Grammy-nominated multidisciplinary artist Sean Leon invite fans into his immersive world, God’s Algorithm, with stops in Tokyo and Seoul.
“At its core, the project explores authorship and identity inside algorithmic systems — building something people can step into, not just consume” – Sean Leon
The Toronto area has produced its fair share of musical superstars over the past decade, with names Drake, The Weeknd, Jessie Reyez, and Justin Bieber. One of the names that is often forgotten and overlooked is Sean Leon, the Grammy-nominated multidisciplinary artist whose songwriting credits include collaborations with Ye (formerly Kanye West), including Jesus Is King, Donda, Donda 2, and Vultures 1, as well as Justin Bieber’s #1 Billboard hit “Peaches”.
God’s Algorithm
Refusing to be put in a box, Leon’s creativity extends beyond music to film and spatial design, all with the goal of creating immersive experiences for fans. Leon’s next creative feet? Building a world to which he can invite fans all over the world to enjoy. This world’s name is God’s Algorithm, “a long-term ecosystem of projects spanning music, physical space, and interactive systems — designed to scale across cities, audiences, and formats”.
Back in March, Leon released the God’s Algorithm album, a 10-song project where he experiments with different voice effects, sounds, and tempos.
From Toronto to the world
More recently God’s Algorithm would be expressed through a traveling exhibition titled SYSTEMS_001. It includes a floor-to-ceiling mural built from a 3D scan of his face, translated into a grid-based visual language, a playable game prototype built from that same system, a listening space where the album exists inside the world it belongs to, custom-built furniture, and “pixel” blocks extending the system physically. On the second day, the space was opened up to kids and adapted in real time.
“At its core, the project explores authorship and identity inside algorithmic systems — building something people can step into, not just consume”, he explains.
The exhibit started out in Tokyo before moving on to Seoul, with future stops planned for Berlin, Mexico City, Los Angeles, and Toronto. This global expression of his work was a necessary step after hitting a ceiling in his home town of Toronto. An unfortunate trend in Canada largest city.
New music
Despite traveling all over the world showcasing his work, Leon still has more on the way. He recently took to TikTok to preview an unreleased track tentatively titled “Third Date”. With over 146K views on the clip so far, it looks like he has another hit on his hands, and we’re not surprised.
Kevin Bourne is SHIFTER’s editor-in-chief and Senior Arts & Entertainment Reporter focusing on film & TV, music, and fashion. He was named one of 340 international voters for the Golden Globe Awards and a Tomatometer-Approved Critic by Rotten Tomatoes.
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