PARALLELS with FAN DEATH at Sneaky Dee’s (431 College), Friday (February 6), 10 pm. $10, advance tickets at Rotate This and Soundscapes.
As crazy as it sounds, you have to admire Cam Findlay for bailing on international success story Crystal Castles in the thick of their ascent.
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Findlay toured the world with the divisive electro duo as their live drummer, but gave his notice last summer to pursue his own creative ideas with Parallels. So far, the gamble’s paid off.
“I didn’t stop for any bad reason,” says Findlay. “I just really wanted to fulfill this idea of Parallels that I had. In terms of creativity, [working with Crystal Castles] wasn’t very fulfilling, but it was a great experience.”
Though Parallels started with Findlay writing disco-flavoured, 80s-pop-moulded tracks in his basement, it didn’t take form until he hooked up with magnetic vocalist Holly Dodson. Any doubt about whether the local couple could work together was laid to rest with the help of a blond Englishman.
“We saw Bowie together a couple of years ago. That’s when things started,” he says. “We discovered we had the same ideas about music and how we wanted things to sound. So when we started to work as a band, we didn’t need to figure it out – it just worked.”
So far they’ve released a digital EP, Ultralight (Independent), but a wax slab is slated for March. The title track and a haunting cut called Reservoir highlight Findlay and Dodson’s burgeoning chemistry. Their live debut last November was talked about for weeks, and Findlay admits that drumming for CC probably had something to do with that.
“I like playing drums live. I think it brings a lot more. It’s something I excel at. But I’d rather have Holly be the frontperson. I don’t mind being in the background.”
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