Courtney Wing

- a photographic display of performance at the Montreal Museum of Contemporary Art - Montreal Museum of Contemporary Art

- Courtney Wing, Bouquet of Might and Fury, Bonsound

Pour ceux et celles qui n'ont pas peur de faire face à la peine... et à la beauté! Onirique, étrange, le troisième album folk du Montréalais d'adoption Courtney Wing (né à Vancouver) est traversé par la tristesse, mais une tristesse qui serait magnifiée par la voix de Wing (qui rappelle Peter Gabriel) et le choeur de dix chanteurs d'opéra qui l'accompagne. Ça donne un truc superbe que l'original auteur-compositeur appelle du « folk opératique ». - CyberPresse.ca

6pm CBC Television News featuring Courtney Wing, Bobby McFerrin, The Roots, and John Zorn. - CBC Radio Canada

Is it operatic or symphonic folk? Either way, the third album by Montreal's Courtney Wing, Bouquet of Might and Fury, is bewitching, airy music, taking the orchestral experience to its apogee, featuring some 30 collaborators, including the 10-voice Liederwolfe collective and members of Godspeed! Brilliant! - Montreal International Jazz Festival

Sur la minuscule scène du Savoy, Courtney Wing se pointa avec ses musiciens pour nous présenter son troisième opus, Bouquet of Might and Fury. Dans cet espace intimiste et sympathique, situé à l’étage du Métropolis, le chanteur-guitariste interpréta son folk-choral-symphonique. Sa voix rappelle indéniablement celles de Bob Dylan et Peter Gabriel.

Dès le départ, le Montréalais d’adoption était entouré d’un contrebassiste, d’un violoniste, d’un batteur, d’un second guitariste et d’une claviériste. Ils ont entamé la soirée avec Soft Escape, une toute nouvelle pièce. L’auteur-compositeur se mit à chanter Celebration, tirée de son deuxième album, Starlight Shuffle. Un chœur de six chanteurs d’opéra, le collectif Liederwolfe, accompagnait Wing sur Chances, tout juste avant la reprise de Fool’s Gold de Lhasa de Sela. Ce fut un bel et émouvant hommage. Puis, le jeune homme livra Holler, ponctué d’un solide solo de violon. Il poursuivit avec Weather. Ses amis choristes entonnèrent Jolie in July et Social Grace, parfaitement harmonisé à l’autoharpe par Wing. Ce chœur rehaussa la beauté des compositions offertes. Pigés dans son dernier album, les titres Bluffing Face et Tragic Blonde ont bénéficié d’arrangements somptueux avec cloches et voix lyriques. Sa prestation de Madame George de Van Morrison a été bien exécutée. Jacky Moon, The Cruel of Fair et Chloe apportèrent leur lot de frissons avec la participation de cette envoûtante chorale. Au final, ce talentueux instrumentiste a terminé sur Til I Can Gain Control de Willy Nelson. La magie était au rendez-vous.

Musicalement, l’artiste s’entoura de comparses indispensables et chevronnés.

Courtney Wing a eu l’idée de réunir pop, folk-rock et opéra. Ça valait le détour ! - Aire Pepin

Wing and a prayer
Montreal singer/songwriter gets a boost from the CBC
By Benjamin Boles

CBC deserves credit for the symphonic folk approach Courtney Wing takes on his new album, Bouquet Of Might And Fury (Proxenett).

Originally, it was intended to be in line with the subtle roots-pop found on his first two records. But an offer from the Mother Corp in 2008 to do a Canada Live session inspired Wing to assemble a large band featuring members of Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Bell Orchestre and Liederwolfe, a 15-piece choir of opera singers.

“At the time, I was planning on just doing a solo record and was kind of down in the dumps,” says Wing from his Montreal home. “My previous album was well respected but didn’t have a label pushing it properly, and I didn’t have money. You know, the same old classic story.

“When I got an invitation from a producer at CBC, it bloomed into this. I wanted to take advantage of the opportunity.”

The session raised his profile significantly, and the material he wrote for it eventually became Bouquet. The lush arrangements envelop the listener, while the unconventional use of vocalists adds texture.

