Joshua Banks Premieres His Performance Video for “OPO” feat. Vocalist Hazel Cavida

As a musician, you have your whole life to release your first proper album, so you had better come through, and Joshua Banks has. The talented, Edmonton-based pianist just released his debut recording project, Para Sayo, on May 16th. Of the many highlights on the record is “OPO,” an expansive, impressive collaboration between Banks and vocalist Hazel Cavida.

Today is the debut of the composition’s official music video, which, in essence, is a behind-the-scenes look at the many moving parts that come together to make this song whole. The video offers an idea of how all the musical components function together to achieve the overall goal. That collaborative dynamic is really what got, not just the song, but the album as a whole, over the finish line.

Discussing the cultural inspirations for this song, Banks says:

When you, as the child, are born within the geographic range of any culture that isn’t your parental heritage, there can come some dissonance that comes from examining your home life under the lens of these opposing cultural upbringings. The gap of cultural history and experience have certainly lead me to disagreement with my parents, or to feel like I’m not being supported as much as I think I crave to. However, I’ve realized in my adult life that my parents ARE giving me support as best as they can, though order to give the support a parent may dream to give their child, I think my parents have almost felt obligated to find a way to relinquish the “credit” of their own support to me and give it to someone (such as my brother, for example) who can deliver that supportive message filtered through the lens of my own cultural upbringing. My hope is that, in listening to “Opo,” individuals who have a positive relationship with their parents can resonate with the idea that, sometimes, the strain that exists in those relationships can come from trying to navigate invisible sociocultural divide, as opposed to any truly personal conflict. And it’s important to have empathy for what could be our parent’s struggle to adapt to the dominant culture in trying to offer us what they consider to be a better life.

Commenting on what he hopes listeners take away from the song, Banks shares:

“My hope is that, in listening to ‘Opo,’ individuals who have an ultimately positive relationship with their parents can not only read the greater multicultural context presented in the bilingual lyric, but can also resonate with the idea that, sometimes, the strain that exists in those relationships can come from trying to navigate that sometimes invisible sociocultural divide. And it’s important to have empathy for what could be our parents’ struggle to adapt to the dominant culture in trying to offer us what they consider to be a better life.”

With a recording project as vast as Para Sayo, you can imagine that it took its time. Which it did, as the album was recorded over the course of two full years. Banks carefully refined the recordings until he was fully pleased with how they moulded together. Banks comes from an impressive background, which illustrates that he has really put the necessary work into not only understanding jazz, but also being a force for it. He has extensively studied the sounds of illustrious Asian pianists like Hiromi Uehara, Kie Katagi, and Nahre Sol. With years of study and experience, Banks was able to craft an album featuring a distinctive fusion of styles. With the album, his hope is not just to put out a quality work, but also to help expand the presence of Asian-inspired jazz in North American music, which can be too easily overlooked.

Joshua Banks ‘Para Sayo’ album artwork