Love and Mathematics

Stage lights illuminate Love and Mathematics. Squalls of effects-dappled guitar wash over an unsuspecting crowd. Swelling keyboards rise forth and create a kaleidoscope of dizzying sonics. As the lush atmospherics begin to lure listeners towards a dark place, a jubilantly melodic bass guitar intercedes. Drums join the fray, bashing out tribal beats and creating a pulsing rhythm that sets the dance floor writhing. A vocalist wracked with twitching intensity takes to the microphone and casts a hypnotic spell. A second voice chimes in. Working in tandem, they conjure a choir of celestial songbirds.

Esoteric yet immediate, cataclysmic but celebratory, paradoxical Love and Mathematics play spacey psych-pop at its most apocalyptic.

The Vancouver band can trace their beginnings to a longstanding partnership between Ian Somers (vocals/guitar/keyboards) and Shane Turner (bass/vocals). When the pair recruited Lucas Rose (guitar/keyboards), they found his monolithic, dissonant guitar work muddying their pristine pop stylings. Rather than reining Rose in, they embraced the opportunity to reinvent themselves entirely and explore a dynamic new direction. The sea change was complete once the three collaborators discovered talismanic drummer Kyle Koenig. Koenig’s controlled-chaos kit attack brought an urgent energy to the group. Christened Love and Mathematics, the four-piece drew from Built to Spill’s angular melodies, Mogwai’s textured mediations and Animal Collective’s spaced-out oddity to forge a sound distinctly their own.

Adjourning to Vancouver’s storied Hive studio, the band worked with producer Colin Stewart (Black Mountain, Pretty Girls Make Graves) to record a four-song, self-titled EP. Rather than duplicating their oceanic live sound, Love and Mathematics opted to explore a more nuanced approach with the recordings. The final result reflects a band invigorated and inspired by the wealth of new ideas and possibilities presented to them.

Out of the gates, the propulsive “Remember to Masticate” lashes into the listener with discordant guitars, lilting harmonies and rhythms that turn on a whim. “Copper Coin Bikini” brims and bristles with skittish energy as lyrics sketch out an abstract rebellion: “You are the emissary; I am the socialist; Gather the troops and rally outside the capital.” The disc’s most cathartic track, “Plan for a Better Year,” punctuates its emotion-saturated vocals with wails of buzzsaw instrumentation. Finally, the swirling “A Fight Between a Crow and a Seagull” ascends and cascades with an airy grace.

At present, Love and Mathematics are at work self-recording their full-length debut. On their off-nights, they can likely be found upon a darkened stage. With a live set hailed by Exclaim! and The Georgia Straight, the band has shared the limelight with Vancouver’s finest bands – The Book of Lists, You Say Party! We Say Die! and They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? – as well as touring acts Nada Surf, Okkervil River, The Rosebuds and The Appleseed Cast.

Having established themselves as fixtures of the Vancouver scene, Love and Mathematics have only begun to explore their potential as a band. The remainder of that self-discovery should prove equally enthralling for both the musicians and their listeners.

Hello, Lovies, and welcome!

I'm a nutty musician who somehow got herself known in the European metal scene, even though I'm not really a super-mega-metal-diva girl. But that's not a secret. Not one I'm keeping, anyway!

You might know me from the various work I've done with other bands, but you might be surprised at what else I have to offer and I invite you to look around, have a listen and let me know what you think!

OK, now on to the more serious, official stuff. Enjoy!

xx
Amanda

Singer-songwriter with a razorblade edge.

In a business where image often overshadows substance, Amanda Somerville gives the industry CPR with a breath of sincerity through music that is so real, it's goosebump-inducing. The windows to this songwriter's soul are her songs, which are ambient and groovy, yet extremely radio-friendly. Combining heart and soul with hit songwriting, you're bound to be moved.

Since 2000, Amanda has resided and worked mainly in Germany and the Netherlands . In that time, she has independently sold over 7,000 CDs of her solo work and gained thousands of fans all over the world. She is currently engaged in both studio and live work in Europe and is exploring options for her latest solo album, "Windows."

