“I would like to think this is a new type of sound that I’m kind of happy I’m not able to label,” said Micaela Loreto over the phone when she was asked to describe her band EDDYEVVY’s sound.
In her attempt to nail down the sound, Loreto mentioned a diverse array of influences, ranging from folk music to doom metal to goth and techno music. She finally summed up her attempt by stating that her favourite term used by others to describe their sound was “gloom pop.”
In 2016, while studying music composition at Wilfrid Laurier University, Loreto was writing folk songs but not going anywhere with them. Mitchell Hartung was also attending Wilfrid Laurier, studying piano. Hartung started adding atmospheric sounds to Loreto’s songs and the duo EDDYEVVY was formed.
“So, we started doing more atmospheric folk things and recording through a Zoom mic loaded with reverb to see how it sounded,” Loreto said. “It sounded nice, so we did a little demo album in our old house about two or three years ago.”
The duo started to evolve musically as new members came into the mix.
Hartung introduced Loreto to his friends in Stratford, Ont.
“There was a big scene there,” she said. “They had this independent record label they had started called Saint Rat Records.”
Jae Holdsworth was playing for a couple of bands on Saint Rat Records. His main project was called Slouch.
“I had known of Slouch before, so I was kind of a fan of him before I met him,” Loreto said. “He really liked the acoustic things we were doing. He was also a big folkhead, so we kind of bonded on that level. He was originally a gypsy jazz guitarist and he had all this weird musical knowledge of different genres. He just played bass like no one I’d ever seen before.”
Then she met Eric Repke while working at the Princess Café in Uptown Waterloo and – weird tie-in – he was in one of the Saint Rat Records bands back in high school.
“We had that common ground and he said he was into our first EP,” Loreto said. “He was very adamant about it. He became a permanent member and kind of runs the show for us.”
Their self-titled album was released Jan. 1 on all streaming and download platforms such as Spotify, iTunes and Bandcamp. It is also available on cassette for music fans who still like to hold their music in their hands.
“This album mostly came to be through us jamming live off the floor,” Loreto said, “so it’s got more of a raw element to it than our EP did when it was just me and Mitchell performing. We wanted to sound more like we do when we play live because we would often run into scenarios when we show up and they are expecting softer tunes when we like to shake a room if we’re allowed. This album transitions to what we like to play live.”
Dedicated EDDYEVVY fan Alex Fawcett-Riis speaks very highly of their live performances.
“I try to go to every show I can,” she said. “It’s very heavy at times … It’s beautiful and simple but when they get into the heavier parts it’s really fun, loud and danceable.”
Fawcett-Riis, a musician who also studied at Laurier, counts the members of EDDYEVVY among the best musicians she has ever met.
“They are top-notch musicians and I think it shows during their performances,” she said. “It shows how passionate they are about it and how much energy they put into their music …. It’s great to have a great local talented band. They are just super cool.”
The album was recorded, mixed and mastered by Siegfried Meier at Beach Road Studio in Goderich, Ont.
“He helped us do our first EP, so we went back to him,” Loreto said. “He worked with us over three days in July. He helped us create a good flow.”
On Jan. 25, EDDYEVVY will be playing an album release party with Drunk at the Library and The Effens at the ANAF Club 344, Guelph, 19+, $10 at the door.
After the album release party, they are taking a bit of a break, so Loreto encourages fans to come to the show.
“I kind of like to take the winter to do my sad hibernating and songwriting,” she said. “All music is usually written in these stale months, then they end up getting fleshed out and becoming something real by the summer and we’ll play new shows once summer comes and people want to get outside again.”
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