Mise en Scene
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada | Established. Jan 01, 2013 | MAJOR
Music
Press
What do Bryan Adams, hardcore punk pioneers D.O.A. and Gimli indie-pop outfit Mise en Scene have in common? C’mon, the answer is Obvious — Ron (Obvious) Vermeulen that is. The Vancouver punk rock producer, engineer and studio designer (he built Adam’s The Warehouse Studio) owns and operates Mermaid’s Kiss Art Gallery and Dragonfly Mobile Recording in Gimli, where he recorded Mise en Scene’s debut EP, Late Night Triple Feature.
"He’s an amazing guy," says drummer Jodi Dunlop, 20, who’s joined in Mise en Scene by vocalist/guitarist Stefanie Johnson, keyboardist Kena Olson and bassist Marco Fiore. "He’s so passionate about what he does. He gets so excited about it and he’s really easy to work with. I recorded my first EP with him when I was 16 (Dunlop also plays in power pop band The Paps) and I was shit scared, but he was just so amazing to work with. He actually introduced us to Bryan Adams. He took us to one of his shows and we got to hang out with him."
Formed back in the summer of ’09 by Johnson and Dunlop, Mise en Scene display a penchant for playful folk-infused pop on Late Night Triple Feature, but that wasn’t the band’s initial sound.
"We were playing with our friend Scott Petrowski and we started off with a slower, jazzy kind of folk sound," Dunlop says. "That’s not my style at all, but as Stef and I became more comfortable playing together, we got a whole different sound. It’s faster. I don’t want to say catchier because the slow stuff can be catchy, but it just wasn’t as much my thing. It’s a little bit more rock now, but still has some of the folk stuff because that’s Stef’s influence."
Speaking of influence, while Johnson is the principal songwriter, Dunlop says every Mise en Scene member has some sway.
"Stef writes a billion songs a day," Dunlop says. "She has this book with scribbles all over the place and she always had these great lyrics. She’ll have this great hook and as soon as she shows it to me, I change it completely because I’m not happy with how slow it is. Then Kena and Marco, who are so musically educated (they’re both studying music at Brandon University), come in. It’s nice that Stef’s songs are really raw and it gives the rest of us an opportunity to do our own thing."
This week, Mise en Scene begins pre-production for its next EP and like the Groover from Vancouver, it sounds like these kids wanna rock
"It’s going to be faster," Dunlop says. "It’s fuller sounding but also rawer. Lately, we’ve been listening to a lot of ’60s girl groups and surf stuff so we want it to have reverb and stuff like that, retro sounding but still Mise en Scene."
In the meantime, check out Late Night Triple Feature at www.myspace.com/miseenscene. - Uptown Magazine (Winnipeg)
What do Bryan Adams, hardcore punk pioneers D.O.A. and Gimli indie-pop outfit Mise en Scene have in common? C’mon, the answer is Obvious — Ron (Obvious) Vermeulen that is. The Vancouver punk rock producer, engineer and studio designer (he built Adam’s The Warehouse Studio) owns and operates Mermaid’s Kiss Art Gallery and Dragonfly Mobile Recording in Gimli, where he recorded Mise en Scene’s debut EP, Late Night Triple Feature.
"He’s an amazing guy," says drummer Jodi Dunlop, 20, who’s joined in Mise en Scene by vocalist/guitarist Stefanie Johnson, keyboardist Kena Olson and bassist Marco Fiore. "He’s so passionate about what he does. He gets so excited about it and he’s really easy to work with. I recorded my first EP with him when I was 16 (Dunlop also plays in power pop band The Paps) and I was shit scared, but he was just so amazing to work with. He actually introduced us to Bryan Adams. He took us to one of his shows and we got to hang out with him."
Formed back in the summer of ’09 by Johnson and Dunlop, Mise en Scene display a penchant for playful folk-infused pop on Late Night Triple Feature, but that wasn’t the band’s initial sound.
"We were playing with our friend Scott Petrowski and we started off with a slower, jazzy kind of folk sound," Dunlop says. "That’s not my style at all, but as Stef and I became more comfortable playing together, we got a whole different sound. It’s faster. I don’t want to say catchier because the slow stuff can be catchy, but it just wasn’t as much my thing. It’s a little bit more rock now, but still has some of the folk stuff because that’s Stef’s influence."
Speaking of influence, while Johnson is the principal songwriter, Dunlop says every Mise en Scene member has some sway.
