Yukon Blonde Guitarist Brandon Wolfe Scott to Open for Dan Mangan!

We are so excited to announce that Wolfe Scott will be opening for Dan Mangan's SOLD OUT show on September 5th!

Bio by Sam Boer:

There’s something uplifting to Brandon Wolfe Scott’s heartbroken songs. The Vancouver singer-songwriter, known for his work as guitarist and co-songwriter of the JUNO-nominated indie rock group Yukon Blonde, earnestly searches for a brighter future on his latest EP, [Pressed Flowers]. Teaming up with Gavin Gardiner (of Juno & Polaris-nominated indie-folk outfit The

Wooden Sky) and Champagne James Robertson (Lindi Ortega, Dwayne Gretzky)—the

architects behind the “slow-motion surf rock” band MOONRIIVR—This EP details the moment

Scott’s life turned upside-down while also serving as an ode to the power of musical friendship. The recording process for Pressed Flowers] started with a sleepover. Rather than booking out a studio, Scott invited Gardiner and Robertson to record in his cozy living room/home studio space, crashing at his place while they crafted the album’s first songs. Mere months after a devastating breakup in this very apartment, it became the site of a domestic musical dream: “I’d wake up from the couch, make coffee in the morning, get the amps hot, have breakfast in the backyard.” As they moved the piano into the living room, wedged analog gear into corners, and set up drums in the bedroom, “it felt like fresh air in the space.” Moving through these songs with the support of such thoughtful musicians, Scott reflects, “This was what I really needed at that time.”

Through subsequent sessions/sleepovers (in Vancouver and in Toronto, at Gardiner’s All Day Coconut studio), Scott’s mournful demos transformed into playful vignettes, dancing with glinting organs, acoustic guitar licks, and smooth percussion courtesy of Lyle Molzan (Jann Arden, Serena Ryder). While Scott is obviously no stranger to collaboration (he has co-written/co-produced with psychedelic pop icon STACEY and Estonian popstars Eleryn Tiit and ElizabeteGaile), this EP was the first time Scott was putting his own songs in the hands of other producers.

This departure was a triumph; as Scott jokes, “Hey, it doesn’t just sound like me in my little

closet!” “There’s a cohesiveness that came from me being hands-off,” he reflects, as he focused on performance while Gardiner and Robertson did their alchemy. “It came together quickly. Gavin would be on a mellotron, then playing bass, then James would rip three solos, each one better and better…he’s a weapon, that guy!” The trio would “find silly percussion things, like smacking my guitar with brushes, or using sandpaper for percussion,” as Gardiner and Robertson invited Scott, all the while, to “use weirder chords.” The project also provided the chance for Scott to reconnect with former Yukon Blonde bandmate Rebecca Gray, who offered shimmering harmonies on “Back For Me” (“it was so nice to hear her sing again!”).

Throughout [Pressed Flowers], Scott showcases his knack for florid melodies that bend around the curves of his thoughts, stumbling into sharp insights. On the EP’s Paul Simon-esque opening track, Scott recalls the simplicity of the past, when “everything was lush with wild roses/and you were always making time for me.” Digging deeper on the gently deliberate “All The Time,” Scott reckons with the challenge of presenting authentically, as he “wears a smile that’s paper-thin / to hide the storm that rages on so loud.” Scott’s hypnotic cover of “Rainbow” by 60s Scottish pop band Marmalade pays homage to the sounds that decorate the album, while the song “Laugh Again” captures the mixed feelings of a relationship fading through its irresistibly catchy chorus: “oh no / I’m finding ways to live my life without you.” Between tours and recording projects, Scott has been working at Green Auto, Vancouver’s beloved DIY venue. “It’s exciting to watch the next generations of Vancouver’s music scene thrive, and to have a space that allows these young bands to build a fan base and grow as musicians,” Scott smiles. “I try to pass along any knowledge I can, while I keep learning too—it’s a perfect push and pull.” It feels fitting for an artist at an inflection point, embracing where his musical friends and his community are taking him.