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Dorothea Paas is a Canadian singer-songwriter from Toronto, Ontario.[1] Her debut album Anything Can't Happen was a longlisted nominee for the 2021 Polaris Music Prize.[2] [3]
Paas was raised in Toronto, Ontario where she was raised singing in choirs and playing guitar in a church group.[4] Paas has released a number of EPs since 2012.[5] A self-taught songwriter, her writing was influenced by her religious upbringing and popular music heard on the radio.
Although she has often resisted active self-promotion, she successfully built up a career as a backing vocalist for musicians such as Jennifer Castle and U.S. Girls.[5] Anything Can't Happen, which features Paul Saulnier of PS I Love You on bass guitar, has been described by critics as "Joni Mitchell fronting Shellac at a coffee shop".[6]
In addition to her solo career, she has also performed as a guest vocalist with Badge Époque Ensemble,[7] and as vocalist and guitarist with Marker Starling.[8]
Paas has also had occasional roles as a film actress, most notably in Kazik Radwanski's films How Heavy This Hammer and Anne at 13,000 Ft.[5]