Biography
southpacific is a wonderful atmospheric and mostly instrumental trio based in Toronto, Canada. The band formed in Ottawa towards the end of 1997. After a few extremely well received shows in the capital region, they recorded and produced a demo ep called 33. In 1999 they relocated to Toronto and recorded Constance, their first and only album to date.
The name is a reference to a rather obscure the Verve track on the equally obscure live Voyager 1 EP. The 33 EP spells it using two words, but on the new album they have dropped the space (and the caps).
Members:
- Joachim Toelke Guitars
- Graeme Fleming Drums, samples
- Phil Stewart-Bowes Bass, samples, synths
The tend to play a little game of switcheroo on stage sometimes, Graeme Fleming also plays guitar (and Joachim can play drums).
Describing their sound isn't something words are very good for. Some words that do spring to mind though are ethereal, dream, intricate, shoegazer, post-rock, sparse, dense, layered and quite franckly, great. They are a highly creative, intelligent band with music that isn't clouded by excessive abstract experimentation; accessible yet complex and engageing. Their mix of airy guitars, feedback loops and samples takes you away somewhere between childlike amazement and loss of time perception.
You will probably dig 'em if you like:
Tortoise, My Bloody Valentine, Slowdive, The Verve, SIANspheric, Sonic Youth, Circle Square
Discography
33
Label: First released independantly, then re-released by Turnbuckle Records as a limited edition printing.
- Nova
- Datura
- Life Illusion
- Soundbarrier
- Interconnect
- Time Between
- Reverbium
33 spins and swerves and rotates your headspace. If you are into dreamy ambient music and beautiful, silk woven sound textures you must own this record.
Constance
Label: Turnbuckle Records
- Blue Lotus
- Parallel Lines
- E10 @ 182
- Alamo
- Analogue 9
- Round (Forget What You Feel)
- Built To Last
- A Better Life Since
- Stay Ahead, Far Behind
- Pintail Gate
- Automata
- Instrumental
- Telegraph Hill
- Aria
Constance is a longer, more diverse effort. It's also considerably darker then their previous outing. There is more studio type processing involved and a wider range of sonic tapestries. After the beautiful Blue Lotus you are attacked with quite possibly the "grooviest" southpacifc track to date, Parallel Lines. Something new is the inclusion of vocals on one of the tracks (Built To Last) albeit whispered and drowned in the mix (a-la My Bloody Valentine) it's an interesting change of pace.
Links
Turnbuckle Records homepage
http://www.turnbuckle.com
You can buy the records there!! You can also buy the MP3s on http://emusic.com
40 minute audio interview with southpacific
http://2kool4radio.com
Newspaper articles
http://www.canoe.ca/JamMusicArtistsS/south_pacific.html
http://www.soup.on.ca/spacific.htm
http://www.excal.on.ca/2000/mar22a.html