But touring with such a large lineup isn’t practical (Wing will have a six-piece band for his C’est What show), so when the CBC approached him last fall to do a stripped-down session, he jumped at the chance to rework the arrangements.

For that, he performed as a duo, accompanied by drummer Eric Thibodeau. It’s a testament to the strength of his songwriting that the material stands up beautifully without the romantic embellishments.

“I like to switch it up live,” Wing says. “Sometimes it’s just me and a violin player or me and a bass player. I’m really open to all the musicians having input into the songs. Changing it up keeps things alive.” - Now Magazine

Courtney Wing’s new album The Bouquet Of Might & Fury is a mighty impressive opus. Conceived as a response to a request to perform on CBC Live, Courtney has turned that corner from “an artist with potential” to “an artist”. Bouquet Of Might & Fury magically weaves heartfelt vocals into string section backdrops with operatic ornaments. It is undeniably intimate, holding your focus while the grandeur swirls behind you.

Amid playful melodies, whimsical flair and otherworldly imagery, Courtney sings of the heart’s trials and adventures. And he’s found an outstanding cast of supporting friends to flesh out the big vision – members of Godspeed You Black Emporer, Torngat, Arcade Fire, Be Good Tanyas – and even the Record Of The Week Club (transplanted Manitoban Jen Thiessen). - At Constant Speed

If John Mayer and Bob Dylan had a baby, and that baby made quirky pop music, it would be Montreal songwriter Courtney Wing. On Bouquet of Might & Fury, his third full-length release, he employs a revolving door of musicians that would make any songwriter jealous. They include members of Belle Orchestre, Godspeed You! Black Emperor and even a 10-piece opera collective called Liederwolfe. The album’s production is impressive, with adequately fleshed out songs, and more instruments and sounds going on than you could count, including a lightsaber hook sample. It’s interesting to listen to a songwriter who, instead of stripping things down, throws everything he can at the songs trying to make them as big as possible. The unfortunate downside is that it can at times overwhelm Wing’s earnest songwriting, preventing the listener from being able to be properly drawn in. See Courtney Wing April 6 at the West End Cultural Centre. - The Uniter

When you need assistance, it helps to have lots of friends to count on. Just ask Montreal singer-songwriter Courtney Wing. During the recording of his third release, Bouquet of Might and Fury, Wing assembled a talented, diverse crew of over 30 musicians – including members of Godspeed! You Black Emperor, Bell Orchestre, and the opera collective Liederwolfe – to help him reach his grandiose vision.

Bouquet of Might and Fury, then, is an expansive, ambitious affair with lavish textures and orchestral arrangements held in check, for the most part, by well-attuned production.

Album opener “The Cruel of Fair” is staggeringly beautiful: its lush, symphonic-folk sensibilities are joyous, melodic and complex enough that the song merits replays to excavate it fully. Unfortunately, no other track matches the songwriting gale of the lead-off track, but a few, the choral-driven “Jolie in July” and the stripped-down-but-still-potent “Holler”, come close.

While there a few hiccups – “Chloe’s” buildup is painfully slow and some melodies are lost in arrangement – Bouquet of Might and Fury is an impressive release that officially puts Courtney Wing on the map, and I’m curious what Wing’ll do next.

Might I suggest a Ten Provinces (and Three Territories) project?

-Mykael Sopher - Painting Over Silence

Courtney Wing est un grand voyageur. Ses expéditions ont multiplié ses influences et sa perception du monde. Mais Courtney Wing, c'est aussi un musicien touche-à-tout. Quelque part entre son Vancouver natal et son Montréal de tous les jours, il a eu l'idée d'allier ses mélodies folks à un ensemble plus grand d'influences. Par «plus grand», on entend ici l'ajout d'une dizaine de chanteurs lyriques, de plusieurs musiciens classiques et d'un band indie. Le résultat? Bouquet of Might and Fury, un troisième opus où les chansonnettes d'amour déchu sur fond de guitare se marient à une orchestration digne de l'Opéra de Montréal.

