"Life is like music, it must be composed by ear, feeling, and instinct, not by rule." - Samuel Butler
This quote, though simple in its nature, describes the band Ophelia Syndrome’s approach to their music. Ophelia Syndrome is a unique blend of piano, acoustic guitar, cello, drums, bass, and vocals. They are described as melodic pop/rock with folk influences in the veins of the singer/songwriter.
"We try to create some sort of empathy for the listener; for them to feel before reasoning..." says Deanna Wells, the primary singer/songwriter of the band. The main concern of this band is that they can translate their music to an audience on an emotional level. Ophelia Syndrome combines the lyrics and melodies of pianist/vocalist (sometimes guitarist) Deanna Wells, with the expressive cello lines of Trina Nadeau, the intense drumming of Adrian McFarlane, the bass lines of Josh Kohler , and the sweetly melodic guitar riffs of Danielle Francis. Together this unique group weaves their particular brand of music. Although this set-up is fairly unusual, the band has used this particular grouping to create their own sound. “These instruments are an integral part of the music, without them, the sound would change…†explains Danielle Francis, “we’ve worked really hard to pull together a sound using the acoustic guitar, piano, cello, bass, and drums, and now the songs…†“Take on a life of their own!†jokes Adrian.
"We really try to succumb to the song; surrender to it; and from that our music is born. No egos, just musicians coming together..." From that motive Ophelia Syndrome creates their sound. Combining classical elements with, rock, pop, and jazz, this group is hard to pigeonhole into a genre. "We're sort of pop/rock but not really?" jokes Josh Kohler. "I don't know, we don't really worry about that [labels]" chimes in Danielle, the co-founder and alternate songwriter of the band. Ophelia Syndrome are fans of many genres of music including: classical (which Deanna and Trina have trained in quite extensively), to rock, pop, folk, and even jazz on occasion (in which Adrian has studied). Trina Nadeau says of the band "draw from us what you want, but try to hear what we're trying to do instead of who we're being compared to." “Many influences can be heard in this band", as Trina explains “everyone is influenced by what is around them; the trick to find you in thatâ€.
Ophelia Syndrome formed in the fall of 1998 with founding members Danielle Francis and Deanna Wells. Francis and Wells Performed and recorded as a duo. They felt that the music was lacking elements, and in the winter of 2002 Trina Nadeau joined the band. In 2007 Adrian McFarlane, and Josh Kohler joined finally completing the sound. “Trina, Josh, and Adrian came in and made the music grow so much in terms of style†explains Deanna. They are currently gearing up to record their debut EP, and are working on their music constantly focusing on their live show. Danielle Francis, the creative director of the band is currently finishing their EP cover art, and is behind their website design. She recently launched the band’s new website. In 2007, Deanna Wells and fellow musician Kori Pop started the independent record label DeeKO Records, which was established to support Ophelia Syndrome and Kori's project Ominous Thomas. Deanna also started another business called OS publishing to work in conjunction with DeeKO Records.
"We just want to bring our music to people, maybe make them laugh, or think, or perhaps just make them tap their toes... we just want our music to reach an audience." says Deanna. Approaching life and music by feeling and instinct describes the group and their haunting music. Ophelia Syndrome are planning to take their music further this year, and will be performing in their hometown of Hamilton, and surrounding areas.
