Great Lake Swimmers
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Great Lake Swimmers | |
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 Playing at the Tsunami Club in Köln.
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| Background information | |
| Origin | Wainfleet/Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
| Genres | Folk rock, Indie |
| Years active | 2003–present |
| Labels | (weewerk), Nettwerk |
| Website | greatlakeswimmers.com |
| Members | |
| Tony Dekker Erik Arnesen Greg Millson Julie Fader Darcy Yates |
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Great Lake Swimmers is a Canadian band built around the melodic folk rock songs of singer-songwriter Tony Dekker. Originally from Wainfleet, Ontario,[1] the band is currently based in Toronto.
The current touring line-up includes Tony Dekker on lead vocals, acoustic guitar and harmonica, Erik Arneson on banjo, electric guitar and harmonium, Greg Millson on drums, Bret Higgins on upright bass and Julie Fader on keyboards and vocals.[2]
The band's style has been compared to Red House Painters, Nick Drake, Iron & Wine and Neil Young,[3] as well as Will Oldham[4] (Bonnie "Prince" Billy) and Sufjan Stevens.[5] Dekker has said his influences include Gram Parsons and Hank Williams.[6]
| “ | Music is interesting because it brings people together, and the more that I do this the more I realize the importance to that. | ” |
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—Tony Dekker, Great Lake Swimmers[7] |
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The band released its third full-length album, Ongiara, on March 27, 2007 in Canada and in May for the rest of the world. Although signing to Nettwerk early in 2007, Great Lake Swimmers continue to be managed by (weewerk). In September 2007, (weewerk) released a limited edition vinyl version of Ongiara. It was available in Australia through native indie label Speak N Spell.
Their fourth album, Lost Channels, was released on March 31, 2009. It was shortlisted for the 2009 Polaris Music Prize.[8]
In 2009 Great Lake Swimmers took part in an interactive documentary series called City Sonic. The series, which featured 20 Toronto artists, had Tony Dekker talk about his daily underground commute along Toronto’s subway system.[9]
Contents |
[edit] Discography
[edit] Albums
- Great Lake Swimmers (weewerk, 2003)
- Bodies and Minds (weewerk, 2005)
- Ongiara (Nettwerk, 2007)
- Lost Channels (Nettwerk, 2009)
[edit] EPs
- Hands in Dirty Ground (weewerk, 2006)
- The Legion Sessions (2009)
[edit] Singles
- "To Leave It Behind" (2005)
- "Bodies and Minds" (2005)
- "Your Rocky Spine" (2007)
- "Backstage with the Modern Dancers" (2007)
- "Pulling on a Line" (2009)
[edit] Compilations
- See You on the Moon! (2005): "See You on the Moon!"
- The Sound the Hare Heard (2006): "Where in the World Are You"
- Borrowed Tunes II: A Tribute to Neil Young (2007): "Don't Cry No Tears"
- Peace on Earth (2007): "Gonna Make it Thru this Year"
- Northern Songs: Canada's Best and Brightest (2008): "Your Rocky Spine"
- (weewerk) is 6! (2008): "Song for the Angels (Miracle Version)", "Gonna Make it Thru this Year". (Dekker also appears as a guest musician on tracks by Audiotransparent, Julie Fader and United Steel Workers of Montreal.)
- Friends in Bellwoods II (2009): "Send Me a Letter"
[edit] Soundtrack
- Song Sung Blue (original film score, weewerk, 2008)
[edit] Other
In 2006, the band released a "digital box set" on Zunior, consisting of their first two albums, the limited edition Hands in Dirty Ground EP, several digital tour photos and the video for their song "To Leave it Behind" on a 512 MB USB flash drive.[10]
In 2009 the band released a limited double 7" vinyl splitsingle with the Dutch band Audiotransparent. This release includes a cover of the Elvis Presley classic "Don't Be Cruel" and the original song "Send Me a Letter". Dekker and Arnesen also appear on the Audiotransparent song "You Are a Movie".
[edit] References
- ^ Van Evra, Jennifer. "Songs to dive into", The Globe and Mail, 2007-03-30, p. R4.
- ^ Devlin, Mike. "Swimmer stands on solid ground: Confidence grows as fan base gels behind low-key folk group", Times-Colonist, 2007-10-18, p. D6.
- ^ "Inspired by nature to pen songs", Evening Chronicle, 2007-04-11, p. 2.
- ^ Wilson, Carl. "Pop", The Globe and Mail, 2003-01-18, p. R20.
- ^ Pidd, Helen. "Review: Pop: The Great Lake Swimmers", The Guardian, 2007-05-04, p. 42.
- ^ McDowell, Adam. "Still learning to swim", National Post, 2005-04-02, p. TO4.
- ^ Magazine Billys Bunker Interview Tony Dekker
- ^ Polaris Music Prize – The 2009 Short List
- ^ http://www.citysonic.tv/films/Tony-Dekker-Great-Lake-Swimmers-at-Spadina-Subway-Station.php
- ^ Zunior
[edit] External links
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