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The Flugelhorns of Genius

In praise of Brasstronaut's full spectrum brilliance.

Alex Hudson 23 Jun 2011TheTyee.ca

Alex Hudson writes for various music publications and runs a blog called Chipped Hip.

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Besides everything else, Brasstronaut also keeps our shores protected.

The flugelhorn isn't exactly the mostly rock 'n roll of instruments. Neither, for that matter, is an EWI (a breath-controlled synth that operates a bit like an electronic sax). So how is it that Brasstronaut -- a jazzy ensemble that includes both of these woefully uncool instruments in its six-man setup -- has become one of Vancouver's hippest up-and-coming indie bands? The answer is simple: frontman Edo Van Breemen is a promotional genius.

Even before Brasstronaut became one of the city's hottest musical exports, Van Breemen was already turning heads with his label Unfamiliar Records. The imprint shot into prominence in 2009 when it released Japandroids' Post-Nothing, a record that garnered rave reviews from every indie tastemaker under the sun.

Then, in 2010, it was Brasstronaut's turn to take the spotlight. Singer-keyboardist Van Breemen and his band, which includes veteran Canadian songwriter Tariq Hussain, released the full-length Mount Chimaera in March 2010. Blending shimmering pop hooks with atmospheric jazz fusion, the eight-song offering impressed critics, and it received a long-list nomination for Canada's prestigious Polaris Music Prize.

In the months that followed, the accolades kept rolling in. The songs received regular play on CBC Radio 3, and the radio provider even named the slow-burning single "Slow Knots" as one of the five nominees for the year's best song at its own Bucky Awards (it eventually lost out to "The Suburbs" by Arcade Fire).

Brasstronaut's greatest triumph came when it won the prestigious ECHO Songwriting Prize, an annual award given out by the Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada (SOCAN). The track "Hearts Trompet" beat out big-name nominees Besnard Lakes, Caribou, Crystal Castles and Young Galaxy to earn the $5,000 grand prize.

Certainly, the honour was well-deserved. "Hearts Trompet" is a five-and-a-half minute-epic, building from a mellow jazz groove to a jaw-dropping orchestral crescendo that's every bit as stunning as any Hollywood score. With its cinematic strings and sweetly tinkling piano, it's a moment of glorious catharsis that's tailor-made for a lump-in-throat slow motion montage.

While it's certainly true that Van Breemen's knack for balancing hipster cred with radio-friendly marketability makes him a promotional genius, the triumphant "Hearts Trompet" suggests that he just might be a musical genius as well.

You can catch the band -- flugelhorn, EWI and all -- when it plays at Granville Island's Performance Works on June 27. The show is part of the 2011 Vancouver International Jazz Festival.  [Tyee]

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