Si vous êtes curieux et prêts à entendre ce mélange éclectique, sachez que Courtney Wing est l'invité de la prochaine Nocturne du Musée d'Art Contemporain. Vous aurez donc droit à une soirée art total, où l'art visuel et la musique vous transporteront dans un univers sentimental, aérien, orchestral, vivant. Nouveau. - Night Life

By Rachel SandersWith a ten-piece chorus and half a symphony behind him, Montreal musician Courtney Wing has created an album that dazzles with its ambition and opulence. The clamour of Bouquet of Might and Fury's operatic folk pop is a serious departure from Wing's sophomore release, 2005's folky, jazzy Starlight Shuffle. For his third album, Wing put together a 15-member ensemble that includes an opera collective called Liederwolfe, as well as members of Belle Orchestre and Godspeed! You Black Emperor. But despite the grand spectacle of breathtaking opening track "The Cruel of Fair," Wing shows himself still capable of whimsy, with bells, noodling synth and loosey goosey horn lines cutting through the grandeur on later numbers such as "Bluffing Face." Wing's melodies occasionally get lost in the symphonic tangle, but even when his songs lose the plot, the sprawling, cinematic arrangements are vivid enough to carry the album through to its final twinkling notes.
(Proxenett) - Exclaim Magazine

"The Cruel Of Fair," the excellent lead-off track from Courtney Wing's third album is everything a good song should be — complex but instantly accessible, catchy as all hell, but impossible to tire of.

While Bouquet Of Might And Fury doesn't quite sustain the track's grandeur, the album remains an impressive venture into the possibilities of being a singer-songwriter when one thinks outside the acoustic box.

Wing's voice occasionally has a gruff Dylanesque quality, but as interesting as his lyricism is, it's really the music that's the big draw. The press release refers to it as "symphonic folk," but that's an understatement.

Multi-instrumentalist Wing is backed by a supporting cast comprising musicians who've played with the Arcade Fire, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Bell Orchestre and trip-hop DJ hero Amon Tobin. There are French horns and strings aplenty, and there are appearances by Montreal opera ensemble the Liederwolfe vocal Ccllective.

This music is meticulously arranged and passionately played, and is music at its most widescreen — it's the soundtrack for the closing moments of an intelligent film where the lovers are triumphant. Epic "Chloe" features Wing's strongest vocals, his bellows breaking into falsetto while instruments clang into negative space silence. There's also "Tragic Blonde," which flashes forth with the sly swaggering delivery of a Mick Jagger or David Bowie. Sort of.

But the album feels decidedly longer than its eight songs and 38 minutes. The slower, quieter tracks might be a little too slow and quiet. Still, when Wing and his assembled army is playing at full firepower, it's pretty spectacular and spectacularly pretty. - Chart Attack

Julie Ledoux
28 janvier 2010

Originaire de la région de Vancouver, de descendance chinoise, et Montréalais d’adoption, Courtney Wing reste rarement en place. Voyageur dans l’âme, il lancera (enfin) Bouquet of Might and Fury, son troisième album, en février. Attentif aux rencontres fortuites et aux hasards de la vie, l’artiste nous présente son dernier opus.

Partir pour mieux revenir…

Les Thés Davids Tea. Un bel exemple du bilinguisme de Montréal. Un endroit résolument moderne où les jarres de thé s’alignent sur un mur blanc pur. Attablé devant une fenêtre donnant sur la rue Mont-Royal, Courtney Wing se replonge dans ses voyages, ses expériences musicales et son évolution.

De Vancouver à Austin (Texas), jusqu’au Belize, Wing se délecte de ses rencontres et les utilisent à profit dans ses créations musicales : « Je suis allé au Belize et j’ai joué de la guitare dans un band reggae! Nous avons joué sur de grandes scènes près de la plage. J’ai vécu de très beaux moments musicaux, là-bas. Ce fut parmi les plus belles émotions – musicalement parlant – que j’aie vécues dans ma vie. J’ai pensé retourner là-bas pour enregistrer un album reggae… » En attendant cette parution, Courtney Wing cherchait à créer un autre projet unique, un style qui lui serait propre : le folk-choral-symphonique.

