Western music student enjoys record week
This has been quite a week for Mike Sonier. Nominations for Canada’s Juno Awards were released and Jully Black’s Set It Off was nominated for Best R&B/Soul Album of the Year. Sonier was the recording engineer for the track. Then Butterflies by Liz Coyles broke through the Top 40 charts. Sonier co-wrote and co-produced the song.
“I have been working with Liz since day one,” said Sonier. “I discovered her at Western Idol last year. I was a judge. I had asked Liz to work with me and then after working together for a bit, I brought her material with me to Canadian Music Week in Toronto where I connected with Ron Lopata, A&R at Warner Music Canada. He helped us get on our feet and set us off in the right direction. He has been a mentor to her and me.”
Sonier is a fourth-year Popular Music Studies student at the Don Wright Faculty of Music. He studies with Jay Hodgson, Robert Toft and Norma Coates.
“I do what I can because I am still learning,” said Sonier. “I have used a lot of these opportunities to grow and gain insight on how to improve at what I do.
Producing music is an extremely hard thing to do and I have only begun to scratch the surface of it. I am very proud of Liz and what we have accomplished as a team and I am excited to see what the future holds. Liz will be working with bigger producers/songwriters as her career grows and this is important for her as they can take her music to the place it needs to be. It is also important for me because I can learn from this and contribute my skills while I continue to grow at my craft.”
Black’s sound is described as R&B with futuristic beats. The multiple-Juno winner has opened for Kanye West in Singapore, performed for the Queen and headlined for the opening ceremonies of the 2010 Winter Olympics.
“It’s been quite a week indeed! It feels great to see success,” said Sonier. “However, I still feel humble and I know that I am far away from achieving what I really want to achieve in my field as a record producer. I have a lot of growing to do but I am happy with what I have accomplished in the last two to three years, having only started this journey when I began university.
At the end of this year, Sonier will graduate and move to Toronto to work for
Mike Turner of Our Lady Peace/Crash Karma). “I will continue to work with Liz and other bands/artists helping them develop their music and careers. It is hard to say what the future holds for me, but I plan to work hard and to keep improving at my craft.”
For media interviews, contact:
Mike Sonier at msonier2@uwo.ca
Dr. Jay Hodgson at jhodgs5@uwo.ca or 519-661-2111, ext. 84331
Media relations officer Janis Wallace at wallacej@uwo.ca or 519-661-3767
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