"Stef writes a billion songs a day," Dunlop says. "She has this book with scribbles all over the place and she always had these great lyrics. She’ll have this great hook and as soon as she shows it to me, I change it completely because I’m not happy with how slow it is. Then Kena and Marco, who are so musically educated (they’re both studying music at Brandon University), come in. It’s nice that Stef’s songs are really raw and it gives the rest of us an opportunity to do our own thing."
This week, Mise en Scene begins pre-production for its next EP and like the Groover from Vancouver, it sounds like these kids wanna rock
"It’s going to be faster," Dunlop says. "It’s fuller sounding but also rawer. Lately, we’ve been listening to a lot of ’60s girl groups and surf stuff so we want it to have reverb and stuff like that, retro sounding but still Mise en Scene."
In the meantime, check out Late Night Triple Feature at www.myspace.com/miseenscene. - Uptown Magazine (Winnipeg)
ENLARGE IMAGE
Here’s one to watch. This young, all-female trio of Stefanie Blondal Johnson (guitar, vocals), Jodi Dunlop (drums) and Kena Olson (piano) hails from Gimli and has made the most of that community’s secret musical weapon, producer Ron Obvious (the guy who built and ran Bryan Adams’ Warehouse studio — he now runs a gallery in Gimli) on this five-track EP. Johnson’s the lead singer and main writer but all three players weigh in on these breezy, sunny pop cuts, with Olson’s piano playing a real highlight of Cold Walk Small Talk. - Uptown Magazine (Winnipeg)
ENLARGE IMAGE
Here’s one to watch. This young, all-female trio of Stefanie Blondal Johnson (guitar, vocals), Jodi Dunlop (drums) and Kena Olson (piano) hails from Gimli and has made the most of that community’s secret musical weapon, producer Ron Obvious (the guy who built and ran Bryan Adams’ Warehouse studio — he now runs a gallery in Gimli) on this five-track EP. Johnson’s the lead singer and main writer but all three players weigh in on these breezy, sunny pop cuts, with Olson’s piano playing a real highlight of Cold Walk Small Talk. - Uptown Magazine (Winnipeg)
listen! - CBC
listen! - CBC
Mise En Scene
Coming on to the scene a few years ago, the girls have been earning their stripes through non-stop gigging across Canada, and the occasional jaunt to Europe. Combining '60s pop with strokes of garage rock, the band's beachy vibe, reminiscent of the Dum Dum Girls, is best represented in the track "Endless Summer," a go-to lament for those never-ending Winnipeg winters.
Mise En Scene appears at JUNOfest on Friday, March 28 at Ozzy's. - Huffpost Music
Discography
Still Life on Fire (Light Organ Records 2017)
Desire's Despair (Pipe and Hat 2012)
Photos
Bio
New Record out June 2020, Singles coming March 2020!
Welcome to beautiful Winnipeg, California – your new favourite destination for daydreaming, decadence, and jam-packed dancefloors. With their latest LP via Light Organ Records, Winnipeg’s Mise en Scene are leading the tour with a whirlwind of delectable rock-rooted, reverb-drenched dream pop that perfectly meshes modern vibes with vintage charm.
Of course, the core duo of guitarist/vocalist Stef Johnson and drummer Jodi Dunlop established that now-signature sonic foundation with their heralded debut, Desire’s Despair, and its follow-up, Still Life on Fire. This time, though, they’ve taken it to an entirely new plateau.
The 10-song collection boasts the purest distillation of Mise en Scene’s undeniable dynamic thus far and perfectly captures the authenticity and devil-may-care attitude of their live show – a raucous symphony of rolling thunder drums and Rickenbacker riffage with a bark that matches its bite.
Dunlop and Johnson first united through a mutual love of the arts, painting together in any spare time they could carve out. But that partnership born of colours on canvas soon became one of organic, unfiltered rock and roll with tinges of everything from punk, garage, and indie rock to alt-country, classic pop, and a lot more. Their unique sonic concoction has only grown more potent in the time since, and is palpably combustible on Winnipeg, California.
And while the album captures the essence of Mise en Scene’s gale of a live show, there’s no substitute for the real thing. They’ve turned heads at SXSW and major international festivals like Germany’s Reeperbahn, The Great Escape in the U.K., and Spain’s Primavera Sound, and show zero interest in slowing down.
Whether it’s from the stereo or stage, Mise en Scene are ready to take you on a trip, so enjoy the stellar soundtrack to a day of sunstorms and snowshine in wonderful Winnipeg, California!
Band Members
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