Our Dream Team
The people you find, choose, trust and keep creating with. A chosen family of artists building something together—making room for each other’s wild ideas, different paths, next chapters, and the ongoing conversation that lets it keep changing. We are on thick ice with one another…
Cindy Doire
Cindy Doire is an award-winning bilingual singer-songwriter, psychotherapist, creative producer, and founder of Dare to Defy Records. With more than two decades as a recording and touring artist, her work has grown to explore what’s possible when artists build differently—with more agency, collaboration, and creative freedom.
She is also the founder of Chorus of Courage. This collaborative songwriting project brings artists and communities together to transform lived experience into song and amplify stories too often unheard.
Dare to Defy grew from that same spirit. Cindy brings an artist-first perspective shaped by years inside the music industry and a belief that meaningful careers can be built with more humanity, imagination and connection. At its heart, she is building more than a label — she is building an artist-led community where people champion one another, take creative risks and make work that matters.
Artist/Instigator/Activist
Mirror Mirror
Lisa Iwanycki, known artistically as Mirror Mirror, is a composer, sonic artist and producer whose work explores the healing possibilities of sound. The music of Mirror Mirror is a delicate layering of choirs, glass bells, pizzicato violin and contrabass. Lisa is the audio producer and composer of The Sonic Vessel, creating immersive headphone transmissions that ignite out-of-body experiences. She also arranged choir music for a 40-speaker installation called HUM, which is currently installed in Copenhagen and Genoa. A remarkably versatile musician and visionary artist, Lisa brings a rare sensitivity to how music and sound can move us through emotion. She is a touring musician who composes for film, immersive sound installations and she writes songs with notable artists such as Creature, Matt Holubowski, Chorus of Courage, Ian Kelly and Mitsou. As a co-leader at Dare to Defy, she brings that same depth, curiosity and generosity to building a home where artists and their work can thrive.
Sonic Artist/Composer/Producer
amanda wilkinson
Singer-Songwriter /Storyteller/Legend
Amanda Wilkinson is a Canadian singer-songwriter whose unmistakable voice has shaped the country music landscape for nearly three decades. As the lead voice of The Wilkinsons, Amanda found international success while still a teenager, helping carry songs like “26 Cents” and “Fly (The Angel Song)” from a small Ontario town to stages and airwaves across North America. She later forged new creative ground as a solo artist and as one half of the award-winning duo Small Town Pistols. In 2026, The Wilkinsons were inducted into the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame—recognizing a remarkable body of work that includes two GRAMMY nominations, a JUNO Award, and eleven CCMA Awards. At the heart of it all is Amanda’s extraordinary voice, instinctive storytelling and an artist who continues to create on her own terms.
Artist/Producer/Trailblazer
Mel HilMi
Mel Hilmi is a singer-songwriter, producer, engineer and creative trailblazer whose work has always pushed beyond the boundaries of a single role. From touring internationally with The Belleregards and writing music heard in film and television, to her evolving solo work as HILMI, Mel brings fierce musicianship, curiosity and independence to everything she creates. Her latest work explores identity, diaspora and the experience of being a first-generation Canadian born into an Iraqi family. Mel is also the founder of Riverview Barn & Forest, where her instinct to build things differently extends beyond music—creating space for artists, community, land, and meaningful connection to come together.
Mèr
Franco Electro Folk Pop Duo
MÈR is a Francophone musical collaboration between longtime songwriters and friends Cindy Doire and Sarah Burton. Rooted in French-language creation and shaped by two distinct musical voices, MER brings together rich harmonies, instinctive songwriting and a shared love of making music. The project celebrates Francophone identity while leaving room for the influences, places and experiences that have shaped them both.
MÈR est un projet musical francophone né de la collaboration entre Cindy Doire et Sarah Burton, autrices-compositrices et amies de longue date. Ancré dans la création en français et porté par deux univers musicaux distincts, MER réunit des harmonies riches, une écriture instinctive et le plaisir de créer ensemble. Le projet célèbre l’identité francophone tout en laissant place aux influences, aux lieux et aux expériences qui ont façonné leurs parcours.
Paige is a multidisciplinary creative with over 20 years of experience in graphic design, art direction, and visual storytelling, grounded in advocacy, care, and social impact. For Chorus of Courage, she developed a website, lyrical videos, social media content, and all the album artwork, creating a layered, emotionally complex visual language that reflects the depth, nuance, and multiplicity of survivor stories. Drawing on her background in inclusive design and narrative-driven visual work, Paige’s artwork holds space for both resilience and vulnerability, honouring the voices at the heart of the project through thoughtful composition, texture, and symbolism.
Designer/Visual Artist