[Cover photo credit to Thomas Fontaine]

Montreal-based Indie Alternative artist and producer Koko Love has shared his debut album, The Cost of Freedom, out now after previously being sold only on Bandcamp and vinyl. Alongside the full album, the artist previews his live show with select tracks performed live in a Montreal basement-turned-venue Late Valentine.

Before bringing it to streaming to increase accessibility, the album “lived in the real world first”, was played live and sold by hand at shows. On the importance of physical media and the live music experience in the ever-changing digital landscape, Love shares:

Physical media matters to me because it slows things down. In a world that feels oversaturated and disposable, I think people, artists and listeners alike, are craving tangible things and real-life experiences–vinyl, CDs, shows, face-to-face moments.

This project is as much about that feeling as it is about the songs themselves. Lyrically and sonically, it came from a very honest place, and letting it live this way felt like the most truthful way to put it out.

The writing of the title track brought the project together and captures the musician’s lived experiences.

Reflecting on its meaning, Love says:

I was thinking about how all good things come at a cost. Even freedom. Freedom is paradoxical. It liberates, yet it demands immense discipline, and it can even be paralyzing at times. Freedom isn’t free.

Produced by himself, and musician and close friend and collaborator, Soran Dussaigne, the album was a “team effort.”

Koko Love has spent the last year on tour in the U.S. and Canada with R&B/soul artist Kyle Dion after producing multiple tracks across his last two projects. In addition to working and touring with Dion, Love has collaborated with artists like Chiiild, Medasin and Souly Had and shared stages with Laundry Day, Renforshort and Soran.