Introducing Scions: the new experimental 9-piece ensemble share debut single ‘Fight Song’
Scions | Photo credit: Jamie Kronick
Scions are a new, innovative, experimental ensemble based between Halifax, Nova Scotia, and Peterborough, Ontario, Canada.
The group features members from the award-winning minimalist chamber-jazz quartet New Hermitage, the Polaris-nominated drone-hymn duo Joyful Joyful, and the acclaimed producer and composer Michael Cloud Duguay. Their collaboration began at the Sappyfest music festival in Sackville, New Brunswick, in August 2022. During this event, New Hermitage and Joyful Joyful connected for the first time and teamed up with Duguay for a spontaneous improvisational performance based on his songwriting. The enthusiastic response, capped by a standing ovation, solidified the ensemble's decision to pursue the project further, with Duguay deftly shifting from front-person to producer and musical director.
After being awarded a Canada Council project grant in early 2023 the group took residence in Hotel Wolfe Island on Wolfe Island. Over a week the seven core members lived and worked together, culling material from sunrise improv sessions and collaboratively shaping it into a unique body of work that would later become To Cry Out In The Wilderness.
In June 2023, the ensemble, now joined by double bassist Gabriella Ciurcovich, recorded their debut album in Halifax’s north end. Led by Duguay’s distinctive approach to site-specific production, the recording took place in the sanctuary of St. George’s Round Church, with engineering by Jake Nicoll, known for his sustainable recording methods using a solar-powered, mobile control room. The resulting album, To Cry Out In The Wilderness, finds the ensemble expertly exploring and powerfully combining their skills in jazz, devotional, classical, drone, folk, ambient, metal, improvisational, minimalist and avant-garde music.
The project culminated in a week of production, with contributions from numerous artists from Halifax’s creative music community. Scions then presented their work live, performing on the opening night of Halifax’s Everyseeker festival of experimental music, where they shared the spotlight with the renowned Sun Ra Arkestra.
As well as announcing To Cry Out In The Wilderness Scions also share the first single from the project ‘Fight Song’. Speaking on the creation of the track band leader and musical director Michael Cloud Duguay said: "While composing, we experimented with different ratios of drone-to-pop from piece to piece, and I knew from the start that the material required one composition that leaned as far ‘pop’ as this ensemble of jazz, classical, and experimental players could go." He Continues ""Fight Song" was the final song that we composed. The composition began with the ostinato motif as we experimented with switching and layering multiple time signatures without losing the hook. Once we had that, the rest of the piece came easily - Ross delivered a guitar solo straight from 1970’s no-wave, and we uncovered the sort of melodrama that Corm and I have always loved to sing together, supported by the heavy playing of the ensemble."
Listen to ‘Fight Song’ here
Speaking on the narrative of To Cry Out In The Wilderness vocalist and lyricist Cormac Culkeen said: "When we came together to make this body of work, we started from a narrative seed; a post-apocalyptic humanity relearning and recreating itself, after a total ecological collapse." Speaking on "Fight Song" they add, "“Fight Song” became the song we thought the last of us might need. It is sung for an imagined last stand. It is a rallying cry to wholeheartedly fight a losing battle. So it is for us now, in this time of great dismay and unease. The axe must be disobeyed."
Scions are:
Cormac Culkeen - vocals
Dave Grenon - electronics + sound design
Andrew Mackelvie - saxophones & bass clarinet
Ellen Gibling - harp
India Gailey - cello
Ross Burns - electric guitar
Gabriella Ciurcovich - double bass
Michael Cloud Duguay - keyboards, accordion, guitar
Follow Scions: Instagram
