Jul. 25, 2012 - Issue #875: Shout Out Out Out Out
Dead Red Pine
Dead Red Pine take in the great outdoors
Sat, Jul 28 (8 pm)
With Bramwell Park
Elevation Room, $10
Nature takes centre stage in the lyrical imagery of Dead Red Pine, one of the city's newest additions to the indie folk scene.
The band's simplistic, yet sophisticated sound is crafted through tranquil melodies that weave together elegant string arrangements with soft guitar, mandolin, upright bass, banjo and layered vocals.
The five-piece formed a year ago and is comprised of an eclectic group of local musicians and transplants from Montréal, including guitarist and vocalist Marco Taucer, who relocated to work on his master's degree in physics.
Taucer is the principal songwriter for the group, and says while the band's name doesn't have any specific meaning, he draws heavily on the influence of nature for inspiration, as well as a contrasting urban and human element.
"I guess I'm interested mainly in the interface between human interactions and sort of misguided human ambitions with a more basic, natural state of humanity," Taucer notes. "I'm interested in the nature that we lose track of in our busy lives."
Despite Taucer penning the majority of the lyrics, the spirit of the band remains collaborative and brings something new to the Edmonton folk scene through its intricate, orchestrated melodies. The band also has no drummer, which viola player and vocalist Sophie Heppell, who also plays in the reggae-folk group Third Branch, says has been a whole new experience.
"Dead Red Pine caters more to my musical roots, which are in the Celtic and folk idioms. It gives me a chance to play for a super attentive audience who are there to really listen to the intricacies of our music," she says, adding she enjoys both bands equally.
The band's debut EP was recorded at the Theatre Arts Community Outreach Society in collaboration with Bramwell Park.
"He's a great musician. He performs with the Provincial Archives and he's also a terrific performer songwriter in his own right," Taucer says, adding Park helped with the performance aspect of the disc as well.
The collaborations will continue for Dead Red Pine this summer when they take the stage for a whole new kind of performance at this year's Fringe Festival. The Mindhive Collective recruited the band to provide the musical score for Awake, which will run throughout the festival at the Southside Memorial Chapel.
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