Sean Sroka is the creative force and producer behind music project Ten Kills The Pack and has always had an ace up his sleeve – a perpetual passion to unite punk and folk music into a unique brand of songwriting that explores the human condition with a thoughtful approach, a little bit of intimacy and a little bit of grit. His unique voice, talent and tenacity earned him a 2024 Juno award in the songwriting category.
Sroka grew up in Mississauga and often visited Toronto, eventually making the city his full-time home. He credits his community of friends and family for encouraging and supporting him in his musical endeavours and Sroka eventually followed in his sister’s footsteps enrolling in art school and majoring in music – classical guitar. Before that, inspiration came from an unlikely source – the movie School Of Rock but it has always been the songwriting process and music production that drew his greatest curiosity. Sroka reflects, “I remember going to lessons before art school when I was 12 or 13 but being more interested in songwriting and my own songs. My instructor and I eventually made a deal where I agreed to learn the songs I was given as long as I could play my own songs for him.”
When asked about his process for song writing, Sroka remarked, “That’s tough to answer because it is so different every time. Sometimes, it’s as simple as when I’m messing around on the guitar and I just sing a melody and think it sounds pretty good. Then a word will pop out and I’ll try and follow that word – maybe it just feels nice or I like the phonetics of it. Sometimes the word really opens things up or sometimes I might ditch the whole concept.”
Sroka has an impressive discography and song catalogue that includes collaborations with Nashville publishers and record labels Universal and Ishkode. His recent work with Canadian artist Aysanabee helped earn him his Juno, but Sroka is particularly proud of his role in producing music for his partner Hannah Georgas, especially her upcoming album So Faint. Sroka remarks, “It’s nice to have someone who understands all the psychological pitfalls of the music industry and kind of go through that together. We also help to motivate each other and respect each other’s space when writing.”
What makes his songs resonate? Sroka looks for the everyday moments—familiar experiences that often go unspoken. He thrives on such moments and weaves a common human thread through both joy and pain – triumph and strife.
Having experienced both the structure of being a signed artist and the freedom of working independently, Sroka has taken lessons from both paths to build a career that suits his creative vision. A unique artist requires a unique blueprint for their music and his future will most certainly include more music and more collaborations. When
asked about his music philosophy Sroka explained, “I like helping people make their music and ideas happen.”
Catch Sroka of Ten Kills The Pack and you may experience an intimate acoustic rendition of his songs or full blown production with a seven piece band. Either way, you won’t be dealt a bad hand so follow suit and check out Ten Kills The Pack.
tenkillsthepack.com
On September 13th, Sean Sroka and Hannah Georgas are putting on a music festival in Downtown Belleville called “Beautiful View”. For tickets and info, visit beautifulviewfestival.com
This article was previously published in the Summer 2025 Vol. 34 No. 2 issue of Umbrella.
Photograph by DANELLE JANE TRAN
