Recording: Emilie & Ogden

Artist: Emilie & Ogden

Song: Closer

Recorded at Longboat Hall (Camp Wavelength – Night 3), August 20, 2017.

Emilie & Ogden - Closer

Since 2009, the summer Wavelength festival has been a highlight of the season, slowing down the hectic "festival experience" to an Island pace and making the whole thing as much about the vibe and the location as the (always well-curated) music. When this spring's floods shut the Island down, there was a ripple of apprehension from many quarters at the loss of favourite summer hangs, culminating in the festival decamping to the mainland. The WL crew did an excellent job in emulating the festival experience in the outdoor/daytime portion, but it was harder to feel the same sense of relaxation and freedom in a bar.

Montréal-based Emilie Kahn was celebrating her last show billed as a duo with Ogden, her harp. Backed by a rhythm section, her delicate harp tones were occasionally muscled aside by the other instruments, but there was usually a tasty equilibrium. A tremendously impractical thing to take on tour, on imagines, it's always a treat to hear a harp in a rock'n'roll context. The crowd, who looked more like a here-to-see-Deerhoof bunch than Wavelength Explorers, were admirably into this.