The melodic sounds of gypsy jazz and indie pop are about to become a lot more familiar after Vancouver’s Red Haven makes not only one, but two stops in Jasper during its upcoming Canadian tour.
Freshly off the release of the band’s first full-length album, Vilified, the band has 33 shows scheduled from coast to coast, including in Jasper on May 11 at the Olive Bistro and Lounge. Their second appearance will be nearly four months later during the Jasper Folk Music Festival on Sept. 11.
“Our new album is a departure from the classic swing styles and gypsy jazz that we played last year,” said Jennifer Charters, singer and saxophone player.
“This new album infuses that, but with a lot more modern song writing.”
To produce the album, the band recently spent three weeks tucked away in the tiny mountain town of Wells, B.C., two and a half hours south of Prince George.
As resident artists, the group spent upwards of 12 hours a day inside an old church writing more than 25 songs before narrowing it down to 11 tracks.
“Between the three of us there was at least 25 to 30 songs that came up in passing, but never quite made the cut,” said Brendan Steele, the band’s guitarist.
With three songwriters, the four-person band had plenty of material to work with, and it shows.
From the playful tempo of saxophone in “Got it Bad” to the charming rhythm of “Caught Up,” Red Haven is more than your average folk band.
Inspired by a trip to New Orleans in 2014, Steele and Charters came home full of ideas and went about creating a band that would bring together the spontaneity of a New Orleans street party and the laid back vibe of the west-coast folk music they were raised on.
“The culture is inescapable once you actually get down there,” said Steele of New Orleans. “The style of the music and the whole feeling we got down there was basically what inspired us to write the music we ended up writing.”
Nearly a year later, long-time collaborator and songwriter Nathan Turner picked up a stand up bass, and the three began to experiment with their sound.
Since then the band has played at several music festivals such as Artswells, Quadrapalooza, Tiny Lights Festival, and Hootstock. This will be their first year playing the Jasper Folk Music Festival.
Influenced by bands such as The Devil Makes Three and singer-songwriter Regina Spektor, the band’s jazz melodies and acoustic pop could turn any cold living room into a friendly affair.
This will be the third time Red Haven has played in Jasper, with a previous show at the Whistle Stop and another at the Olive Bistro and Lounge.
This time around, the band is touring with Victoria’s Dirty Grace, which recently released its first full-length album Coals and Crows.
The show starts at 8 p.m. and tickets are $10 at the door.
Paul Clarke
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