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East meets west. Acoustic meets eclectronic. Analogue meets digital. Student meets teacher.

Vocalists Ellie Chang and Chris Fehr like to play with such dualities when it comes to their deliciously suave and chilled-out electronica.
But the two musicians are not limited by mulitples of two...

After performing and recording several tracks together-three appeared on Korean CD compilations, while "Before the Flood" is featuured in a B-movie thriller, "Paradise Villa"- the duo relocated to Edmonton in 2002, recorded a debut, "Feeling Analogue (in a Digital World)" and slowly recruited new members.

The fivesome are now working on their first EP and plan to make a black and white video for one of their new songs, "Last Romance." - The Edmonton Journal: April 7, 2005

"As for Dual, the new, improved five-piece band is busy working on the follow-up to the disc Fehr and Ellie Chang released last year. Dual may have been born as a minimalist, electronic duo, but the band has been entirely reborn and a new sound has been found, so don’t expect the five-piece version of the band to come anywhere close to resembling their first incarnation. “Where the first album was electronic, this one will be much more organic,” says Fehr.

While the band has been playing shows intermittently in Edmonton, there are big hopes down the road of bringing Dual to Asia. Fehr would love to bring the band back to Korea, a place he called home for six years. In the meantime, interested music lovers can check out some sound samples at the band’s website, www.dualsonik.com.:
- Vue Weekly

"Spatial instrumentation - deep frequency worlds of pulsing keys and chemical industrial beats that weave and soothe - the basis for Dual's CD, 'feeling analog.' The paint on top of the foundation of groove is the melodic and intimate writing along with sumptuous vocals of lead singer, ellie chang and partner cris fehr. The music is a blend. Trance-like midnite bass and percussion mixed with a secret vocal timbre. Hypnotic. The CD opens with the dance-track, 'Endless'- Chang's vocals whisper while the floor is full of closed-eyed moving bodies - wonderful. 'Butterfly' employs the digital vocal mover - perpetual modest busy signal pumps with the beat as the words describe the catharsis of love, 'i feel alive.' Track 3, 'What you think you need,' is our favorite track - its industrial reverbed backbeat is a stark testosterone contrast to ellie's vulnerable feminine yet strong vocal delivery. Artistic waves. The title track gives us a glimpse of some of the influences at work - the tune is a cross between Trent Reznor and INXS - updated within the world of electronica. The long track here, 'Cafe Eden,' takes us into the world of jazz trance groove - with vocal textures that remind us of late 60's female vocal whispering - Ellie asks the question, 'can you free your mind?' earBuzz's answer is , 'yes, thanks in part to your liberating music'.' Great CD. - earBuzz.com

Evolution is an important element for a nascent band. Broadening musical horizons is often the best way to find a sound that fits, as Edmonton-based electronic/art-rock outfit Dual can attest.

Composer/instrumentalist and native Edmontonian Cris Fehr met vocalist Ellie Chang while teaching in Korea. Weaned on the alternative-rock sensibilities that pervaded North America throughout the ’90s, Fehr found a different musical climate across the ocean.

“I’ve always been composing music,” he explains. “But when I got to Korea, I switched gears from acoustic to electronic, mostly out of necessity.”

Influenced by his burgeoning interest in down-tempo acts like Massive Attack, Fehr and Chang formed Dual. The two made a go of it in Korea for a few years, playing their brand of laid-back, sensuous grooves on the college circuit, and even landing some soundtrack work in Korean indie films.

Upon their return to Edmonton, Dual signed up with local label Shameless Records, which resulted in the 2004 release of their debut full-length, Feeling Analog [In A Digital World]. Though its layered, jazzy sound worked as a CD, the disc’s fully electronic production did not make for a compelling live performance. As Fehr explains, “You go see an electronic act perform and it’s usually just some guy tweaking a notebook.”

“Like we used to do in Korea,” Chang adds wryly.

Their desire to perform engaging live gigs, combined with Fehr’s interest in acoustic sounds, led to the addition of guitarist Bryan Reichert, drummer Chad Williams and keyboardist Janis Chow.

In addition to enhancing their live act, the increase in instrumental diversity has led to an evolution of the group’s sound.

The expansion also led to some questioning about the continued relevance of the group’s name.

“We talked about changing the name,” chuckles drummer Chad Williams. “We racked our brains, but ultimately we decided Dual just works. [The name] is not just about two people; there’s more to it than that. Especially now, with the contrast between acoustic and digital instruments.”

The exploration of this contrast seems to be the band’s main thrust now.

“Basically, we’re fusing electronic and acoustic sounds ... [exploring] tensions between analog versus digital. There are a lot of different ways you can read into it,” Fehr explains. “There are so many different labels these days ... but we like to draw from everywhere: jazz, global music, soundtrack-type stuff—basically anything that’s left of centre.”

- The Gateway - April 7 2005