The Living

Violin fireworks. Lush string textures. Colossal walls of sound.

Half string trio, half rock trio, The Living fuses classical chamber music sounds with rock, funk and splashes of gypsy, jazz, and Latin.

Fresh out of UBC School of Music and bored with most mainstream musical offerings, composer Mike Bell formed The Living with violinist Elyse Jacobson in 2006. Their goal: to bridge the gap between Western art music and popular styles, mixing traditional rock instrumentation with classical instruments.

The Living released EPs in 2007 and 2009, and released their first full-length album in 2012. Recent performance highlights in 2015 include opening for Bif Naked in Vancouver, and playing to a crowd of 3,000 at the Vancouver International Jazz Festival, backed by the 40-person Plastic Acid Orchestra. The group will be releasing a new EP in the spring of 2016, and are planning a tour for the summer of 2016.