Alden Penner (born 12 January 1983) is a Canadian musician and producer best known for his work with

the Unicorns The Unicorns were a Canadian rock band formed in the year 2000 by Nicholas Thorburn (Nick Diamonds) of British Columbia and Alden Penner (Alden Ginger) of Quebec. J'aime Tambeur joined in December 2003. The band announced their split in late ...

, Clues, and for his solo output.

Career

The Unicorns (2000–05)

In December 2000 Penner formed

with

Nicholas Thorburn Nick Thorburn (born 27 November 1981), also known by his stage name Nick Diamonds, is a Canadian musician originally from Campbell River, British Columbia. He has fronted numerous bands such as The Unicorns, Th' Corn Gangg, Islands, Reefer, an ...

Campbell River, British Columbia Campbell River is a city in the Sayward Land District of British Columbia, Canada, on the east coast of Vancouver Island at the south end of Discovery Passage, which lies along the 50th parallel north along the important Inside Passage ship ...

. The duo's first release was a limited edition CD entitled '' Unicorns Are People Too'' on their own label, Caterpillars of the Community. This was shortly followed by their début LP '' Who Will Cut Our Hair When We're Gone?'', released by

Alien 8 ''Alien 8'' is an action-adventure game, action-adventure video game developed and published by Ultimate Play the Game. It was released for the ZX Spectrum, BBC Micro, Amstrad CPC and MSX in 1985. The game is a spiritual successor to the best- ...

in North America and

Rough Trade Rough Trade may refer to: *Rough Trade (shops), London record stores *Rough Trade Records, a record label from the stores *Rough Trade Books, a publishing house from the label *Rough Trade (band), a Canadian new wave rock band * "Rough Trade" (''Am ...

in the UK. With the addition of drummer

Jamie Thompson Jamie Thompson (stage name: J'aime Tambeur) is a Canadian musician who has been the drummer for several Canadian bands, including Islands and Th' Corn Gangg. Jamie was a founding member of the Unicorns. The band's first major album, '' Who ...

the band embarked on a hectic tour of North America, Europe and Australia throughout 2003/04 before announcing their split in January 2005.

Solo work and Clues (2005–10)

Penner's first release as a solo musician was a limited-edition 7-inch entitled ''The Ghost of Creaky Crater''. The single was recorded in Melbourne whilst the Unicorns were on tour and released by the label Art School Dropout in 2005. Penner reissued the single on his own Montreal-based label Take This Hammer in 2006, soon followed by a split 7-inch with Brendan Reed (formerly of

Arcade Fire Arcade Fire is a Canadian indie rock band from Montreal, Quebec, consisting of husband and wife Win Butler and Régine Chassagne, alongside Richard Reed Parry, Tim Kingsbury, and Jeremy Gara. The band's touring line-up includes former core ...

) entitled ''Surface To Air Missive / I Love What U Did''. Penner and Reed then formed Clues, playing their first show at the

Pop Montreal POP Montreal is an annual List of music festivals, music festival occurring in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, in the early fall, usually at the end of September or the beginning of October. More than 400 bands are scheduled to play in more than 50 ve ...

festival in October 2007. Clues' self-titled debut album was released on 19 May 2009 by Constellation Records, and toured across North America and Europe throughout 2009. The band have been on "indefinite hiatus" since 2010. Also in 2009, Penner was credited as producer and musician on the soundtrack to the film '' Paper Heart''. He had previously worked as a composer on various independent films, including the 2005 Larry Kent dark comedy ''The Hamster Cage'', ''Surfing The Waste'' ("a musical documentary about dumpster diving"), and ''The Visible Will vs. the Invisible Wall'' in which Penner collaborates with

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

n refugee Abdelkader Belaouni.

