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ECLECTIC FOLK OUTFIT WELCOME NEW BEGINNINGS
For Vancouver-based act The Ruffled Feathers, the completion of their third EP Bottom of the Blue is not only a proud accomplishment, but also the beginning of a new era. With previous members leaving the band to pursue other projects and graduate school, the band’s line-up has been completely revolutionized with the addition of pianist Sophia Xiang, classical violinist Molly MacKinnon, and long-time friend Paolo Brian on bass.
“Together, I think we can continue to do much more than we would ever be able to do on an individual basis,” says vocalist and ukulele player Gina Loes.
Already, the band has released their latest single “It Doesn’t Last”, which melds the pseudo-baroque allure of Regina Spektor and the peppy folk vibes of bands like Hey Ocean!. Impressively, the song placed in the CBC Searchlight 2014 contest’s Top 10 for the Vancouver region, and has since hit second spot on their national indie music charts. With a $7,000 grant from Public Records – a networking organization for filmmakers and musicians – the sextet has also successfully created a music video for the single.
“This is by far our biggest video project to date,” says Loes. “We definitely had a lot of help with it. There was a lot of shadow art and full décor: we had nine-foot props, all hand built. It was so exciting.”
The Ruffled Feather’s new four track EP Bottom of The Blue features their aforementioned single and Loes’ personal favourite, the European folk inspired “Siberian Springtime”.
“It’s a song our piano player Charley Wu wrote about his travels in Mongolia and Siberia a couple of summers ago,” says Loes. “’Siberian Springtime’ really showcases what we like to do, which is play around with different genres a bit.”
Instead of touring in support of the album, the band hopes to release new songs and possibly play a summer wedding or two. “I’d definitely want to put out a new recording,” Loes concludes. “We’d really love to do some mini three-day weekend tours in other places around B.C. — maybe Kelowna or Pentiction. We’ll see how it all unfolds.”
The Ruffled Feathers play the Electric Owl on June 6th.
By Kristina Charnia
