Sonora was begun in November of 2000. . . before that they were something else called db. Sonora is notorious for playing between eighty and one-hundred decibels louder than is advisable in mostly-instrumental escapades spanning the province of Ontario, Canada.
"Sonora represents the harder edge of the [dreampop-shoegaze] scene; the band's sound plays with the juxtaposition of ambience and gritty anthemic themes. Punching through the sonic haze created by the members' instruments are the fully-fledged stories and sometimes-political messages the Sonora folks feel compelled, almost emotionally driven, to relay." - Ottawa X-press.
In a sense, it is difficult to get a grasp of a Sonora performance from their 'pop' songs. . . the instrumental sonics these songs emerge from live are loud, piercing, potentially damaging. . . Often though, they are mellow, quiet, idyllic and laid back. . . contrast, serenity skewered by extreme volume is the order of the day.
Sonora was formed out of the burning desire of three former members of a band known as 'Divinityburst' to keep playing music, despite their having been presented with the Ottawa 'Undie' (Unsigned Independent) award for 'Worst Band Name' in 1999. The change happened in late 2000 after a long hiatus and some soul-searching. One member, Wil, left town for several months and others went into the studio, recording an entirely separate album under the name 'Post Script'. Eventually, everybody was in the same place again (creatively and physically), and four songs were recorded as an EP at the beginning of 2001, with Shaun Peppy as the new drummer.
That EP, entitled 'Sonora', of all things, followed the band around Ontario on three mini-tours during 2001. Sonora also enjoyed destroying the ear drums and minds of its audiences at regular stink-ups in Ottawa, with such dangerous rabble as King Cobb Steelie, SIANspheric, The Dears, A Nothern Chorus, White Star Line, and many others.
Early 2002 heralded the formation of the Sandgazing Collective and Sandgazing Sundays, a weekly performance series at Zaphod Beeblebrox that showcased Canadian (and some American) independent music. This endeavour was a labour of love for Sonora, as they sought to truly showcase and support excellent artists. Their coup from that series was bringing in (among many others, including half of 2002's Canadian Music Week) Michael Kulas (from the UK group James) supporting his solo work, which is fantastic.
Jacob's brainchild during that period was the Sandgazing Collective and Black Mountain Music's Aurora Festival, which brought out fifteen bands from across Canada (and one from the states) to what was one of the most impressive indie fests in Canada that year. It coincided with the release of 'Dusk off Your Hat and Come Dawn your Instrument', a compilation CD of the bands at the festival which was released with a lot of work by Black Mountain Music in Hamilton. The roster for the festival and the CD are available at BMM's website.
(www.blackmountainmusic.ca).
The second half of 2002 saw the preparation and release of the full album Road-44, which was released at Barrymores on August 29, 2002. This CD is a complete pressing and is available much more widely than the last EP. The songs ‘Maybe It's Alright Afterall' and ‘Road 44' have enjoyed regular radio play on commercial and University radio in and around Ottawa.
"Soundbites" - The Ottawa X-Press, August, 09 2001
Kevin Shields, the genius behind My Bloody Valentine's Loveless release, may be missing in non-action and Cocteau Twins may now be defunct, but the fuzzy, discordant shoe-gazer scene they helped create has not been forgotten. Following in these hallowed steps are bands such as Ottawa's Sonora"
