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Photo Courtesy of Flotilla

Post by Gloria Song.

Flotilla is a band that is hard to classify. The same thing has been said about many bands, but with this Montreal-based band, you can name any number of their musical influences (Bjork, Portishead, Deerhoof, Joanna Newsom), but none of them fully capture the unique sound that this band brings to the Canadian scene.

Their album One Hundred Words for Water was released in 2009 and quickly became the fourth most played indie album on Canadian community/campus radios that year. It’s not hard to see why. The album combines haunting female vocals with jazz chord progressions that manage to be complex yet still pop music catchy, producing a dream-like quality in their sound. Oh, and they have a harp. Yes, I said harp.

Clearly the originality of their style is partly due to their arranger/keyboardist/bassist,Geoffrey Holbrook, who is working on a doctorate at Columbia University in contemporary music composition. It probably also has to do with the fact that their vocalist and guitarist, Veronica Chamley grew up in Ottawa before moving to Montreal to study.

“People seem to understand the music, in Ottawa, more than other cities,” Chamley says. “I don’t know if it’s the fact that I was raised there, and there’s something Ottawa about me, but I just find the audiences are pretty intelligent and attentive.”

The band now spends its time between Montreal and New York City, and has recently returned from their Canadian east coast tour. To follow up on the success of their album, they will record a new EP this summer, which Chamley hints will attempt more ambitious arrangements, with horns, strings and clarinet.

Flotilla will be playing at the Raw Sugar Café as a two piece this Friday on July 30. Also playing that night will be Ottawa’s own Adam Saikaley and David Little G. Be sure to drop by and catch this special evening.