Discography

Solo:
-In the Beginning there was... (Debut Album, 2000)
-Blue Nothing (EP, 2000)
-Never Alone (EP, 2003) sold approx. 5,000 copies in Germany .
-Aina: Days of Rising Doom (2003) - wrote concept and all lyrics, co-wrote music, worked as vocalist, vocal coach. Sold approx. 40,000 copies and garnered many new fans world-wide. Included several famous guest musicians such as Glenn Hughes, Sass Jordan, T.M. Stevens.
-Windows (release date unspecified) new solo album currently being finished

Other bands & projects:
-HDK - System Overload (due in 2008); co-writer, vocalist, co-producer, engineer
-Avantasia - The Scarecrow (due in 2007); vocalist
-Andre Matos - Time To Be Free (due in 2007); worked as vocalist, engineer
-Epica - The Phantom Agony (2003), We Will Take You With Us (2004), Consign To Oblivion (2005), The Road to Paradiso (due in 2007), The Divine Conspiracy (due in 2007); worked as vocal coach, vocalist, co-writer, engineer, producer
-After Forever - Invisible Circles (2004), Remagine (2005); worked as lyric editor, co-writer, vocal coach, vocalist, producer; After Forever (2007); worked as lyric editor and vocalist.
-Asrai - Touch in the Dark (2004): worked as lyrical editor; Pearls In Dirt (due in 2007); worked as songwriter, vocalist
-Ebony Ark - Decoder (2006); worked as vocalist, producer
-Kamelot - Black Halo (2005), Ghost Opera (2007); worked as vocalist, lyrical editor
-Phaeno Science Center (2005); commissioned to write and perform song about and for the grand opening of science center by Zaha Hadid, Frank Oppenheimer and Joe Ansel
-Boehringer Ingelheim (2005); commissioned to write 2 jingles for new swine vaccine:)
-Edguy - Hellfire Club (2003), Rocket Ride (2005); worked as vocalist, lyrical editor
-Shaman - Ritual (2002), Reason (2005); worked as vocalist, lyrical editor
-Mob Rules - Hallowed Be Thy Name (2002), Ethnolution A.D. (2006); worked as vocalist
-Luca Turilli (Rhapsody) - Prophet of the Last Eclipse (2002); worked as vocalist
-Virgo - Virgo (2001); worked as vocalist, lyrical editor
-Various other bands (Felony, Reverend Right Time and the First Cousins of Funk, Lunatica, Brainstorm, etc.)

• great song
•  Amazingly powerful
•  Haunting, yet sincere

Gabriel lives in Vancouver and records music independently in his Gastown apartment/studio: Studio In the Trees. He has been playing music for a large portion of his life (privately and in a few bands) but only recently has been starting to capture the type of sound he has been striving for. This is mostly due to fact that he now has the ability to record each of the instruments himself, and create the kind of indie/melodic/pianolike/alternative music that has been swimming in his head for years. This allows for an entirely personal message. You might like it.

As a child, Elizabeth Bruce was told to grow a thicker skin. She chose, instead, to write music. She was an avid choirgirl in grade school, and by high school was using her self-taught piano skills to accompany herself and compose simple tunes. Folk sounds too wholesome and pop too flashy to describe her sound. This alt/folk/pop musician's inventive yet accessible songs aim to blur the boundaries between genres. Writing her own songs from an early age has allowed her ample time to perfect an original style which might accurately be described as sultry, intelligent and quirky.

Elizabeth has performed in a variety of venues, principally in Montreal and her hometown of Ottawa, notably at Montreal's Cafe Esperanza and Casa del Popolo.

Formerly a regular at Montreal's Yellow Door coffeehouse, Elizabeth has slowly started to branch out recently, working with other young artists around Montreal. All of her music to this point has been solo, but recently has begun seeking members for a band. In November she recorded a three song mini-cd titled Handmaden.

Elizabeth's work is not limited to the pop side. She has performed in several high-calibre choirs in Montreal, including Cantare and the choir at the Church of St. Andrew and St. Paul. She received a B.A. in music from McGill University, and her grade 10 piano from the Royal Conservatory of Music. She is currently teaching music and working towards her graduate diploma in voice performance at Concordia University.