Leaving his position as a CEO and the corporate world behind to pursue a career in music was a risk for Damian Ardestani, but after hearing his haunting debut EP (released under the stage name XOV), we’re willing to bet that risk will pay off handsomely. Profile after the jump!

It’s hard to believe that a group of strangers who met through Craigslist could mesh so seamlessly, but Cai.ro, with its unique brand of orchestral folk that is quite simply a music supervisor’s dream, is proof that it can happen. Profile after the jump!

From earning a mentoring session with Train’s Pat Monahan to receiving multiple sync placements on “The Voice,” Viv And The Revival has been racking up accolades left, right, and center. Profile after the jump!

Having shifted his focus to production and songwriting after spending time as a competition DJ and hip-hop artist, Gordon “Hump” Humphrey is now part of the team developing J.Trill, one of the most exciting emerging artists on the scene. Profile after the jump!

Music has taken Alanna Clarke on a far-reaching journey from her small hometown of Cochrane, Alberta to various Canadian cities, Turkey, and most recently, Los Angeles. Profile after the jump!

When we first heard Ian Kaine MacGregor’s “That Was Then,” we could have sworn that we were listening to an unreleased Katy Perry song. And that’s all it took to convince us that you could put him in a studio with the best of them. Profile after the jump!

Need a songwriter? Producer? Engineer? Vocalist? Vocal arranger? Look no further than Lauren D’Elia. The renaissance woman has proven to be an asset at all stages of the production process. Profile after the jump!

After falling in love with the electronic music scene, Montreal’s Vista Cruiser traded in its pop/punk ways for a party music sound and a neon-infused ivy league style that encourage listeners to let loose and not take life too seriously. Profile after the jump!

Who says that college parties lend themselves to nothing more than tomfoolery? It was through Yale’s party scene that PAZ, who never wanted his shows to include lulls, began blending songs together like a DJ would to keep the audience engaged, thereby developing his signature mashup sound — a sound that has helped him build one of the strongest online fan bases of any unsigned artist out there right now. Profile after the jump!

Drake and The Weeknd put Toronto on the map as a hip-hop and R&B hotbed. If there’s anyone who can do the same for the city with respect to country music, it’s 18-year-old singer/songwriter Maddy Rodriguez. Profile after the jump!