With her jazz-steeped, acoustic punk stylings, and an astonishing seven recordings under her belt on her own independent label, Few’ll Ignite Sound, indie music sensation Ember Swift continues to solidify her reputation as one of Canada’s truly substantial artists.
From Woodstock, Ontario, and now a resident of Toronto, Ember is a self-taught guitarist and percussionist, as well as a trained pianist. Ember Swift is best described as a brilliant jazz vocalist inhabiting the body of a punk-folk singer-songwriter.
Ember's politically charged folk-jazz-funk music has garnered ardent fan frenzy and rave critical acclaim from across Canada, the U.S., and Australia. The band is a style-merging, genre-hopping trio that produces unique songwriting in the midst of multi-instrumentalist talent akin to wizardry. Insightful political observations are framed by folk, jazz, funk, punk, middle-eastern, Spanish, and pop, with classical and reggae undertones, creating borderless music. Critics may try to categorize their sound, but in the end it can’t be done.
Voted as Toronto’s vocalist of the year by the readers of NOW magazine, Ember was also selected as one of ten artists to participate in a special concert tribute to Joni Mitchell at the International World Leaders Conference, where her performance received high praise, including a rave review from Ms. Mitchell’s official web site.
As well as being a highly accomplished musician, performer, and composer who successfully runs her own business, Ember is well known as a committed activist. Her credibility for insightful social commentary was recognized when she was asked by the Canadian government to submit a brief to the parliamentary commission examining the country’s post September 11th security legislation.
A genuinely compelling and uncompromising performer, Ember and her band have toured extensively throughout North America and Australia, averaging close to 200 shows per year. And as her devoted following can attest, an Ember Swift show promises a perspective-shifting time, with sheer fun as important an ingredient as Ember’s extraordinary voice and unflinching lyrics.
Ember Swift and her musical/business partner Lyndell Montgomery are independent by identity, not default. They are poignant songwriters, prolific recording artists (seven albums and counting), relentless touring artists, vibrant stage performers, and fierce political and social activists.