3 of your favorite songs by Ottawa artists? 

 Wow hard to pick only 3 songs but I’ll try 😆 haha

Bounce - Dip Black

Answer - Dominique Gorley

Roll Deep- Asuquomo