Sometime in early 2008 I received a humbly packaged CD demo from a band I’d never heard of on an unfamiliar record label. It took only 27 seconds and Brasstronaut had won me over. They are young and ‘hip’ with a wide range of musical education AND a healthy does of social competency. They have a rare and cheese-free bridging of the song-writing and lyrical freshness of contemporary rock with the wild expressionism of jazz.
The only catch was the 4 song EP was just a teaser, setting the stage for their full album due in April 2009. Well, April 2009 came and went and so did the rest of the year. I guess musicians aren’t known for their timeliness. Mt. Chimaera was finally released on March 2, 2010.
It turns out that they have a good reason for the delaying the album; the EP was too good! After garnering international attention with the single ‘Requiem for a Scene’ they traveled to Europe, after that they were accepted to the Banff Centre for the Arts to do a creative residency. Then they tripled in size from a duo to a 6 piece, gained a whack of experience and reworked all the music. Finally, they got to record their full length with total pros. A little later than planned but not a bad deal really, especially for Edo Van Breemen who co-founded the band (with Bryan Davies) and co-owns Unfamilliar Records, the little known label that has since been brought into the spot light.
I can’t say enough about Brasstronaut. They make challenging, beautiful, witty and thoughtful music. They work hard and have good positive things to say. They speak highly of the music community in Canada and love their hometown of Vancouver. Their live show invites the audience into the action and each member of the band offers so much to listen to and watch that the set ends too quickly. Plus they are just super nice guys.
Mt. Chimera is available nationally on Vinyl, CD and digital download. Check their web site or go to your favourite indie CD store and support two birds with one purchase.
Brasstronaut – Requiem for a Scene
