Imaginary Cities was a Canadian
indie pop
Indie pop (also typeset as indie-pop or indiepop) is a music genre and subculture that combines guitar pop with a DIY ethic in opposition to the style and tone of mainstream pop music. It originated from British post-punk in the late 1970s and s ...
duo based in
Winnipeg
Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...
, Manitoba. The project consisted of multi-instrumentalist Rusty Matyas, formerly of
the Waking Eyes
The Waking Eyes were a Canadian rock band from Winnipeg and Steinbach, Manitoba.
History
The band formed after the break-up of two other Manitoba bands, The Pets from Steinbach and Novillero from Winnipeg. In 2002 The Waking Eyes released a fu ...
and a sometime collaborator of
the Weakerthans
The Weakerthans are a Canadian indie rock band from Winnipeg. The band, led by John K. Samson, has released four studio albums and is currently inactive.
History
The band was formed in 1997 in Winnipeg, Manitoba by John K. Samson, after he l ...
, and vocalist Marti Sarbit.
["Imaginary Cities are here to stay"]
''National Post
The ''National Post'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet newspaper and the flagship publication of the American-owned Postmedia Network. It is published Mondays through Saturdays, with Monday released as a digital e-edition only. '', February 21, 2011.
History
Matyas and Sarbit began collaborating in 2010. That year, they played a few live shows and began to record tracks for an album. In 2011, they continued performing, at first serving as the opening band for more established groups.
Their debut album, ''Temporary Resident'', was released in 2011 on the Hidden Pony label; it went on to top Canada's
campus radio
Campus radio (also known as college radio, university radio or student radio) is a type of radio station that is run by the students of a college, university or other educational institution. Programming may be exclusively created or produced ...
charts.
That year, the band won a Western Canada Music Award for Best Pop Album of the Year and was subsequently named as a longlisted nominee for the
.
["2011 Polaris Music Prize Long List announced"]
. aux.tv, June 16, 2011. To support the album, they played several dates in
Eastern Canada
Eastern Canada (, also the Eastern provinces, Canadian East or the East) is generally considered to be the region of Canada south of Hudson Bay/ Hudson Strait and east of Manitoba, consisting of the following provinces (from east to west): Newf ...
and the US as an opening act for
Pixies Pixies may refer to:
* Plural of Pixie
* Pixies (band)
The Pixies are an American alternative rock band from Boston, Boston, Massachusetts, formed in 1986 by Black Francis (vocals, rhythm guitar, songwriter), Joey Santiago (lead guitar), Kim ...
.
Imaginary Cities performed at a number of pop festivals, including the 2013 NXNE, and gained a following in Germany. The band released their second album, ''Fall of Romance'', in May 2013. ''Fall of Romance'' was produced, engineered, and mixed by
Howard Redekopp
Howard Redekopp is a Canadian Juno Award-winning record producer, mixer, writer, musician, and recording engineer best known for his work with Tegan and Sara and La Gusana Ciega.
Redekopp's production work has received two Grammy Award nominat ...
, who has also worked with
Tegan and Sara
Tegan and Sara () are a Canadian indie pop duo formed in 1998 in Calgary, Alberta. The band is led by identical twin sisters, Tegan Rain Quin and Sara Keirsten Quin (born September 19, 1980). Both musicians are songwriters and multi-instrumentali ...
,
the New Pornographers
The New Pornographers are a Canadian indie rock band, formed in 1997 in Vancouver. Presented as a musical collective and supergroup of singer-songwriters and musicians from multiple projects, the band currently consists of Carl Newman (vocals, ...
, and
Mother Mother
Mother Mother is a Canadian indie rock band based on Quadra Island, British Columbia. The band consists of Ryan Guldemond on guitar and vocals, Molly Guldemond and Jasmin Parkin on vocals and keyboard, Ali Siadat on drums, and Mike Young on ba ...
.
In 2014, they collaborated with
Porter Robinson
Porter Weston Robinson (born July 15, 1992) is an American DJ, singer, songwriter, and record producer. Born in Atlanta, Georgia, and raised in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, Robinson began producing electronic music during his adolescence. He sign ...
on his song "
Hear the Bells". In the same year, Matyas toured with
The Sheepdogs
The Sheepdogs are a Canadian rock band formed in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan in 2004. The Sheepdogs were the first unsigned band to make the cover of ''Rolling Stone'' and have gone on to a career featuring multi-platinum album sales and four Ju ...
as a guitarist following the departure of Leot Hanson from that band.
Imaginary Cities stopped performing and recording in 2016. Sarbit launched the new band Lanikai the following year. Matyas suffered from
alcoholism
Alcoholism is the continued drinking of alcohol despite it causing problems. Some definitions require evidence of dependence and withdrawal. Problematic use of alcohol has been mentioned in the earliest historical records. The World He ...
-related liver disease in 2017 and spent some time recovering before reemerging in 2021 with the solo project Rusty Robot.
[Eva Wasney]
"Delivering delight: Musician's Rusty Robot project is two scoops of fun with a cherry on top"
''Winnipeg Free Press
The ''Free Press'' (or FP; founded as the ''Manitoba Free Press''; previously known as the ''Winnipeg Free Press'') is a daily (excluding Sunday) broadsheet newspaper in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It provides coverage of local, provincial, natio ...
'', July 8, 2021.
Discography
* ''Temporary Resident'' (2011)
* ''Fall of Romance'' (2013)
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Imaginary Cities
Musical groups established in 2010
Musical groups disestablished in 2016
Musical groups from Winnipeg
Canadian indie pop groups
2010 establishments in Manitoba
2016 disestablishments in Manitoba
Grand Hotel van Cleef Records artists