London born indie rock/ pop band Ivory Hours visit Lethbridge, Oct. 7 in support of their new CD “Dreamworld” and first single “Shadow Kids.”
They will be playing the Slice with Calgary indie rock band Windigo and the Fox Who Slept the Day Away.
In addition to the new CD and single, they are also releasing their own beer, named Dreamworld, after the album with a London brewery.
“It‘s been a great day, because we’re launching this new beer with a brewery in London called ‘Forked River.’ It‘s a white IPA, ” enthused Ivory Hours frontman Luke Roes.
“They’re from London and we’re from London, so it was a perfect fit. I’m excited about it. I’ve always wanted to make my own beer,” he continued, adding it could go national and be released through the LCBO.
“Or we might try to bring some in our van,” he chuckled.
Their sophomore CD presents a heavier, slightly different direction for the band, though still heavily pop influenced.
“Before, we were exclusively a guitar rock band. We’ve always had that pop element to our music. This time, I added extra touring musicians. There’s cello which we didn’t have before and more synthesizers and distortion on a lot of different things, heavier textures and I let my imagination run wild,” he said.
He also let his imagination run wild on the video for the first single “Shadow Kid,” which has been described as a “feminist anthem, ” which features an interpretive dance inspired by the lyrics.
“Calling it a feminist anthem is an exaggeration. But it s definitely a statement. I was talking to some of my female friends about their experiences and issues with men who have a sense of entitlement, he said.
The video features an interpretive dance inspired by the lyrics.
“I got my friend Mary-Dora Bloch -Hansen to choreograph a dance inspired by the lyrics. It’s about this woman who is accosted by a character, but it ends up she is that character. It’s bold and it let her experiment,” he continued, noting they are preparing another video for the title track of the CD “Dreamworld.”
Ivory Hours has won several music competitions. Their debut CD “Warpaint” helped them win the Edge radio station’s “ The Next Big Thing Competition” which they followed up by winning Canada’s Walk of Fame Emerging Artist mentorship Program and placed fourth in the CBC Searchlight competition.
But, right now they are excited to perform in the Juno Master Class week in October.
“We’ll get to work with music industry professionals and vocal coaches. We’re hoping we will learn a lot,” he continued.
But first, they make their first visit to Lethbridge.
“We’ve definitely played in the area, but we haven’t played Lethbridge,” Roes said, adding Ivory Hours will be touring as a quartet with Roes on guitar and vocals, drummer Thomas Perquin, Lukas Duncan on keyboards and guitar and bassist Carson Oulette.
“Our live show is pretty sweaty and dancy. We like to have a connection with the audience. It is a pretty good mix of music from the new album, our last album and the EPs,” he said.
“So we do hope people will come out,” he continued.
Ivory Hours play the Slice, Oct.. 7 with Windigo and the Fox Who Slept the Day Away. Admission is by donation.
