LUCIDMEDIA

Hillside Holds a Special Place For eccodek

Written by Catherine Kustanczy Tuesday, 21 July 2009 14:04

As the 26th annual Hillside Festival approaches, musician Andrew McPherson is feeling reflective about his time there.

“I’ve done it as a solo artist, with The Andy White Band, with Stephen Fearing and others,” he says, on the line from his home in Guelph, “and this is my third time as eccodek.

“It’s funny, the last number of years I’ve gone once or twice as a paying punter… it’s neat. It’s definitely a different experience on the other side of the stage! But for eccodek, [Hillside has] the best audience. They’re sponges and they’re open, because they’ve been primed by sheer variety. The weekend offers everyone so much music.”

Originally started in 1984 as a casual way for friends to share sounds they enjoyed, the festival has evolved into one of Canada’s most beloved summer happenings. Despite some of its big name artists (including Buffy St. Marie, The Arkells, and Divine Brown, all on the bill this year) and its ambitious range (with over 50 musical performances spread across five stages), it still retains its folksy roots, with environmental initiative, arts workshops, and intimate performance spaces.

McPherson is the man behind the six-person electronica-world band eccodek. He’s also done remixes for artists as varied as Hamilton hard rockers Junkhouse to the mellifluous sounds of Mali’s Vieux Farka Toure and is also a sought-after producer and voiceover artist. So while his music is global, he professes a love for small-town life, theorizing its simplicity filters into his creative approach.

“I don’t want to say it’s pure but there’s something in the flavour of it that’s just… not quite as caught up in what the rest of the world is doing. We’re just doing it, and chucking it out (for the public) to approve or disapprove.” He names artists like The Constantines and Gentleman Reg, both of whom hail from Guelph, as proof positive that a small-town vibe fosters individuality and an attitude toward creativity that isn’t weighed down by concerns of hipster credibility or image.

“They’ve all gone on to do awesome things,” he says, “they’re not trying to be the hipster band from Toronto or Montreal, cultivating their own little world, with no care in the world for what else is going on. [Being in a small town] is freeing as an artist and for a community of musicians. We care about the music –not who’s on the cover of Exclaim!”

eccodek have been around since 2003 and have released three albums, the most recent of which, Shivaboom, has garnered considerable international attention for its mix of Indian, Persian, Balkan, and Malian sounds, all filtered through electronica grooves and distinct dance beats. The album was also nominated for a Juno or World Music Album Of The Year, an honour McPherson found delightful, if a bit surreal.

“For me, I’ve been at it in so many different disguises,” he explains, “so [the nomination] was a wonderful acknowledgment that what you’re doing is penetrating at that level. It makes you feel like, all those salad days –of toiling in obscurity –were moving toward something like longevity.”

Together with romantic rocker Hawksley Workman and Celt-tinged band Great Big Sea, eccodek blasted GM Place with a lively version of the Led Zeppelin classic, “Gallows Pole.” While playing the Junos was, in McPherson’s words, “good for the whole community making this kind of music,” it’s at smaller festivals like Hillside where the artistry and ethos of eccodek really come alive.

“[The Festival] just naturally opens people up to what we do,” he explains, “it’s not that we don’t get great response in clubs, but it’s just, the club thing is so caught up in its own self-awareness. People don’t just plain get down. They’re too worried about ‘Who’s here?’ and ‘Do I look good?’ and ‘I can’t see!’”

He lets out a chuckle. “Whereas with the festival thing, everyone is so easy-going. Hillside is special that way. We’ve played a bunch of fests in Canada –great ones –but Hillside, there’s a little bit of magic going on. It’s not just faux civic pride –it’s really quite unique, and awesome. I think it’s the best showcasing festival in country.”