"My lesson [to share from my experience] is to team up and collaborate with different people with far interests than yours that can support knowledge in areas that you have weaknesses"
We are a community of people in every profession and sector using music to create more value in towns and cities all over the world. In the special series #InConversationWith, we talk to accomplished members of our community and uncover their journey.
This story features Steven Dagenais, President, hinter.live; Market Coordinator, MUTEK; Curator, Mundial Montreal.
Profile at a Glance
Full Name: Steven Dagenais Narvaez
City, Country: Montreal, Canada
Work Profile/Designation: President, hinter.live; Market Coordinator, MUTEK; Curator, Mundial Montreal.
Notable previous work: Member of different eco-responsibilities committees in Montréal, including Conseil québécois des événements eco-responsables, the EcoLab from Société des arts et technologiques, MUTEK, Artistes citoyens en tournée.
Steven and his project hinter.live are one of the applicants of the Music Cities Awards. Join us for the Awards Ceremony of the Music Cities Awards as part of the upcoming Hunstville Music Cities Convention (18-20 Oct). Learn all about the Music Cities Awards and their applicants here.
Tell us a bit about yourself, your career and the many projects that you've been involved in these past couple of years.
My name is Steven Dagenais Narvaez and I'm a music producer, curator and creative industries developer. Ecuadorian born and currently based in Montréal QC, my music and productions have been featured for music scores, sound design for film, TV, media art, installations, theater and radio.
My background comes from creative industries business development and international relations for arts summits in Canada, US and Latin America including MUTEK Montréal, Mundial Montréal, Canadian Music Week. I recently launched non profit and web series that planted over 8.000 trees via live music called hinter live.
Currently I host a monthly residence at the online radio n10.as showcasing the work of music producers and Djs from the latinx diaspora. I also supports the streams for Shiftradio and Club Sagacité, two non profit collectives working on culture and music
Which would you say it’s your main project right now? For those who aren’t familiar, please describe it and talk a little bit about it.
It's hard for me to have one main project. I have made peace with the fact that I'm constantly stimulated by the work of my friends, the festivals I work for and my personal life. But I'm very excited this year for Tigresse Milk that started as my Radio Show in N10.as, then The Lot Radio and this summer I'll present it at Rinse France. Now more collectives such as Flat Cola, DJs for Climate Action and the culture around food is coming together for sustainable practices. We recently hosted an event with She Said So Montreal and our company hinter live for the international event Earth Night that is celebrated in so many countries around the globe with friends, colleagues, food and music. It has been quite a challenge to pursue a project that champions the climate crisis from the music industry that is already a risky and unstable business, but it's rooted in community so it makes it worth continuing to explore this vision.
How does your work impact the music ecosystem of your city? Do you have any milestones that you’d like to share?
I think it comes with small contributions. I have been privileged to participate in different eco-responsibilities committees in Montréal, which are are having a great impact in the music and environmental aspects of urban life including Conseil québécois des événements eco-responsables, the EcoLab from Société des arts et technologiques, MUTEK, Artistes citoyens en tournée and also with our work at hinter. It has been great to be able to take part, and create spaces for these organizations to meet, share knowledge and discuss new ways of practicing our work with critical mindset.
What is the main challenge that you've faced in your work supporting the music ecosystem? Do you have any valuable lessons to share from that experience?...
To read the full interview, network with Steven Dagenais & our 1800+ global members, and getting a chance to be featured as part of our #inconversationwith series, join the Music Cities Community!
Do you want to keep up to date with everything related to Music Cities Events and Music Cities topics? Then we invite you to also subscribe to our monthly newsletter.
About hinter.live:
Filmed in the wild, hinter live is a new live music content that aims to be the crossroads between environmentalism and live music. It launched a year long campaign of live performances shot in different National Parks across Canada, each session plants over 500 trees in forest in need by the NGO "One Tree Planted." We encourage you to follow and support their work here.