None of us would be profound for stating how the word “hustle” is synonymous with creativity. For years, this has felt like a default setting: where if you “want to make it,” then you need to also be willing to throw your all into it. But what happens when the unsustainable aspect of that becomes crystal clear to us? Well, that’s when a person like Desirée Dawson comes in. A supremely talented singer-songwriter from Vancouver, Desirée has experienced firsthand how soul-draining the chase of music industry success can be. A field that demands that artists to think about their work as “content” above….well, pretty much everything.

For the last several years, Desirée has been asking herself, “But what if?” And that “what if” has led her on a journey of choosing herself, her health, and being present for the people she cares about the most. We chat about all this and more on today’s episode, along with how Desirée’s path can be an actionable one.

Remember to follow @creativemainpod on ⁠Instagram⁠ for more updates on the pod! (intro song is Cassette Player by Rebecca Mardal).

It’s actually trippy when you stop to think about it, how the pandemic lockdowns are something we all went through, and while trying to make sense of it all, we’re also trying to act like it never happened. And who can blame any of us, right? For diving headfirst into the return of normalcy (lol) in everyday life. But this is where art, the very function of art, is so vital. It can drive us to reach some form of understanding towards what we’ve gone through, and inadvertently, that’s what my friend Shura has done with her latest album, I Got Too Sad For My Friends.

Beyond having the most relatable title of 2025, it’s also one of the year's most ambitious albums. You can hear the love of sonic textures from the ’60s and '80s while also hearing Shura’s obsession with crafting unique melodies. There’s a beautiful juxtaposition across this album, where there’s a sense of modernity you can feel across the songs that’s being projected by so many of the things we’ve felt but rarely say out loud. How we can all relate to significant moments of feeling isolated, heartbroken, lonely, and confused at what the world has hurled at us. Somehow, we chat about all this and more, along with how Shura acquired that sick armor for the album artwork.

One thing that happens as we age is the deterioration of our sense of whimsy and openness. One can look around at the political landscape of…well, anywhere in the world, and that alone would seem like a sound reason as to why this happens. But maybe there’s something deeper, something innate within us that dims our light? Luckily for us, they’re people out there who go the opposite way and remind us of what’s possible when we allow for imagination to shine. Our guest today, Tala Schlossberg, is such a person — a multidisciplinary creative who is the kind of artist that reminds you to reconnect with that inner child (you seriously need to check out her illustrations and animated works). Tala’s built a career that aligns with her values of community, being kinder to one another, and having her work rooted with intention.

But getting to this point hasn’t been as easy as it looks. What is it really like to say “no” to things that you’d be led to believe you should say “yes” to? How does that impact your creativity as a whole? These are just a few of the areas we explore with Tala on today’s podcast. Also, on June 27th, Tala will be hosting an art show called EXPLATIONS at 195 Plymouth Street in Brooklyn. Visit her Instagram to RSVP, and also be sure to check out her Substack.

Remember to follow @creativemainpod on Instagram for more updates on the pod! (intro song is Cassette Player by Rebecca Mardal).

I don’t think I’m breaking new ground by stating how we can all be biased when it comes to our friends right? Thankfully, I can say that’s not the case with today’s guest, my buddy Max Kerman, frontman of the Canadian rock band Arkells. You see, Max has written and released his first book, Try Hard: Creative Work in Progress (out now through Penguin Random House), and it’s actually insane just how much I love this book. Across the pages, Max hits home the sentiment that the work that goes into crafting albums, arena tours, and football half-time shows….actually aren’t too far off from well, any creative endeavor, really.

That creativity isn’t something isolated to just a small few select “talented” people, and there are numerous ways in which you can not only be creative in your work, but in your day-to-day life as well. We chat about all this and more on the first summer bonus episode before season 10 (which starts this September).

In all honesty, I didn’t expect the first episode of Creative Maintenance to feature… well, me! But considering I talked Laura into doing this, it only felt fair haha. In case you missed the trailer we dropped, Creative Maintenance is a new series I’ve produced with my friend Laura Harvey, a photographer based in Vancouver who wants to have an honest dialogue about how we work. Across anonymous submissions, we chat with guests about the trials and tribulations of trying to build a career that you can be proud of, while also navigating the headf*ck of being a human being.

Getting to build this series with Laura has been a beautiful experience, and being the first guest feels like a colossal honour. It also feels serendipitous, because my attitudes and approach towards work have shifted so much in the last few years, especially in the aftermath of the pandemic years we all went through. I rarely get to talk about that, and Laura did such a brilliant job at making me feel comfortable enough to share these thoughts. Be sure to follow @creativemainpod on Instagram for more updates on the pod! (intro song is Cassette Player by Rebecca Mardal).

When it came to the season finale for season 9, I admittedly overthought things. But as our world delved deeper into darkness, I kept finding myself thinking of how I wanted to leave you with a sense of hope. That led me to having Valerie June on, an American singer-songwriter/multi-instrumentalist who lives an extraordinary life. Valerie is an artist who’s very driven by people; learning from people, connecting with strangers both on stage and off. That curiosity has been a mainstay of her life, and that sense of whimsy is all over her latest album, ‘Owls, Omens and Oracles’ (which is out now). On this episode, I chat with Valerie about the vitality of seeing hope in others and why we need to always allow room to play in our lives.

Also, in case you missed the announcement: I’ll be launching a new series on June 9th with my dear friend Laura Harvey. That series is called Creative Maintenance, and the talks on there will reflect how so many of the disappointing experiences we have at work are a lot more universal than we often think. Episodes of that will be out all throughout the summer, along with season 10 of The New Exchange starting in September.

Before we wrap season 9, I’m happy to announce Creative Maintenance with Laura Harvey, a new mini-series I’ve produced. Laura is a ridiculously talented British-Chinese photographer based in Vancouver who deeply cares about community.

Creative Maintenance is a series about just that: highlighting how, as working creatives, we vitally need a sense of community. The format of the show is we take anonymous submissions from our peers about times in which they felt undervalued, where projects they’ve put so much of themselves into never saw the light of day. Together, we chat about these submissions, along with a guest for each episode, all to show how so many of the problems we face at work are more universal than we think.

The first episode will be out on Monday, June 9th. Be sure to follow Laura over on Instagram at laurahphoto and to visit her website to learn more about her and her work (Intro song is Cassette Player by Rebecca Mardal - from Epidemic Sound)

The dancefloor is a sacred place, and no one knows this better than Pierre Kwenders. The Congolese-Canadian artist has made a name for himself by being a daring creative who isn’t afraid to dig deep to make you move. A few years back, he was awarded the prestigious Polaris Music Prize for his project, José Louis and the Paradox of Love, a wildly ambitious album where Pierre sings in multiple languages (Lingala, Tshiluba, and Kikongo to name a few) and fuses various genres to create something completely new. His latest offering is still ambitious but in a much more intimate context; it’s an EP titled Tears on the Dancefloor.

This new body of work explores how unique dance music is and the spaces in which it’s celebrated. How to dance amongst strangers is innately an intimate and vulnerable thing to do, and in essence, is you seeking connection amongst others. It’s a strikingly emotional collection of bangers, and together Pierre and I chat about the qualities that makes dance music uniquely special.