Music

Electronic experimentalists Ev Ree Wuhn combine math, music, and dance

by Mark Teo

Ev Ree Wuhn were born from the ashes of Toronto indie-rock troupe Dora Alexander, but don’t be fooled: Aside from their membership, there’s little in common with both projects. On the strength of their self-titled debut EP, the trio unveiled a new sound altogether—and this time, it’s a blend of forward-looking ambient, futurist hip-hop, and electronic alchemy so smooth, the seams aren’t visible. Or audible, for that matter.

“When we were in Dora, by the end, we were almost trying to push an electronic project into an indie rock band,” says producer (and Newfoundland transplant) Adrian Gagnon. “All three of us had a common interest in hip-hop and electronic music, and the band was getting torn into more heavy indie rock and ambient, hip hop, and electronic sections.”

The key was to scrap Dora Alexander and start with a fresh purpose—as Gagnon puts it, “we decided that type of music wasn’t what we wanted to do.” So Gagnon, a hip-hop informed producer who doubles as the beatmaker for Toronto MCs Large Live ‘N’ Direct, teamed up with bandmates Alex Grant and Lawson Smith for a project devoted to influences more up their alley—electronic experimentalists like Zomby, Mount Kimbie and James Blake are dropped as sonic namechecks. The three then developed their music from a constantly changing pool of ideas; Gagnon maintains that they’re constantly swapping music recorded in their home music studios.

“We don’t need to book any studios. We all have our own,” he says. “The process isn’t the same as a rock band: We don’t book studio time, book an engineer, apply for a FACTOR grant. It’s all guerilla style for us—we made our last video for $200—and there was no cost for our EP. We control everything.”

That leeway has also allowed each member’s strengths to shine: Grant has a background in dance, which is readily on offer in Ev Ree Wuhn’s video for “Colours”; Smith was trained in upright bass; and Gagnon, for his part, studied physics. “Everything influences everything, and I guess my education influenced my ability to work with software and production. Just even to know the basics of sound and acoustics—you learn that stuff with physics, just not directly. There’s a crossover between analytical thinking, math, and music.”

It’s a neat package of ambition sans production costs—and while it makes for soothingly original music, Ev Ree Wuhn’s still a young project; they haven’t come anywhere close to their ambitions. Yet. “We’re not famous,” jokes Gagnon. “But we will be in two weeks.”

Top 3 albums

1. Mos Def—Black On Both Sides: “The first album that really got me interested in hip-hop, and now Yasiin Bey is probably my favorite artist.”
2. Erykah Badu—New Amerykah Part One / Two: “Erykah loves to push the boundaries of music into strange new places, and I like that. However, I think it’s her soulfulness and character that really draws me towards her music.”
3. Flying Lotus—Cosmogramma: “This album got me interested in the more experimental side of music production. It has so much character. It’s incredibly unique.”

First song

“Probably something I wrote in piano lessons when I was four. I got Fruity Loops when I was 18 or 19 and I made a rap song with a friend, too. It didn’t get far enough to have a name.”

Native instrument

“I started on piano, then I switched to drums. It’s been my main instrument ever since.”

Most underrated music scene in Canada

“I’m from St. John’s, and a lot of stuff there’s underrated because it doesn’t get the exposure. People go elsewhere, then they come back once a year, meet up with their musician friends, and play some incredible music—but they don’t take it seriously enough to record or get a label. It’s underrated, because lots of people don’t have the ambition to make it with their music.”