Dylan Sinclair Shares Breakout EP 'No Longer in the Suburbs'

Toronto R&B singer-songwriter Dylan Sinclair has released his breakout new EP, No Longer in the Suburbs, available to stream now on all digital platforms via The Orchard.

Listen to the 8-song coming-of-age record that finds the Toronto-based, Filipino-Guyanese artist stepping into his own as he transitions from teenager to young adult - remaining grounded, authentic, and aware that this is just the beginning.

The confessional EP includes previously released singles "Lifetime" and "Suppress" as well as new focus track "Open", which passionately lays a promise to be more reciprocal within a relationship.

Speaking on the release of his new EP, Sinclair shares, "No Longer in the Suburbs really represents the search for that stimulation, that faster life or those experiences that when you're old, you get to look back on them and be like, yeah, I did that and with people that I love."

Ranked one of Apple Music and Complex's R&B Artists to Watch this year, the 20-year-old JUNO-nominated singer has been handpicked as Spotify's latest RADAR Canada feature artist for the month of May. In support of his new EP, Dylan performs at The Lounge at Live Nation tomorrow for a JUNO Fest showcase presented by CBC Music and later this summer will be making his debut at the world's largest Jazz festival in Montréal alongside the biggest names in music on July 7th. Tickets here.

Freedom has its pains as much as it has its rewards. It's a concept that 20-year-old singer Dylan Sinclair is coming to terms with in his young career. Born and raised in Toronto, Sinclair has quickly seen success as a singer. In 2020, he released his second independent project, Proverb, which changed everything for him.

The following year it was nominated for Traditional R&B/Soul Recording of The Year at the 2021 JUNO Awards while also tallying 25 million streams since its release. This wasn't the first time Sinclair knew that success was possible. That came back in 2018 after he released his debut project, Red Like Crimson. He decided to hold a "little show slash art gallery" where he would promote the project, and to his surprise, more than 200 people showed up - all through word of mouth and Instagram posts.

Sinclair is a proud product of the music scene in his Toronto hometown. He credits the city's appreciation of "less poppy" sounds for making him the musician he is today. "We really appreciate the classics," he says about Toronto. "Even the artists out here, we're always trying to go for making something classic rather than something that's in."

Proverb, a gospel-influenced project inspired by work from Fred Hammond and Commissioned, certainly falls under that category. It's also inspired by Frank Ocean and Daniel Caesar, both of which influenced his alternative R&B direction while Caesar helped Sinclair see that success with his style of music as a Toronto native was indeed possible. "It was someone who came from where I came from and kind of had a similar background, musically, as well as what I had."

More of Sinclair's background is rooted in the church where he sang solos as a part of the choir from as young as five years old. It's also here that Sinclair, who is Filipino and Guyanese, cites his earliest interaction with music, that being the moment he sang with his grandfather and father for the first time. "In hindsight, I can look back and be like that was very special because it's not as often that I get to do that anymore," he says. For Sinclair, making music has always been a family thing, it circles back his "less poppy" approach, and it's one that's focused on chemistry, connection, and pure love.

"It was important to sing with your heart, Filipinos sing from the heart, they're very genuine people," Dylan says. "That was always a part of my music, even from a young age. My grandfather - I call him 'Lolo' - he'd be like, 'Yeah, I'm singing at church on Saturday, and I would love it if you'd sing this song with me." Nowadays, his family consists of his friends, homies, and people from church, all of which he truly desires to create music with.

These backgrounds as Sinclair once knew them are fading away or changing as he prepares to release his third independent project, No Longer in the Suburbs, out now via The Orchard. In its entirety, Sinclair's latest project is reflective of what was, acceptable of what is, and optimistic for what's next. While the project certainly signifies his departure from his suburban hometown to his present life in the city, No Longer in the Suburbs is also a leap of faith for Sinclair.

Leaving the suburbs and the protection and comfort that comes with it presents new freedoms with new risks and new dangers. It's all something that the young singer is ready to dive headfirst into. On one of the earliest lines on the new project, Sinclair sings, "To be free is to feel the pain, with no sense of fear / That's what I learned this past year." Freedom has its pains as much as it has its rewards, and at just 20 years old, Sinclair realizes it's all open how you look at it.

The adjustments to life outside the suburbs are alive on efforts like the EP's lead single "Suppress," which Sinclair admits is his attempt to comfort his girlfriend as she adjusts to his lifestyle as a growing star. "As a man, I want to be reassuring of the fact that yeah, there's all these girls around - but it's you," he notes. "A weak man will make a girl feel insecure and I don't want it to turn back to her if it's me that's the problem."

Elsewhere, EP focus track "Open" passionately lays a promise to be more reciprocal within a relationship while "If You Feel Like Leaving Me" reluctantly opens the door for his partner to leave if they are no longer satisfied with their love. With No Longer in the Suburbs, Sinclair not only adjusts to his new world, but his new world also becomes more accepting of him.

Listen to the new EP here:

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