Perseverance is the price of admission in the music business. You think landing a major deal is tough? Try picking up the pieces after your label dumps you. Tariq (pronounced Tarr-ick) has weathered his share of self-doubt and disappointment since being released from his contract with EMI Music Canada in the late 1990s. The Calgary musician has also managed to come back with an alarmingly good CD that is a credit to both talent and personal fortitude.
While You’re Down There, Tariq’s third album, is an assured, modern-sounding record that embellishes his singer/songwriter roots with contemporary beats, loops, and sonic textures. The vocals are stronger, more dynamic than anything he has done to date, and the level of songcraft has risen like a thermometer in July.
Many of the gains can be attributed to the fact that while Tariq penned his first two records alone, his new disc is built almost entirely of co-writes. EMI pointed Tariq down the path to collaboration by setting him up with renowned pop tunesmith Jules Shear (Aimee Mann, Cyndi Lauper, The Bangles). The success of that match-up led directly to other pairings with L.A writers such as Charlotte Caffey (The GoGos), Richard Feldman (Eric Clapton, Shakespeare’s Sister), and Christopher Ward (Alannah Myles, Amanda Marshall). Tariq also wrote in Canada with Tom Cochrane, Chris Burke Gaffney, Andrew Cash, Ben Dunk and others. It was a crash course in creative confluence, and Tariq was happily braced for the impact it would have on his songwriting.
“When EMI suggested I try some co-writing, it sounded like a good idea”, he recalls, “Because frankly, it gets kind of tiresome just being the one guy coming up with everything. Sometimes you feel like, God, I could really use some input or companionship, for lack of a better word. I viewed it as a cool opportunity to work with some new people and learn some new things.”
As for the EMI experience, Tariq insists he has “no hard feelings. I learned a lot from being there. It didn’t work out in the end, but that’s just the way it goes sometimes. It let me see how records are sold from the inside and now, as an independent, I’m taking the same approach and applying the same philosophy. We sold almost 10 000 copies of The Basement Songs [1997], which obviously wasn’t enough by EMI’s standards, but if I sell 10 000 copies of this record on my own, I’ll be happy”.
With the album now out in Canada through Page Distribution, Tariq’s sights are firmly focused on the business side of his career. At press time he was shopping for new management and a U.S. label deal. “Maybe it’s one of those things where the more I get done on my own, the more management will be interested because they’ll see what I’ve accomplished,” he says hopefully. And while hope may not pay an artist’s bills, it’s a pre-requisite when it comes to persevering.
Christopher Jones, SOCAN Words & Music Magazine, 2001