Perfect for the car ride home
Ambassador for the 2015 Pan Am games is one of the many roles musician Fito Blanko will be juggling in the coming months. The 31-year-old Canadian artist is busy promoting his new hit single, “All Night Long,” has a European tour in the works and just completed filming a music video for “Meneo” on the Furious 7 soundtrack. The Post’s Teddy Wilson spoke to Fito about his, er, fast ascent:
Q You first made the scene with your 2004 album Higher Level. How has the music industry evolved since then?
A Back then everything was analog, even the whole recording process. Digital was just starting to break in. I remember going into the studio with 10 musicians to record an album. Nowadays, it’s so much easier to record the same quality music just because everything is digital.
Q From a marketing standpoint it has changed, too …
A There is more accessibility for the artist. Artists can be a little more personal with their audience. If you follow me on Instagram you know that I love cooking. I think social media has been helpful for the artist to connect in different levels with their audience.
Q You were born in Panama, lived in Montreal, and moved to Mississauga as a kid. What music did you grow up to?
A In Panama, I grew up listening to a lot of Latin reggae, salsa, merengue and Latin pop music. [Panama] is a mixture of cultures, so we have our own little flavour and I think that was my major influence growing up. Once I came to Toronto, that’s when I started getting into hip-hop and R&B. I remember listening to Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Wu-Tang Clan.
Q You have collaborated with artists including Drake. How do you choose collaborators and how do the songs develop?
A Everything happens organically. You meet somebody, you vibe with them and you just end up making music. [With Drake], we met through a mutual friend and we’ve always kept in touch and one day we bumped into each other at a restaurant and in a couple weeks he was in the studio and we recorded [“Mambo”].
Q Your song is in the Furious 7 film and soundtrack. How did that come about?
A We recorded “Meneo” about a year ago and it was always a song I liked. My management team reached out to the producers of the movie and we submitted the record. They considered the record and then eventually they gave us the green light a few months ago. Sometimes things just happen. All I can do as an artist is just continue to make music and putting it in the hands of the right people.
Q So maybe we’ll see a Fito cameo in the eighth installation of the Fast and Furious franchise?
A Anything is possible. I need to sharpen up on my acting, but I’m not too far off. I went to a dramatic arts school.