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Gavin Fraser and Stefano Dodaro go way back. Friends since pre-school they have nurtured and grown their musical and creative talents.
With an eclectic-sounding performance the duo won first place at the annual Acadian youth musical festival in Cheticamp in May.
With a mix of prog-rock, classical and traditional/oriental folk music and spoken word narrative and harmonic background vocals, the duo known as Cermin (Indonesian for the word mirror) landed a recording contract at Moncton’s Radio Canada studios. Their influences draw from mythological and nature-based themes with Fraser focusing his own work around trees and the world they live in.
Fraser and Dodaro said they have been performing at Frogstock for the last five years on the suggestion of their school music teacher. Both recent Ecole acadienne du Pomquet graduates they broke the tradition of Acadian communities Clare and Cheticamp normally taking first prize. In 2007, they were awarded second place in the same competition which gave them two days of studio recording time this year.
“They are larger Acadian hubs that tend to have an advantage,” Dodaro said. “There were six bands and four soloists that competed,” Fraser added.
Fraser, who plays piano and guitar as well as being an accomplished vocalist, is heading to Memorial University of Newfoundland in St. John’s in the fall to take music, majoring in voice.
Dodaro, a seasoned drummer and pianist, is taking a year to decide on his future creative endeavours. Besides their Frogstock win the duo have been working on side projects in both visual and musical mediums.
“We have been a creative force together for years and it’s a good combination of personalities,” Dodaro said.
The recent CD production will provide them with opportunities to perform at a number of venues and festivals in the future.
Video entry shortlisted
Besides music, the duo has also combined their video talents with a submission to a Bergengren Credit Union-sponsored contest this spring on the importance of cooperatives in the community. Their entry is now on a list of eight international contestants through the scholarship competition on the International Year of the Cooperative website. Their submission is the only Canadian entry in the finals.
“We have been collaborating for a while now and we influence each other with the video process,” Dodaro said.
They have taken on the theme of big corporations versus working together co-operatively in the video short. The video can be seen at http://2012.coop/en/get-involved/coopart/video-finalists featuring both Fraser and Dodaro.
The contest closes the end of the month and the duo hopes, with the click of the mouse, for local support on their contest submission. - The Casket
Discography
Arborisation (EP) - May 2013
Track-list:
1. Urtaz & Ezra (22:59)
2. Le Marchand Dupé (11:42)
Photos
Bio
Cermin is an experimental duo made up of Gavin Fraser and Stefano Dodaro. They are 19 years old and graduated from École acadienne de Pomquet in 2012. Both members hail from Antigonish, Nova Scotia and have been a creative force to be reckoned with since they picked up their respective instruments. Gavin brings his classically trained voice, and his incredible skill on both keyboard and guitar (and he isn't afraid to play both at the same time!). Stefano, apart from displaying his dizzying chops on the drumset, brings texture to the mix with his arsenal of small percussive instruments and noisemakers, while jumping on keyboard and providing additional vocals. Their music is creatively engineered to sound like more than two guys. The band is bilingual in French and English. Cermin won first place in the provincial youth Acadian music competition Frogstock in 2012. The prize was two full days of recording at Radio-Canada in Moncton. The duo will be releasing their 30-minute debut EP titled “Arborisation” in May 2013.
Cermin incorporates a wide range of genres in their music. Describing Cermin is difficult; stylistically speaking, they run the gamut from progressive metal to fusion jazz, New Age/World music to rock. Delicate orchestrations are interwoven through intense, hard-hitting riffs. Despite the ever-changing soundscape, the band manages to maintain a thematic flow. Cermin’s influences include bands such as King Crimson, The Mahavishnu Orchestra, Tool, Meshuggah, The Mars Volta, The Sounds of Animals Fighting, Enigma, etc.
Cermin is the Indonesian word for “Mirror”. The attached song you will hear is a 20-minute epic about characters Urtaz and Ezra. In the first movement, Urtaz is a being walking through a beautiful forest. He realizes later on that he is no longer human, and he must be dead. Yet, at the end of the movement, Urtaz realizes that he has in fact become a tree. In the second movement, Urtaz falls in love with the sun, Ezra. They have a love affair, but must keep their love a secret from the jealous moon.
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