D’autres découvertes…

À l’aide de Liederwölfe, un collectif de chanteurs d’opéra, Wing répondit à l’appel de la CBC qui l’invitait à enregistrer une prestation pour Concerts on demand, émission musicale pancanadienne : « Parce que j’ai eu cette invitation, j’ai décidé d’en faire un grand projet amusant et musicalement intéressant […]. Par un ami, j’ai réussi à contacter quelqu’un qui était dans une chorale, puis j’ai enregistré les pièces que je souhaitais monter avec Liederwölfe. Je leur ai fait entendre le matériel, ils y ont mis leur énergie propre, et j’ai dû apprendre à composer pour ce genre de « réunion » de chanteurs et de musiciens! »

Fort de ces découvertes vocales, Wing se devait de rassembler ses troupes une nouvelle fois pour la création de son troisième opus : « Achever ce nouvel album m’a pris beaucoup de temps : il fallait trouver les bonnes personnes avec qui travailler, il fallait enregistrer, mixer… J’ai fait la majorité du mixage; c’est beaucoup plus économique de le faire soi-même! […] Je l’ai enregistré avec l’aide de mon ami Eric Gaskell. Il est incroyable! Il doit bien avoir un PhD en réalisation et enregistrement… Il a fabriqué lui-même une partie du matériel qu’il utilise et il sait de quoi il parle! » Bien que Courtney Wing ne sache ni lire, ni écrire la musique, il la ressent et s’en sert pour composer : « Je le fais à l’oreille, par accident… si le feeling est bon et que ça sonne bien, ça doit être bon! »

La tête pleine de projets…

Avant même la sortie de son nouvel album, Courtney Wing s’emballe pour de nouveaux projets tout aussi exaltants que ses dernières collaborations : « Cette année, j’essaierai de faire plus de musique de film et pour la télévision. J’ai participé à un film pour Bravo!, l’année dernière et c’était très plaisant. J’essaie de composer pour moi-même, mais j’ai aussi un projet de duo avec Lisa « CowBella » de Creature. Nous travaillons sur un album plutôt folk… on verra ce que ça va donner! »

courtneywing.com

Bouquet of Might and Fury sortira officiellement le 15 février. Courtney Wing donnera un spectacle de lancement à la Sala Rossa le 25 février. - BangBang

Fertile, épique et empreint d’une beauté envoûtante, Bouquet of Might and Fury, troisième album de l’énigmatique Courtney Wing, témoigne d’une forte sensibilité face au monde ainsi que d’un tendre sentiment d’accalmie.

Disponible en format digital dès lundi prochain le 15 février 2010 sur Proxenett Records, l’univers au ton rassembleur imaginé sur ce troisième opus présente avec une douce ferveur les multiples facettes d’un musicien riche en opposition, tant par sa musique que par son être.

Visitez le site web de Courtney Wing pour vous procurer son album, et ne manquez pas le lancement GRATUIT le 25 février prochain. - PatWhite.com

"• Courtney Wing: Singer-songwriter Wing’s latest album Bouquet of Might and Fury reportedly features members of Bell Orchestre and Godspeed! You Black Emperor, along with a 10-piece opera collective. I have no idea if any of them are among the four players and three vocalists backing him up this afternoon. But I can tell you that they create an impressive orchestral-folk sound full of swelling organ, violin and glorious backup vocals to accompany Wing’s Dylanesque songcraft. If Renee Fleming sat in at Big Pink during the making of The Basement Tapes, it might have sounded like this." - Canoë - November 20th, 2010

"[...] I headed to La Chappelle Historique du Bon-Pasteur, a really beautiful performance space that also houses the M for Montreal offices, for the M for Martini showcase. The bands there were perfectly suited for the church-y vibe; Courtney Wing’s lush orchestral arrangements were a highlight..." - Prefixmag.com - November 11th, 2010

"... dans les beautés baroques et théâtrales des très belles chansons de Courtney Wing : des Belle Orchestre ou des Godpseed étant planqué dans les recoins rococos de ces morceaux ambitieux, le projet étant au croisement étrange entre opéra, pop et soul, la chose ne pouvait que nous plaire a priori. Ce qu’elle a fait, a posteriori –beaucoup, même."
M for Montreal gig review, November 2010. - Les Inrocks - November 2010

Courtney Wing
Starlight Shuffle
Format: CD
Label/Distro: Self-Released (2004)
Published: 07/01/04

On a casual listen, the music on this disc could be dismissed as yet another addition to the folk singer/songwriter canon, one easily filled with Dylan wannabes and cliched musical turns. However, Courtney Wing has the ability to dig deeper into those cliches and bring out something unique. Mr. Wing brings his years of playing and travelling - his bio has him "playing reggae in Belize, flamenco in the South of France, Latin American folk music in Mexico and Guatemala, and busking in New Orleans" - to the soulful melodies and varied instrumentation.

