Miracle Fortress is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the mu ...

band based in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

, Quebec. The band's studio work is primarily a solo, project of

songwriter A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music gen ...

Graham Van Pelt, who is accompanied by the rest of the band during live shows.

Band history

Van Pelt, a member of the band

Think About Life Think About Life is an indie rock band from Montreal, Quebec, Canada, formed in 2005. Biography The group was founded by drummer Matt Shane and keyboardist Graham Van Pelt.Dunlevy, T'Cha. "Feckless abandon", ''The Gazette'', 2006-06-08, p. D3. ...

, recorded all of the music himself for five songs, and then self-released an EP, '' Watery Grave''. In 2007, he released a debut album '' Five Roses'' under the name Miracle Fortress, on

Secret City Records Secret City Records is a Canadian independent record label based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The music label was founded in 2006 by Andrew Rose and Justin West, originally as sublabel of Justin Time Records. It became fully independent in late ...

. The album received positive reviews, and was included on the shortlist for the 2007 Polaris Music Prize,"Miracle Fortress Solitary Man"
''Exclaim'', By Cam Lindsay Apr 24, 2011 which was ultimately won by Patrick Watson. Van Pelt recruited drummer Jordan Robson-Cramer of

Sunset Rubdown Sunset Rubdown is a Canadian art rock music group from Montreal. The band began as a solo project for Spencer Krug of Wolf Parade, who released his debut, '' Snake's Got a Leg'', in early 2005. By the next year the project expanded to become a fu ...

and Magic Weapon, guitarist Jessie Stein of

SS Cardiacs SS Cardiacs was a Canadian indie rock band, briefly active in the early 2000s.Sarah Liss"Cardiacs Attack" ''Now'', May 26, 2005. It consisted of Jessie Stein on vocals and guitar, Andy Lloyd on bass and Dana Snell on drums. History SS Cardiacs f ...

and

The Luyas The Luyas are a Canadian indie rock band formed in 2006 from Montreal, Quebec, Canada. History The Luyas did their first live performance in December 2006. Their first album, ''Faker Death'' came out in August 2007, and was re-released in Januar ...

, and keyboardist

Adam Waito Adam and the Amethysts was a Canadian indie rock band formed in Montreal in 2004. The band was fronted by Adam Waito, a former member of Miracle Fortress. The band released two albums and toured mostly around North America. History Waito was bor ...

of Telefauna to adapt ''Five Roses'' into a live show. This group made a cross-Canada tour in 2007. Nathan Ward, Adam Waito and Jessie Stein also took part in some of the shows. The style of the band's single, "Maybe Lately", was compared by critics to that of the

Beach Boys A beach is a landform alongside a body of water which consists of loose particles. The particles composing a beach are typically made from rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles, etc., or biological sources, such as mollusc shell ...

. Miracle Fortress' third album, ''Was I the Wave?'' was released in April 2011. It was musically quite different from the previous album, with simpler instrumentation and more rhythm. The album won a

GAMIQ The Alternative Independent Music Gala of Quebec (french: Gala alternatif de la musique indépendante du Québec; GAMIQ) is an award-giving event created in 2006. It rewards emerging artists from the Quebec music scene. The awards are granted aft ...

Award for Electronic Album of the Year. In 2014, Van Pelt continues to release music as Miracle Fortress."Miracle Fortress "Even in America"
''Exclaim!'', By Alex Hudson Sep 16, 2014

Discography

* ''

Watery Grave EP The ''Watery Grave'' EP was Graham Van Pelt's first release under his solo project Miracle Fortress. The self-released five-song EP was recorded in 2005 at Friendship Cove, a recording studio/indie rock venue owned by Van Pelt and fellow friend ...

'' (2005, self-released) * ''Have You Seen In Your Dreams'' 12" (2007,

Rough Trade Records Rough Trade Records is an independent record label based in London, England. It was formed in 1976 by Geoff Travis who had opened a record store off Ladbroke Grove. Having successfully promoted and sold records by punk rock and early post-pun ...

) * '' Five Roses'' (2007, Secret City Records) * ''Maybe Lately'' 7" (2008, Rough Trade Records) * ''

Was I the Wave? ''Was I the Wave?'' is the second studio album by Miracle Fortress, released on April 26, 2011. The album departs from the indie rock of '' Five Roses'', and is instead more of an electronic offering. As with ''Five Roses'', all songs were compose ...

'' (2011, Secret City Records)

References

External links

Miracle Fortress
official site
Secret City Records artist page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Miracle Fortress Musical groups established in 2005 Musical groups from Montreal Canadian indie rock groups English-language musical groups from Quebec Arbutus Records artists