Cheryl Wong Vancouver Fashion Week’s official music producer, Loig Morin, speaks about his experience as a passionate creator and his long journey to a new life from France to Canada.
“I had a normal life in France even if my music business was going down… but people like to keep you under the water, they are afraid of their own immobility, they don’t want you to be happy [nor] to have your dream come true.”
Morin’s musical life started seriously during his teenage years, when he was struggling to find happiness. He found a connection with the art of music, a safe place where he could feel comfortable and an outlet where he could express his inner emotions and thoughts. To him, music wasn’t simply combinations of different tones and melodies, it was his oxygen.
“The first time I heard Boys Don’t Cry from The Cure was a shock and more after that with The Smiths and New Order. I think New Order is one of my biggest influences. Music was for me the only way to stay alive, to keep fighting against the sadness of my teenage years. “
After realizing his love for music and sound production, he was able to create powerful music that engages with the audience in complicated ways. He describes his music as “the mix between something really happy and something really sad and nostalgic”.
Morin says that the hardest thing about moving to Canada is that he had to start again from scratch, especially with a language barrier, it is even more difficult to rebuild everything here; in addition to homesickness and missing his dear friends back home.
“But my wife is wonderful and she gave me the power to fight in my new life… Canadians are [also] so welcoming and opportunity happens everyday here if you are ready to accept them”.
The opportunity working with Vancouver Fashion Week then came in 2013, when he was a DJ at the Shangri La Hotel Vancouver, where he met Jamal Abdourahman, founder of VFW.
“[Jamal] loved my mixes and he told me that several times. Then one day he proposed to me to be the music producer of VFW. It was a magical day! I was so happy to start this new adventure.”
At VFW, Morin’s job is to produce tracks for designers to use for their runway shows. His process starts with making connections with designers directly if possible, learning about their works and studying hours about their collections. He tries to really understand their styles and what they want. Morin produces three music samples for each designer to choose from. The designer would then pick one and he would develop it into a real track.
As a musician essentially working in the fashion industry, he says the hardest thing is to “stay connected with the time”.
“Sometimes you want to say ‘ok stop, I like the 80’s New Wave and I don’t want to try discovering anything new’. It’s the biggest mistake that you can make. You need to stay connected, always. It’s tiring because today you have so much [music] releases but the quality is the same as in the 80’s, a lot of good music and a lot of bad musicians, or music producers.”
Morin’s life in Canada has definitely improved a lot since the beginning of his career in France. He has a lovely wife and two children and during the pandemic, they have been spending a lot more intimate time together as a family. This period has also allowed him to have an introspection, and he has managed to record one of his best albums ever!
For the second time, he has been nominated for best sound, mixing, recording, arrangements, producing at the Francophone Juno!
We wish Loig Morin the best of luck and can’t wait to see what he has to show us at the VFW FW21 in April.
If you wish to follow his journey, he can be found on Instagram: @loigmorin