Recorded in Montreal in a oneroom apartment converted into studio, the music has a casual feel. Relaxed tempos and happy harmonies permeate the album's soul. One can imagine sitting on a backporch listening to the gorgeous acoustic guitars of "Weather", or the bossa rhythms of "Caramel Eyes". It's then that Wing throws in the left curve of the Spanish dance troupes on "De los Ojos de Pajajo", and the Indian sarod downtempo grooves of "Slow Fine Day". Yet instead of making the album feel like a hodgepodge of sounds, the tasteful variety help place Wing's folk mannerisms firmly in today. Factor in the clear production -from the upfront vocals to the solid drums - and the cast of some of Montreal's finest musicians, and Starlight Shuffle is deserving of its own unique spot in the folk-pop revival.

- Welovemusique.com

Jamie O'Meara

Courtney Wing Starlight Shuffle. If I had a nickel for every album on my desk by a neophyte singer/songwriter (a descriptive that comes as close to meaning nothing as nothing gets) with a bone-deep belief that they have something profound to add to the vast poetic lexicon of musical humanism, and apparent unlimited access to cheap recording, I'd be a very rich man. Trouble is Cheap and Thrills won't give me a nickel. Damn you, Cheap Thrills! Damn you all! Lucky for, ahem, singer/songwriter Courtney Wing, it's more than just a catchy name that keeps his wheat separated from their chaff. There's a more worldly aspect to Wing's broad writing than you get from most of his contemporaries, which is not surprising considering this new Montrealer has stacked his palette "playing reggae in Belize, flamenco in the south of France, Latin American folk music in Mexico and Guatemala, and busking in New Orleans." With a mutable singing style that ranges from the soulful to somewhere betwixt and between a Dylan and a Ron Sexsmith, Wing augments his simple, frequently country-leaning-to-chilled-R'n'B guitar constructions with piano, light percussion, bass, and a wealth of other carefully deployed instrumenation.

Please go to link to view rest of article.

http://www.courtneywing.com/press.htm - Montreal Hour

Jeanine Soodeen

Victoria . Former Victoria resident Courtney Wing returns to showcase his new CD and jam with friends.
There will be two chances to meet up with Wing while he's here. Wing will stop by the Spiral Cafe for a less public opportunity to get together with some old friends and play. However, he is mostly promoting a show at Logan's Thursday, Aug. 12. Wing left Victoria after graduating from the University of Victoria in 1999 to travel, write music and perform. His diverse international experiences include playing reggae in Belize, flamenco in the South of France, Latin American folk music in Mexico and Guatemala and busking in New Orleans.
Hence his music - inlcuding tunes on this CD Starlight Shuffle released earlier this year - is an eclectic mix of pop folk ....

Please click link to view rest of clipping.

http://www.courtneywing.com/press.htm
- Victoria News

Comme je l'écrivais il y a quelques jours, nombreux sont les groupes et les artistes parmi les quelques 300 se produisant au Pop dont les noms ne me disaient rien du tout. C'était le cas de Coutney Wing. Le secret le mieux gardé de la scène folk locale, nous disait-on dans la programmation du festival. Ce nom ne me disait rien jusqu'à ce que j'apprenne qu'il s'agissait en fait de mon tout nouveau voisin de palier. Une brève visite au Barfly a donc été ajoutée à mon itinéraire vendredi afin de découvrir les talents de cette nouvelle connaissance. Il aura fallu attendre que Montréal et Buffalo eurent terminé de se livrer bataille sur les téléviseurs de l'endroit (probablement la seule partie de hockey que je me serai tapée cette saison!) pour pouvoir profiter, malgré les lieux bruyants, de cette voix à la Dylan et de ce folk où s'immiscent discrètement quelques touches de country, de jazz et de blues. - Montreal Voir - May 2008

If I invented a genre of music, it would contain Hammond organ solos, Necronomicon-inspired lyrics, and the drums would be played by a tank. And it seems Montreal's fertile independent music scene would be the perfect place to do it.