The Hidden Words (2011)

In 2011 Penner spent time travelling across North Africa and the Middle East before releasing a solo EP entitled Odes To The House on the Netherlands label Beep! Beep! Back Up the Truck. He then returned to Montreal and reunited with drummer

, forming another new group The Hidden Words with musicians Eric and James Farr, Marie-Claire Saindon and Neah Bahji Kelly. In late 2011 they self-released an album entitled ''Free Thyself From The Fetters of this World'' in which Penner took lyrical inspiration from

Baháʼu'lláh Baháʼu'lláh (, born Ḥusayn-ʻAlí; 12 November 1817 – 29 May 1892) was an Iranian religious leader who founded the Baháʼí Faith. He was born to an aristocratic family in Iran and was exiled due to his adherence to the messianic Báb ...

, founder of the

Baháʼí Faith The Baháʼí Faith is a religion founded in the 19th century that teaches the Baháʼí Faith and the unity of religion, essential worth of all religions and Baháʼí Faith and the unity of humanity, the unity of all people. Established by ...

. Penner described his exploration of the Baháʼí Faith around this time: "I discovered a lot of things that I already agreed with, but that were articulated in a way that I found very empowering... It radically shifted my thinking." Penner left the Baháʼí community in 2013 due to personal differences with others.

''Exegesis'', Unicorns reunion and ''Canada in Space'' (2013–15)

In late 2013 Penner released a solo EP, ''Precession'', followed by a self-produced LP entitled ''Exegesis'' which he released through his Bandcamp page on 4 February 2014. The album features songs recorded during his time with The Unicorns and Clues, as well as more recent compositions influenced by the

and the Canadian poet

Alden Nowlan Alden Albert Nowlan (; January 25, 1933 – June 27, 1983) was a Canadian poet, novelist, and playwright. History Alden Nowlan was born into rural poverty in Stanley, Nova Scotia, adjacent to Mosherville, and close to the small town of Windso ...

. Around this time it was also announced that the Unicorns would reunite to support

on a handful of arena shows. On 21 September 2014, the Unicorns played a headline show at the Pop Montreal Festival, but have not played any shows since. In early 2015, Penner released new track, "Meditate", featuring friend and collaborator,

Michael Cera Michael Austin Cera ( ; ; born June 7, 1988) is a Canadian actor. Over his career he has received nominations for a British Academy Film Award, three Critics' Choice Movie Awards, four Screen Actors Guild Awards, and a Tony Award. Cera beca ...

. Penner subsequently announced a new EP titled ''Canada in Space'', to be released on 29 June 2015 on

City Slang City Slang is an independent record label based in Berlin, Germany. History The independent music label City Slang was founded in 1990 as a European outpost for American indie rock. Thirty years later, the imprint represents a diverse roster o ...

records, and a

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

an tour of the UK,

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

and

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, featuring Cera as both support act and a member of his backing band.

Discography

Albums

* '' Unicorns Are People Too'' (with the Unicorns, 2003) * '' Who Will Cut Our Hair When We're Gone?'' (with the Unicorns, 2003-reissued 2014) * '' Paper Heart'' soundtrack (with

and

Charlyne Yi Lo Mutuc, born Charlyne Yi (January 4, 1986), is an American actor, comedian, musician, and writer, known for their role as Dr. Chi Park in the Fox medical drama ''House'' (2011–2012), and for providing the voices of the Rubies in the Cartoon ...

, 2009) * '' Clues'' (with Clues, 2009) * ''Free Thyself from the Fetters of this World'' (with the Hidden Words, 2011) * ''Odes to the House EP'' (2011) * ''Precession EP'' (2013) * ''Exegesis'' (2014) * ''JUNE 04 EP'' (2014) * ''Canada in Space EP'' (2015) * ''Another Head/Language 7"'' (2023)

References

External links

Alden Penner on Discogs
{{DEFAULTSORT:Penner, Alden 1983 births Place of birth missing (living people) Living people Canadian record producers Canadian indie rock musicians Canadian Bahá'ís 20th-century Bahá'ís 21st-century Bahá'ís 21st-century Canadian male singers The Unicorns members Canadian male singer-songwriters 21st-century Canadian singer-songwriters