Imaginary Cities was a Canadian

indie pop Indie pop (also typeset as indie-pop or indiepop) is a music genre and subculture that combines guitar pop with DIY ethic in opposition to the style and tone of mainstream pop music. It originated from British post-punk in the late 1970s and sub ...

duo based in

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...

, Manitoba. The project consisted of multi-instrumentalist Rusty Matyas, formerly of

The Waking Eyes The Waking Eyes is a Canadian rock band from Winnipeg and Steinbach, Manitoba. History The band formed after the break-up of two other Manitoba bands, The Pets from Steinbach and Novillero from Winnipeg. In 2002 The Waking Eyes released a full- ...

and a sometime collaborator of

The Weakerthans The Weakerthans are an award-winning and Juno-nominated Canadian indie rock band from Winnipeg. The band, led by John K. Samson, has released four studio albums and is currently inactive. History The band was formed in 1997 in Winnipeg, Manit ...

, and vocalist Marti Sarbit."Imaginary Cities are here to stay"
''

National Post The ''National Post'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet newspaper available in several cities in central and western Canada. The paper is the flagship publication of Postmedia Network and is published Mondays through Saturdays, with ...

'', February 21, 2011.

History

Matyas and Sarbit began collaborating in 2010. That year, they played a few live shows and began to record tracks for an album. In 2011, they continued performing, at first serving as the opening band for more established groups. Their debut album, ''Temporary Resident'', was released in 2011 on the Hidden Pony label; it went on to top Canada's

campus radio Campus radio (also known as college radio, university radio or student radio) is a type of radio station that is run by the students of a college, university or other educational institution. Programming may be exclusively created or produce ...

charts. That year, the band won a Western Canada Music Award for Best Pop Album of the Year and was subsequently named as a longlisted nominee for the 2011 Polaris Music Prize."2011 Polaris Music Prize Long List announced"
. aux.tv, June 16, 2011. To support the album, they played several dates in

Eastern Canada Eastern Canada (also the Eastern provinces or the East) is generally considered to be the region of Canada south of the Hudson Bay/Strait and east of Manitoba, consisting of the following provinces (from east to west): Newfoundland and Labrador, ...

and the US as an opening act for

Pixies A pixie (also pisky, pixy, pixi, pizkie, and piskie in Cornwall and Devon, and pigsie or puggsy in the New Forest) is a mythical creature of British folklore. Pixies are considered to be particularly concentrated in the high moorland areas aro ...

. Imaginary Cities performed at a number of pop festivals, including the 2013 NXNE, and gained a following in Germany. The band released their second album, ''Fall of Romance'', in May 2013. In 2014, they collaborated with

Porter Robinson Porter Weston Robinson (born July 15, 1992) is an American DJ, record producer, musician, and singer from Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Robinson began producing music in his childhood. He signed to Skrillex's record label Owsla, OWSLA at the age o ...

on his song " Hear the Bells". In the same year, Matyas toured with

The Sheepdogs The Sheepdogs are a Canadian rock band formed in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan in 2004. The Sheepdogs were the first unsigned band to make the cover of ''Rolling Stone'' and have gone on to a career featuring multi-platinum album sales and four Jun ...

as a guitarist following the departure of Leot Hanson from that band. Imaginary Cities stopped performing and recording in 2016. Sarbit launched the new band Lanikai the following year. Matyas suffered from

alcoholism Alcoholism is, broadly, any drinking of alcohol (drug), alcohol that results in significant Mental health, mental or physical health problems. Because there is disagreement on the definition of the word ''alcoholism'', it is not a recognize ...

-related liver disease in 2017 and spent some time recovering before reemerging in 2021 with the solo project Rusty Robot.Eva Wasney
"Delivering delight: Musician's Rusty Robot project is two scoops of fun with a cherry on top"
''

Winnipeg Free Press The ''Winnipeg Free Press'' (or WFP; founded as the ''Manitoba Free Press'') is a daily (excluding Sunday) broadsheet newspaper in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It provides coverage of local, provincial, national, and international news, as well as ...

'', July 8, 2021.

Discography

* ''Temporary Resident'' (2011) * ''Fall of Romance'' (2013)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Imaginary Cities Musical groups established in 2010 Musical groups from Winnipeg Canadian indie pop groups 2010 establishments in Manitoba Musical groups disestablished in 2016 Grand Hotel van Cleef Records artists