Ohbijou

Ohbijou was a Canadian indie pop band that was based in Toronto, Ontario. The music of Ohbijou draws on pop, folk and bluegrass influences.

Ohbjiou
Ohbijou performing in 2007 in London, Ontario.
Ohbijou performing in 2007 in London, Ontario.
Background information
OriginToronto, Ontario, Canada
GenresIndie, pop, folk
Years active2004 (2004)–2013 (2013)
MembersCasey Mecija, Jennifer Mecija, Heather Kirby, James Bunton, Anissa Hart, Ryan Carley, Andrew Kinoshita
Websiteohbijou.com

History

Ohbijou began as the solo project of Brantford singer-songwriter Casey Mecija.[1] (She also works as a production assistant at MuchMusic.)[2] Casey began composing her own songs, taking inspiration from Canadian songwriter Julie Doiron. She invited her sister Jennifer Mecija,[1] to assist with her early performances. The Mecija sisters later moved to Toronto to attend Ryerson University and the Ontario College of Art and Design, respectively.

Casey Mecija performing at the Calgary Folk Festival in 2010

In 2004, the sisters joined with Heather Kirby (bass, banjo), James Bunton (drums, trumpet), Anissa Hart (cello), Ryan Carley (piano, synth, glockenspiel, electric piano, harpsichord), and Andrew Kinoshita (mandolin) to form the band Ohbijou.[3] In the context of Ohbijou, Casey remains as lead vocalist, though also plays guitar, piano and ukulele. Jennifer continues to add vocal layering, moreover, her instrumental contributions to Ohbijou include violin, harmochord, glockenspiel, organ and melodica.[4]

The music of Ohbijou has been described as being similar to Bic Runga and Mazzy Star,[5] and called "hushed, heart-tugging music".[6]

Anissa Hart performing at the Calgary Folk Festival in 2010

Ohbijou released their debut album, Swift Feet for Troubling Times, in 2006. They played festivals across Canada,[6] including the Osheaga Festival in Montreal and the Hillside Festival in Guelph. They played the opening set for the Virgin Festival in Toronto, and were nominated for the 2007 Galaxie Rising Stars Award of the CBC,[7] competing with IllScarlett, Final Fantasy and Emily Haines of Metric. The band were among the organizers of a 2007 compilation CD, Friends in Bellwoods—based out of Mecija's Bellwoods Ave. Toronto home and practice space for Ohbijou and their friends—as a benefit for Toronto's Daily Bread Food Bank.[8] In 2008 they were chosen as one of three bands for the Banff Centre's first Indie Band Residency, where they had the opportunity to spend two weeks working with producers and recording engineers.[2]<

Their music has been playlisted on CBC Radio 3. Their song "St. Francis" peaked at No. 4 on the network's weekly charts in December 2006,[9] and ranked as the No. 34 song on the network's year-end singles chart.[10] Ohbijou was included in the April 5, 2008 broadcast of CBC Radio's The Vinyl Cafe and chosen as Aux.tv's X3 Artist of the month for August 2009, in partnership with CBC Radio 3 and Exclaim!. As well, Casey Mecija was named one of Chatelaine's 80 Women to Watch for 2008.[11]

Ohbijou is nationally distributed through Outside Music. The band released their second album, Beacons in 2009.

Casey Mecija covered The Beatles' "Dear Prudence" for American Laundromat Records charity CD Sing Me To Sleep - Indie Lullabies, which was released worldwide on May 18, 2010. During this year the band also visited China with local promoters Split Works.

The album Metal Meets appeared on the !earshot Campus and Community National Top 50 Albums chart in January, 2012.[12]

The band announced they would go on an indefinite hiatus after their farewell show on September 7, 2013. Casey Mecija has continued to work on music, arts and media projects, including hosting the documentary series The Doc Project on CBC Radio One.[13]

Members
  • Casey Mecija – vocals, guitar, ukulele, piano
  • Jennifer Mecija – violin, harmochord, Glockenspiel, melodica, vocals
  • Heather Kirby – bass, banjo
  • James Bunton – drums, trumpet
  • Anissa Hart – cello
  • Ryan Carley – piano, synth, Glockenspiel, electric piano, harpsichord

Past members
  • Andrew Kinoshita – mandolin, guitar

Discography

Albums
  • Swift Feet for Troubling Times (2006)
  • Beacons (2009)
  • Metal Meets (2011)

Splits

Contributions

References
  1. Sayej, Nadja. "Underground rock", The Globe and Mail, 2007-01-06, p. M2.
  2. Lederman, Marsha. "Rocky mountain high", The Globe and Mail, 2008-03-27, p. R2.
  3. "Casey Mecija Archived 2014-02-20 at the Wayback Machine", Now. Retrieved on 2008-09-28.
  4. Langlois, Jill."Community Living", Exclaim!, August 2009.
  5. Sayani, Fateema. "'Anything goes' for Temporao and new low", Ottawa Citizen, 2005-07-21, p. E3.
  6. Rayner, Ben. "Fans wake up to dreamy pop: Hometown buzz pushes Toronto septet Ohbijou into bigger venues", Toronto Star, 2007-09-09, p. E10.
  7. Bliss, Karen (Spring 2008). Words & Music, 15 (1): 8.
  8. Liss, Sarah. "Parkside pop: Ohbijou makes new friends in Bellwoods Archived 2011-06-05 at the Wayback Machine", Now, 2007-01-11. Retrieved on 2008-09-28.
  9. CBC3 weekly charts
  10. CBC3 2006 charts
  11. Dean, Flannery; Griffith-Greene, Megan; Howard, Cori; et al. (May 2008). "Chatelaine's 80 amazing Canadian women to watch", Chatelaine, 81 (5): 253–273.
  12. "The National Top 50 For the Week Ending: Tuesday, January 3, 2012". !earshot.
  13. "CBC Radio One Unveils Fall Lineup" Archived 2015-11-17 at the Wayback Machine. Broadcaster, September 3, 2015.
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