Biography
Inhabitants are an instrumental four-piece from Vancouver, featuring JP Carter on acoustic and amplified trumpet/effects, Dave Sikula on guitar/effects, Pete Schmitt on bass/effects and Skye Brooks on drums. Close dissection of their music may reveal elements of experimental jazz, noise rock and free improvisation. However, the band prefers to approach their music without preconception of genre, creating a self-defined channel of composition and sound.
All active in the Vancouver creative music scene, the Inhabitants are, in part, a product of their environment. You may have seen or heard an Inhabitant playing with bands like Fond of Tigers, the Veda Hille Band, Great Aunt Ida, Josh Martinez, the Tony Wilson 6tet, Dark Blue World, Carsick and/or in collaborations with Francois Houle, Peggy Lee, The Buttless Chaps and the N.O.W. Orchestra.
In 2005, the Inhabitants released their self-titled debut (Drip Audio), an album Down Beat magazine described as "an aural introduction to a dream". Textura.org also voiced approval, saying the band "strikes just the right balance between experimentation and structure". Later that year the group recieved the CBC Galaxie Rising Star Award at the 2005 Vancouver International Jazz Festival. In 2006, the Inhabitants toured Europe, performing at the Moers Festival in Germany. They were billed as "the most exciting new band in Canada".
In November 2007, the Inhabitants released "The Furniture Moves Underneath", their second-full length on the Drip Audio label. The album documents a band continuing to push forward into new sonic territory, further exploring a singular approach to experimental sound, intuitive group interplay and instrumental song writing.
Awards and Achievements:
-2009 Juno Award Nomination (Instrumental Album of the Year, "The Furniture Moves Underneath")
-2009 National Jazz Award Nomination (Electric Group of the Year)
-2008 Western Canadian Music Award Nomination (Instrumental Album of the Year, "The Furniture Moves Underneath")
-Chosen for "Dig Your Roots-Creative Jazz" Compilation (2007)
-Galaxie Rising Star Award (2005 Vancouver International Jazz Festival)
Here's what the critics are saying about "The Furniture Moves Underneath":
"Hypnotic and dense, these Inhabitants occupy territory that will continue to yield riches with further exploration."
- Down Beat
" Sometimes sweet, often epic...instinctive and convincing. One of the coolest discs of the year"
- The Globe and Mail
"...in a league with very few others."
- Panpot.ca
"The band's new disc exudes confidence from the get-go..."
- Eye Weekly (Toronto)
"...what jazz was supposed to become."
- Left Hip Magazine
"Progressive, moodily ascending and impassioned..."
- Edmonton Sun
Instrumentation
JP Carter on acoustic and amplified trumpet/effects, Dave Sikula on guitar/effects, Pete Schmitt on bass/effects and Skye Brooks on drums.
Discography
"Inhabitants" (2005, Drip Audio)
"The Furniture Moves Underneath" (2007, Drip Audio)
Links
| Inhabitants on Myspace |
| Drip Audio Website (Label) |