husbandmaterial.ca
A Life Lived in Polyrhythm.
My musical DNA is a map of my migrations. From my roots in Zimbabwe and South Africa, to my time teaching International Baccalaureate music programs in China, Thailand, and Peru, I have been a student of the world and its musical traditions.The East: Integrating Chinese and Indian classical traditions and Indonesian Gamelan into modern structures.
The South: Harnessing the polyrhythmic drive of African drumming and the syncopation of Brazilian Samba.
The West: Refiltering the Great American Songbook through the lens of a Francophile English speaker, living in Quebec.
husbandmaterial.ca
Pedagogy and Performance
For over 14 years, I have navigated the beauty and structures of sound, first as a music educator across four continents, and now as a strategic creator. My work as husbandmaterial is not a departure from my history in educational technology and consulting; it is the culmination of it. I create music that embraces the beauty of the unpolished while maintaining the precision of masterful composition. This is 'Home Clothes': the sound of a professional letting go, without ever losing the beat.
husbandmaterial.ca
International Collaboration
The 'Home Clothes' project is a Transatlantic Collaboration between my Montreal-based studio and a veteran music producer in London, UK. This partnership serves as a strategic bridge for the export of Canadian art and more importantly, my music!By merging my local Quebecker perspective with a London-based production engine, we are aiming for global market access. This professional collaboration ensures that every piece is finalised to an international industry standard, ready for placement on both sides of the Atlantic.
husbandmaterial.ca
Album: Home Clothes
Home Clothes is a reimagining of the Great American Songbook. The title refers to the intimate ritual of shedding the outside world; changing into comfortable clothes, pouring a glass of wine, and letting the day’s energy dissipate through movement and melody.The album is a Digital-Analog hybrid where 18th-century J.S. Bach concertos, found sounds and polyrhythms are spliced with Jazz Manouche standards. These are layered with:
- Rich, unpolished harmonies that prioritize character over perfection.
- Virtuosic violin ad-libs and warm ukulele melodies.
- A global pulse and rhythmic foundation to get you dancing.Inspired by the "Tableau-style" scoring of Cristobal Tapia De Veer (The White Lotus) and the raw, genre-shifting transitions of Mr. Bungle, the production embraces a wabi-sabi philosophy. It avoids the over-sanitized feel of modern jazz, opting instead for a gritty, "lo-fi chic" sound reminiscent of a Zimbabwean rock studio or a Tiny Desk Concert. It sounds like a memory; sometimes scratchy, always intimate, and vibrantly alive.
husbandmaterial.ca
About
Quinten Sheriff is a Montreal-based singer, musician, multidisciplinary visual artist, storyteller, and community change agent. Under his musical moniker, husband material, he creates music for the grounded soul, specialising in stripping jazz, swing, and soulful classics back to their melancholic roots and then combining this with afrobeats and house elements. Drawing from a rich global history of navigating human stories across six different countries, his performances are steady, authentic, and undeniably real.His musical footprint is heavily informed by his multi-layered artistic journey. Quinten's distinct creative perspective was featured in Diversité Artistique Montréal’s flagship publication, TicArtToc Magazine, highlighting his evolution as an artist building a permanent home in Quebec. His visual art career spans solo and group exhibitions across multiple continents, ranging from public murals in Lima, Peru, to structural showcases at the prestigious Saatchi Art international registry, and formal exhibitions at the luxury Sheraton pavilion in Tianjin, China, as well as galleries in Chiang Mai, Thailand and Lima, Peru.In Canada, Quinten seamlessly bridges the worlds of high-fidelity performance and systemic arts advocacy. He has been project manager for the ArtistsInspire Grants (AIG) program, a federal initiative under the Action Plan for Official Languages designed to connect professional artists with English public schools across Quebec. His work frequently addresses the vital intersections of youth creativity, creative expression, and community equity.Originally from Zimbabwe, Quinten has spent his life navigating diverse global geographies. He holds a formal Bachelor’s Degree in Music and English from the University of South Africa (UNISA), a Master of Educational Technology from Concordia University, a Master of Science from the State University of New York (SUNY), and an Attestation of College Studies (ACS) in Web and Graphic Design in Montreal. A deep believer in wellness and structural alignment, he has also studied traditional alignment philosophies in India, bringing a centered, grounded approach to both his somatic practices and his musical arrangements.Quinten's conversational, soulful baritone delivery strips away contemporary hype, offering an exploration of what it means to keep dancing through the seasons of life. He sits on the Education Sectoral Table for the Provincial Employment Roundtable (PERT) and continues to advocate for English-language arts infrastructure within Quebec while expanding the Husband Material universe across Canada and international markets.