Demsky

Toronto born producer Demsky has been creating contemplative, downtempo electronica within deeply personal soundscapes for more than a decade. What started as a small-scale endeavour for the artist has now been turned into an internationally touring project, featured at festivals like Wonderfruit in Thailand and Echoes of Earth in India.

Demsky grew up playing as part of the jam circuits of Canada, but his relocation to Tokyo presented him with the chance to bring his sound to new areas. In addition to previous live sets in Europe he’s now performed across Asia, including sessions in Malaysia, Taiwan, and Singapore. Naturally the project has spread to numerous events in Japan, including SentoSensations, a festival co-founded by Demsky that has seen support from AiAiAi Audio and Baird Brewing. SentoSensations has been a gathering point for alternative artists such as Lullatone and Kin Leonn, hosting them at the unique venue of Tokyo’s oldest bath house.

Capturing the desired sounds in these diverse and often unconventional venues has been challenging, pushing Demsky to be more adaptable and flexible with the library of music he’s created. The key element of every event that has shaped his live sets, however, has always been the audience. Underlying the elevation of transitions, solos, and artist advice, Demsky recognises that the crowd is his point of reference.

Demsky’s latest album is As Your Heart Beats, released by Tanukineiri Records on both vinyl and digital, and accompanied by an online documentary that details elements of performance and conception. The release is deeply inspired by the work of philosopher Alan Watts, and his observation on how life unfolds ahead of us with each heartbeat. This sense of our existence being a fundamentally organic, instinctive process was thrown into sharp relief for Demsky as he saw friends in Poland move to support those affected by the war in Ukraine, intuitively adjusting their priorities. With a great deal of the album recorded while on tour in Poland and Czechia, As Your Heart Beats considers the differences in what’s important to global societies, mindful of the challenges and the rhythmic pace at which we continue to understand our world.

In the coming year Demsky appears set to dedicate time to the production of a new album. Potentially, we might see a double release that delves separately into ambient driven concepts while also rediscovering his earlier explorations into downtempo. Later in 2025 Demsky returns to touring, in collaboration with the independent label Reset Networks. His current plans are to cross South Japan, Malaysia, Bali, Thailand, and India.