Apocalypstic
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada | SELF
Music
Press
HELLBENT
They rock. Their sound is eclectic, the words heartfelt and the vocals, well, they’re sexy as hell. Laurie Stewart and Drea Benjamin are a formidable duo; they are friends, playmates and confidantes. Music is their passion and success is their goal. Stewart writes the songs and Benjamin the music, and together they form Ottawa’s newest girl band, Apocalypstic.
It is a hot, sunny day and the pair wrestle with each other on top of a small metal sculpture. They laugh and banter but when they start talking about their music, they get serious.
“Apocalypstic is essentially a business, and we are the focal point.” Stewart and Benjamin started jamming together in June 2006. “We both have completely different perspectives and we contribute completely different ideas musically - it was surprising that they complemented each other”, says Benjamin.
But complement they did and as the jamming sessions continued, the two started collaborating on writing. The collaboration was mutually beneficial. “As a solo artist I would write very feminist folksy songs but always wanted to electrify them and I couldn’t do it,” says Stewart. “I would take my ideas to Drea, who is a phenomenal guitar player and vocalist, and we would just put them together. One day, we realized how seamless and easy song writing was.”
As the song writing and the music meshed, their collaboration became the basis of their friendship. “The music is exactly that, it is an intimate sort of facet of the friendship that we have with each other and it’s one of the most important things in our lives,” Stewart says.
When they started taking their music more seriously, they adopted the name of Apocalypstic and after three years recently released their first CD, People You’ve Been Before.
If it is Stewart’s experiences that inspires the songs, it is Benjamin’s vocals and her production skills that builds the bridge between the words and the music. As well as composing the music, she works with Stewart to modify the songs to match Benjamin’s syntax without losing the song’s integrity and original meaning.
Apocalypstic is on the edge of mainstream success - they have chosen two new girl members, flown to L.A. for a song writing session and plan to release another record by December.
-Noreen Fagan (Capital Xtra: Ottawa, ON)
- Capital Xtra
Discography
Rainstorm - single, June 2012
The L.A. Sessions - Demo, October 2009
Photos
Bio
Apocalypstic is a 5 piece all-girl pop band based in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. They are also known as Ottawa’s Premier all-girl band, but don’t let the ‘all-girl’ label fool you - these girls are not typical by any stretch of the word. They write their own songs, play their own instruments with veteran expertise, and will captivate you in all the ways they have their own hometown!
The quintet pounds out a unique and original brand of high-energy pop-rock, draws fans into their songs, and drops jaws as a result of their smile-inducing-fist-pumping stage show. Their live set is contagious and infectious from start to finish. These girls are the real deal - they love what they do and it shows!
The band has been enjoying the spoils of their incredible dedication and hard work. So far in 2012 they have showcased their music at Canadian Music Week in Toronto, ON, recently traveled to Los Angeles to film a music video, and are writing and recording tracks for their upcoming album with Ian Blackwood (The Artist Life) and Dahmnait Doyle (Shaye, The Heartbroken). They have also managed to snag the attention of key industry players who have positioned the band for great performance and radio opportunities. Apocalypstic has also been featured on music industry panels as examples of what true D.I.Y musicians can do if you put everything you have on the line for your craft.
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