Jeff DeButte Keiko Devaux Mike Dubue Jordan Howard Steven Lappano Jeffrey Malecki Howie Tsui Shaun Weadick Jacob Bryce Adam Saikaley Patrick Johnson Martin Charbonneau Seb Shinwell Pierre-Luc Clément Pascal Delaquis
The Acorn is the music project of singer-songwriter and musician Rolf-Carlos Klausener formed in Ottawa, Ontario in 2003. Their music spanned numerous genres, from art-folk and indie, to minimal electro and folk-rock, and members played with numerous other bands.[1] Their songs have charted on Canadian campus charts and have been in rotation on CBC Radio 3 and The Verge.[citation needed]
History
Rolf Klausener, the principal songwriter, vocalist and guitarist, founded the band as a solo project, but was soon joined by guitarist Howie Tsui, bassist Jeff Debutte and drummer Jeffrey Malecki.[2]
They were quickly signed to Kelp Records, and produced the 2004 album The Pink Ghosts.[3] Their subsequent tour produced the album Live At Royal Albert Hall,[4] and they released the EP Blankets.[5][6]
In 2006, they signed with the label Paper Bag Records and released the well-received EP Tin Fist. [7][8] They were also joined by singer and keyboardist Keiko Devaux; Bryce left the band and was replaced by drummer Jeffrey Malecki.
In 2007, they released Glory Hope Mountain, whose songs describe the life of Klausener's Honduras-born mother, Gloria Esperanza Montoya.[9][10][11] That was followed by the albums Heron Act (2007),[12]Ear Worms (2008),[13] the EP Little Elms (2008),[14] and a split EP with the band Ohbijou.[15] After Glory Hope Mountain, singer-songwriter Rolf Klausener joined the band, as did multi-instrumentalist Shaun Weadick. Weadick and Devaux left in 2008.
In 2009, The Acorn was a long-listed nominee for Uncut Magazine's Uncut Music Award, for Glory Hope Mountain.[21] The album was also nominated for the Polaris Music Prize, making The Acorn the only Ottawa band to ever be so nominated.[22] In early 2010, they released the EP Restoration[23] and, in June, the album No Ghost[24][25] and went on a two-month tour. In the interim, they recorded a remix album of No Ghost, called Make The Least Of The Day: No Ghost Reinterpreted, which includes remixes by Four Tet, Chad VanGaalen, Born Ruffians and Diamond Rings.[26][27] Tsui and Maleckie left the band in 2010; they were replaced by drummer Pat Johnson, multi-instrumentalist Adam Saikaley and bassist Martin Charbonneau.
In 2011 Klausner began working on an electronic dance project called 'Silkken Laumann' with Johnnson and Saikaley.[28] The group released their debut album Not Forever Enough on January 1, 2014.[29] They regrouped as The Acorn to release the 2015 album Vieux Loup,[30][31][32][33] which was nominated for the 2015 Polaris Prize.[34]
In 2011, Klausener had co-founded Ottawa's Arboretum Festival which, in 2018, re-branded as 'Bon-Fire'.[35] Klausener is the festival's creative director. The Acorn last performed in 2017;[36] Klausener speaks of The Acorn in the past tense.[37]
Discography
Albums
The Pink Ghosts (2004, re-released 2007), Kelp Records
