March 13: The Railway Club, Vancouver, BC
April 10: Ottoman Lounge, Medicine Hat, AB
April 12: The Biltmore Cabaret, Vancouver, BC
April 23: O’Hanlon’s, Regina, SK
April 24: Marquee Room, Calgary, AB
ARCTIC is creeping through the mountains to the prairies this spring, but don’t worry about being left in the cold. These progressive rockers will warm your hearts with their aptly coined ’space rock’, and they are playing near you! Contact ModMay Promotions for details or press opportunities with Vancouver’s darling rockers, ARCTIC.
ARCTIC was formed out of Marcus Martin’s desire to never, ever be in another band again. After a childhood spent on the land in the isolated Northwest Territories of Canada, the guitarist travelled to the metropolis of Toronto and became involved in projects ranging from jazz to metal to rap. Growing weary of band politics, he went solo, and headed west to Vancouver to write his own music. Marcus began performing using a looping device that would allow him to modify, loop and layer his acoustic performance into a haunting moodiness evocative of a cold Northern landscape. With a rich, unique sound that was already gaining an audience, he had no need for backing musicians.
But strong music attracts interest, and others came to express a desire to join the project. Following two solo cross-Canada tours as ARCTIC, Martin was invited to open for a CD release party, and on a whim, put a trio together for the show. The full band version of ARCTIC was instantly picked up by a local promoter, and began to perform regularly around Vancouver. Despite his initial wariness, Martin found that adding band members created new dimensions and possibilities to his music, and by working with colleagues who were equally inspired by his music and vision, the band’s spirit became collaborative and wholly positive.
The new members brought their influences from the furthest edges of the country. Kirsten Starcher, an east-coaster from St. John’s, Newfoundland, became the band’s bassist, keyboardist, and backing singer. On drums, Rob Sheldrick from St. Catharines, Ontario represents Canada’s southern border. Combined with Martin’s Northern roots and based in the west coast city of Vancouver BC, ARCTIC touches every point on the Canadian compass.
Always seeking contrast, ARCTIC is still sometimes a solo project, sometimes a full band, never exactly the same from one show to the next. In either form it combines diverse influences in unexpected ways: progressive rock, jazz, and industrial merge with ambient textures and acoustic singer/songwriter melodies to create something fresh, unconventional and intriguing.
