Montreal Grammy-winner Jennifer Gasoi is known for her jazz-based children’s songs, but what some may not know is that she’s a big hockey fan — and as the Habs face elimination, she hopes her new song will help keep the city’s hockey spirit alive.
“My goal is to bring joy, love, feeling of community, light and inspiration through my music,” she told CityNews. “I think this piece does that.”
The two-time Juno-nominated singer/songwriter explained that she actually wrote the song “The Game in Canada’s Heart” back in 2013. This was for a competition looking for the nation’s next great hockey hit.
“I wrote this song but I never submitted it,” said Gasoi.
Fast forward 13 years, she found herself going through old demos on her computer and stumbled upon this piece.
“I listened and was quite moved by it,” she said. “Totally forgot I wrote this.”
Gasoi sent the song to her friend, who encouraged her to share it with the public.
But with the demo not of good enough quality, she called another friend— Montrealer Henri Oppenheim— and said, “can you record a song for me tomorrow morning?” He said “yes.”
“We recorded it out in two hours,” explained Gasoi. “Then I called my friend Ezra Soiferman and asked if he wanted to collaborate and create a photo video of the song. And can he do this in one day so we can get it out before the next Habs game?”
“I’d been wandering the streets shooting Habs flags and Habs iconography around town, knowing I had to do something with the images to add my two cents to the Habs fever fray,” said Soiferman when he responded to Gasoi’s request. “And then out of the blue you sent me that beautiful, powerful song and it all clicked.“
Montreal musician Jennifer Gasoi and her father at the Grammys. (Submitted by: Jennifer Gasoi)
Gasoi has been especially inspired by the Habs this season, but her love for the sport began back when she used to go to Canucks games with her dad, Ivan, in Vancouver.
“Always and ever a Habs fan,” he told CityNews.
The award-winning musician dreams of one day re-recording the song with the entire Montreal Canadiens team singing along.
But for now, she hopes the tune helps them make their way to a 25th Stanley Cup.
“It just all aligned,” said Gasoi. “And the best part is it’s been a blast to create!”
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