Cleia

These are exciting times for roots music in Canada.
With a plethora of refreshingly young, vibrant and talented performers emerging from all points of this great northern land, there's no-one quite like the exuberant and exciting Cleia.

Sure there are lots of new singers, songwriters, instrumentalists and performers to admire, but these guys are different because they have it all. Imagine a hybrid of The Wailin' Jennies, Flook, Nic Jones and Ray Charles and you are starting to get the picture.

The first thing that hits you when you see Cleia perform is their amazing singing. Hearing Karla and Keona Mundy's sibling harmonies blended perfectly with Norah Rendell's fine voice is enough to make your hair stand on end. If you have any doubts, listen to "Mother Gone to Glory" from their current cd "This Side of Main". But it doesn't stop there.

Multi-instrumentalist Neil Hammond and guitarist Andy Hillhouse also provide strong lead singing and sturdy backing vocals which add weight and depth to those intricate and tasteful harmonies. Norah, Karla, Neil and Andy all take turns stepping up to the mike for lead
vocal duties giving the band an enviable multi-pronged attack on the front line.

It all started at an Irish music session in a downtown Vancouver pub where the band joined in with the locals on whistle, flute, accordion, guitar, bodhran, mandolin and harmonica. They have come a long way since those days, and whilst there's still some Celtic influence in their sound, they have also incorporated North American roots music, soul, gospel, English folk and classical influences;
culminating in a creative spurt which has produced a mighty host of as yet unrecorded original compositions.

To sum up, not only do they all play and sing beautifully, but they also write great instrumentals and songs and are a joy to watch in any live setting. Remember, you heard it here first!

TRISTAN FABRIANI - BIG CITY PRODUCTIONS - PENGUIN EGGS MAGAZINE - CITR 101.9 FM