Montreal musician Courtney Wing's latest project can be described as the creation of an entirely new genre. He calls it "symphonic choral folk," and it's a combination of stripped down, soulful folk music with a 10-member, classically trained choir.

The project was inspired by a CBC radio invitation to take part in Live at Breakglass Studios, a new series of intimate performances recorded for broadcast. With two previous albums and a third on the way, Wing took the opportunity to "stretch out from the whole folk-rock world."

So he added elements to his music, namely McGill-trained opera group Liederwolfe, two percussionists, a double bassist, a violinist and a keyboardist.

"I just like the idea of trying to spice things up and really add unique elements," said Wing, 28, who wrote and arranged the choral parts on computer.

And according to Wing, a B.C. native, there's no better place to create something new than Montreal.

"It really is great here. Artistically, there's so much to influence. Everyone has their sort of unique freakishness to them."

Before the May 30 CBC recording, Wing premiered the genre at La Sala Rosa in front of a packed house, including representatives from the Montreal Chamber Music Festival. Wing also plans to take the project to Toronto's NXNE festival and Memphis's North American Folk Alliance Conference, and hopes to continue with his experiment, inspired by "the idea of being unique, and trying to be innovative."

Courtney Wing and Liederwolfe will be performing June 27 and 28 at Théâtre Ste. Catherine (264 Ste. Catherine St. E., 514-284-3939). Tickets are $10, and doors open at 9 p.m. For more on Wing (including CBC broadcast dates when announced), visit www.courtneywing.com

Al Kratina - Montreal Gazzette - June 2008

Courtney Wing’s 2005 album, Starlight Shuffle, was a critically well-received collection of understated folk pop, but in the years since then, the Montreal-based musician has been cooking up something a little more ambitious.

Inspired by overhearing an opera singer practising through a window, he’s enlisted the 10-piece Liederwolfe choir to bring some more grandiose symphonic textures to his upcoming album, Bouquet Of Might And Fury.

The five-piece band accompanying him includes musicians from Godspeed! You Black Emperor and Belle Orchestre, which gives an indication of the kind of vibe he’s pursuing these days. These classical, folk and experimental influences are dressed up with jazz references and elements of Turkish Gypsy music, making his music far more ambitious than your typical Cana­dian roots rock.

This is Wing’s debut Toronto performance with his new 15-member crew, but if you’re looking for a preview of what to expect, he recently recorded an hour-long performance for CBC Radio that should be up on its website shortly. - Toronto Now - NXNE June 2008

Courtney Wing has a mysterious and engaging way of singing which would make Nick Drake proud. His voice is gravelly and understated, yet instantly appealing, drawing in the listener to hang on every note.

And thankfully, the songs live up to the performance, each one a great stage for Wing to shine. I would be hard pressed to select a stand-out track, because they all seem to work together so well--at times folksy, and at others in a jazz mode, relying on subtle moves instead of dynamic changes to get the point across.


http://mashmusic.tripod.com/march05.html - MISH MASH

Courtney Wing
Starlight Shuffle
Independent

Courtney Wing is a talented musician with a wide range of musical experiences including playing reggae in Belize, flamenco in the South of France and Latin American folk music in Mexico and Guatemala.
Recorded in Montreal in a small one-room apartment turned studio in March 2004, Courtney Wing with the help of a few Montreal based musicians compiled a diverse and progressive folk rock album that spans a myriad of musical styles.
Starlight Shuffle, Courtney Wing's second release, and self-produced debut, is a charming collection of personal observations and experiences through insightful and reflective vignettes of life, love and his community.
His individual song writing style is complimented by a soulful vocal delivery, varied instrumentation and unique arrangements. Although there is not a consistent sound in the Starlight Shuffle, there is however, an unfailing mood that prevails and as noted in Wing’s Bio, 'invites his listeners into a compelling world of carefree and unpretentious humanity’. Starlight Shuffle integrates elements of electronica, Indian sarods, Spanish dancing troupes and orchestral arrangements with folk and delivers a delightfully soothing, cohesive mélange of musical diversity.
– By Philip Harries
- Penguin Eggs

