THUS OWLS

Montreal's dark pearl Thus Owls, aka Swedish-Canadian couple Erika and Simon Angell, have since their debut in 2009 become an original and independent voice on the alternative music scene. Simon's harshly charismatic guitar sound blends with the urgency of Erika's vocals to create a sound that bends and stretches their unusual compositions into ever newer and surprising shapes. It is in the constantly shifting scenery that Thus Owls find their sound. Their soulful adventurousness and musical fluency borrows from every corner of popular music, while pushing boundaries beyond any hackneyed genre classification. Pop and rock song forms are refracted through lenses of free noise, punk-rock skronk and jazz precision.

The two met in Amsterdam 2007 on tour. Simon, as a member of Patrick Watson's band, and Erika with the Swedish band Loney, Dear. The immediate musical attraction grew into something more personal. Before long, they were married and the collaboration that is Thus Owls was born. In support of their three LP's; Cardiac Malformations, Harbours, Turning Rocks (nominated for the Canadian Polaris Prize 2014) and the EP Black Matter they have toured regularly in Scandinavia, Europe and North America. During these tours they have shared stages with artists like José Gonzales, St. Vincent, My Brightest Diamond, Patrick Watson, Timber Timbre, Suuns and Little Dragon to mention a few.

For their fourth full-length album Thus Owls has collaborated with a seven piece large band. The core trio of Erika, Simon and drummer Samuel Joly (Marie-Pierre Arthur, Fred Fortin), is surrounded by three additional guitar players; Laurel Sprengelmeyer (Little Scream), Nicolas Basque (Plants and Animals) and Michael Feuerstack (The Luyas). The record also features Marc-André Landry (Matt Holubowski) on bass, Jason Sharp on bass saxophone and Emil Strandberg from Sweden on trumpet. The full band was recorded live off the floor, at Hotel2Tango in Montreal, to capture the passion that exists in their powerful and dynamic live performances. The new album, entitled The Mountain That We Live Upon, is slated for release September 28th, 2018 and will be the first release on Erika and Simon’s new independent label and artistic home; For The Living And The Dead.