The Umbrella Collective

“The Concept of World Music Is Not It”—siddhu

The Umbrella Collective is made up of Tamara Steele (bass, vocals), Mark Steele (guitar), Jonathan Holmes (drums), (siddhu) Siddhu Sachidananda (keys, synth, samplers, vocals, record producer) and Loïc Niyonsenga (lyricist, MC).

Geographically, there is an intercontinental element to this band. Jon, Tamara and Mark are all from PEI, while Loïc is from Rwanda, and siddhu is from India. The youngest member of the band is 24 and the oldest is 48. This all makes for a very fine blend of influences—culturally and musically.

Up front, they are a live rap, hip-hop group, but there are many layers to The Umbrella Collective’s sound. They are pulling from and weaving jazz, reggae, R&B, metal, funk, and traces of psychedelic music. It feels very good and this band feels very much like a family.

siddhu is the sonic guide, producer, and driving force behind their debut, 2024 ECMA nominated album, Welcome to Studio UC!. However, everyone feels like a very important piece to the sound. Welcome to Studio UC! was self-recorded at their home base in Sherwood, during the summer of 2023. It was mixed and mastered in Vancouver by a collaborator of Sid’s named Joshua Eastman.

The recording sessions were experimental and relaxed, and were happening at all hours of the day and night, with whomever was available, hanging around or scheduled to be there. They set a loose deadline, settled in and dedicated themselves to a creative process.

The songs were written/created in the studio setting by building up seeds or ideas until the songs felt right. Once the album was completed, they had to learn how to perform these songs live.

A lot of the drum tracks were built by siddhu by chopping up the parts Jon was capturing in the room. Sometimes he would record drum ideas for two hours until he felt like he found what he was looking for. A very interesting process for sure, and to some, maybe somewhat backwards, but regardless of the process the band produced a record that feels world class. It feels alive. There is big spirit.

The Umbrella Collective will be busy this summer, as they head west to play the Vancouver Island Music Festival in mid-July, and the Calgary Folk Fest in late July. This spring, you can see them perform at ECMA’s Around the World Showcase at John Brown’s in Charlottetown on May 4th.

At the moment, they are fine tuning plans to record a live album. They have also started collecting ideas for whatever studio recording project lies ahead, but they recognize there is a spark to Welcome to Studio UC! and they don’t want to brush it off prematurely. There’s no hurry, this band is working on a journey.

—The Buzz welcomes veteran PEI musician, singer and songwriter Dennis Ellsworth to our roster of columnists. - The Buzz

29 Feb 2024 - Radio interview with C. Ruth and Loïc (11:37-19:07) - Hot 105.5 (Stingray Radio)

6 Feb 2024 - Radio interview with Mark and Tamara - CBC Mainstreet with Matt Rainnie

18 Nov 2023 - Bill chats with band members Tamara Steele and Loïc all about how the Charlottetown band started and the collaborative nature of the album.

Radio Interview with Loïc and Tamara (17:31-38:09) - CBC East Coast Music Hour with Bill Roach

12 Dec 2022 - ECMA Artist Spotlight - S1E7 (C.Ruth and Wolf Castle):
C.Ruth and Wolf Castle talk about their music and perform.

TV interview and short performance (0:00-13:32) - Rogers TV

News publication, "Reggae Allstars" show promo, Aug. 2022 - Saltwire

Show promo, August 2021 - CBC