COURTNEY WING (Saturday, Clinton's, 9pm)
Montreal's Courtney Wing is known for his expansive musicality, including enough instruments, techniques and vocal styles on his records to span several cultures and musical genres. With this arsenal, he creates folky, climactic pop that's often heavy on the string section. For his NXNE performance, Wing brought along a contingent of opera singers, lending even more drama and soulfulness to his orchestral material. If previews from his upcoming album are any indication, Wing may soon establish himself as something of a Canadian answer to Sufjan Stevens. "Bouquet of Might and Fury" is due out this fall from MapleMusic. - andPOPS

by MALCOLM FRASER

Transplanted Vancouverite Courtney Wing moved to our town six years ago, bringing with him a bucketful of wistful indie-pop songsmithery. Recently, a chance encounter with an overheard snippet of opera sung from a window set off a lightbulb flash, and Wing mined the fruitful resources of the Mile-End musical community, assembling a 16-piece band to perform his newly operatic creations.

Fresh off a triumphant showcase at Toronto’s NXNE, Wing brings the symphonic supergroup to la Sala Rossa tonight, featuring percussionist Bruce Cawdron (Godspeed), drummer Stef Schneider (Bell Orchestre, the Luyas, Jorane), double bassist Sage Reynolds (Amon Tobin), ivory-tickler Jeff Louch (Royal Mountain Band, Spoon River) and violinist-about-town Josh Zubot, along with the 10-piece vocal ensemble Liederwolfe.

“I don’t have any musical background—I don’t read music or anything,” says Wing when asked about the genesis of the ambitious new sound. “I love the harmonies in opera, and my folk-pop music with [Liederwolfe’s] operatic choir just seemed like a weird dynamic that I like, and that I thought would be challenging. I’m turned on by the challenge, basically, trying to add a new element of excitement to my music, which was lacking in the past year. I just got tired of hearing the same old sounds with a lot of bands. My interest is to try to create something unique, and soulful at the same time.

“I’ve recorded two albums before—the third album is nearly done. I recorded them on my own using shitty digital 8-track and whatever mics I had.” For the new collaboration, he continues, “basically what I did is create all the instrumentation, using the software that I have, into rough MP3 mixes, and sent it to all 16 people so they could have an idea of what the hell was gonna happen, and what they could introduce to the songs prior to rehearsal.”

Born and bred on the West Coast, Wing migrated to Montreal sight unseen after hearing rumours of the city’s cultural capital. “Vancouver, in my opinion, is a very dull place for music, very drab. I wanted some more colour in my life, culturally and artistically.” Before too long, he was integrated into the local musical community.

Of course, playing with such a large ensemble of players, each with their own projects, can be daunting. “Probably the biggest challenge was trying to organize everybody to go to NXNE in Toronto,” Wing chuckles. “That was chaotic.” But enabled by a cover story in TO’s Now magazine, the caper paid off with a packed house and a rapturous audience reaction.

Somewhat surprisingly given the size of his new band, Wing is still recording in living rooms and the occasional back porch. “I’m still on the lo-fi approach with recording, just because that’s what I’ve come to know,” he explains. But if his means are limited, his artistic ambitions are less so. He cites as influences “the great producers—Johnny Greenwood, or the guy who did the Feist album, Gonzales, [Beck and Radiohead producer] Nigel Goderich, Daniel Lanois.”

While work continues on his third album, due either at “end of fall or early spring,” this is clearly a prime occasion to check out Wing’s ambitious project. Like all good supergroups, they should be caught when the stars and schedules align.

With Ladies of the Canyon at
La Sala Rossa tonight, Thursday,
Aug. 21, 10 p.m., $10 - MONTREAL MIRROR - THURSDAY, AUG. 21