Music

Road to Polaris: Zaki Ibrahim on 'Every Opposite'

by Sam Sutherland

Zaki Ibrahim’s “Every Opposite” could be the year’s most surprising inclusion on the Polaris Music Prize short list. Not because of its sound, which is both bravely futuristic and classically soulful, but its atypical route to visibility. Originally released only in Ibrahim’s current home base of South Africa, “Every Opposite” has found its way to Canadian ears via word of mouth and an online release, carried by an enthusiastic swell for its unique globe-trotting R&B aesthetic and Ibrahim’s rich vocal layering. At one point a major-label backed artist based out of Toronto, Ibrahim decamped to her father’s native South Africa following her last release, 2008’s “Eclectica (Episodes in Purple)” EP, then quietly built “Every Opposite while traveling between Cape Town, London, and Toronto.