Olenka and the Autumn Lovers are a Canadian

indie folk Indie folk is a music genre that arose in the 1990s among musicians from indie rock scenes influenced by folk music. Indie folk hybridizes the acoustic guitar melodies of traditional folk music with contemporary instrumentation. The genre has its ...

band from

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

, British Columbia. Fronted by Polish-born singer-songwriter Olenka Krakus, the band's sound is a mix of orchestral folk-pop with elements reminiscent of classic

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...

and

folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has b ...

, and Eastern European folk. The band uses diverse instruments (including cello, violin, accordion, trumpet, saxophone, clarinet, lap steel, pedal steel, and mandolin) to showcase Krakus' songwriting.

History

Olenka and the Autumn Lovers was formed by Krakus in early 2008 in

London, Ontario London (pronounced ) is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada, along the Quebec City–Windsor Corridor. The city had a population of 422,324 according to the 2021 Canadian census. London is at the confluence of the Thames River, approximate ...

, and named after her favourite season. Krakus collected a long list of musicians based in the London Ontario and Vancouver BC scenes. The band released a self-titled album in 2008, which was named Local Album of the Year by the

University of Western Ontario The University of Western Ontario (UWO), also known as Western University or Western, is a Public university, public research university in London, Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on of land, surrounded by resident ...

's campus radio station

CHRW-FM CHRW-FM (branded as Radio Western) is a Canadian radio station, broadcasting at 94.9 FM in London, Ontario. It is licensed as a community-based campus radio station by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission. The stati ...

. That year they also released two EPs, the country-influenced ''Papillonette'' and the sombre ''Warsaw Girl''."Olenka says farewell"
''Londoner'', February 24, 2014 In the summer of 2010, the band recorded their second album, ''And Now We Sing'', which was released in October 2010. The album was recorded by

Andy Magoffin Joel Andrew Magoffin, best known as Andy Magoffin, is a Canadian musician and record producer. He is the songwriter, vocalist and guitarist for the indie rock band Two-Minute Miracles and the touring bass guitarist for Raised by Swans. His extensi ...

at ''The House of Miracles'', with additional recordings by Simon Larochette at ''The London Music Club''. It was mixed by Andy Magoffin and Simon Larochette, and mastered by Joao Carvalho at ''JCM''. The album appeared on the !Earshot National Top 50 Chart in October. The band toured in eastern Canada in support of the album, and in 2011 continued touring in western Canada, performing at several festivals. Later that year they were back in Ontario and then the east coast, performing at the

Halifax Pop Explosion The Halifax Pop Explosion was a music festival and conference that occurred every fall, typically two weeks after Thanksgiving, in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. The term "Halifax Pop Explosion" also came to be adopted in the 1990s as the name o ...

and Rifflandia. The band recorded a batch of songs in the summer of 2012 with Simon Larochette at his studio ''The Sugar Shack'' (former home of

's ''House of Miracles''). The songs were mixed and mastered by

Dan Weston Dan Weston is a Canadian record producer, engineer, and mixer. He was born in Montreal. Weston has worked in a variety of musical genres, but is best known for his work with such artists as Juno award winner Shad, Classified, Daniel Romano, and At ...

. Seven songs from the summer recording sessions were released on an EP, ''Hard Times'', in 2012. The band received extensive college radio play across Canada, and were featured on the national

CBC Radio CBC Radio is the English-language radio operations of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The CBC operates a number of radio networks serving different audiences and programming niches, all of which (regardless of language) are outlined below ...

programs ''

Radio 2 Drive ''Drive'', formerly known as ''Radio 2 Drive'', is the afternoon program on the CBC Music radio network in Canada, launched September 2, 2008. On air from 3:30 to 7:00 pm, it is hosted by Rich Terfry, also known as Buck 65. The program airs ...

'', '' Q'' (including a live, in-studio performance), ''

The Vinyl Cafe The Vinyl Cafe is an hour-long radio variety show hosted by Stuart McLean that was broadcast on CBC Radio and was syndicated to approximately 80 U.S. public radio stations through Public Radio International. It aired on Sunday at noon EST and ...

'' and various provincial programs. The remaining three songs were released digitally in October 2012 and released on vinyl on the ''It's Alright'' 7-inch in May 2013. In 2014 Krakus left London and moved to Vancouver. The Autumn Lovers continued to perform, now based on the west coast; a 2015 tour in western Canada included London's

Home County Folk Festival Home County Music & Art Festival (formerly Home County Folk Festival) is a festival held the third weekend of July in London, Ontario. The festival is an admission by donation festival held in Victoria Park Victoria Park may refer to: Place ...

. Olenka and the Autumn Lovers have also performed at NXNE (

North by Northeast North by Northeast (or NXNE) is an annual music and arts festival held each June in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The festival's main focus is live music, but it also includes an eSports gaming tournament, comedy, a conversations series, a flea mark ...

Pop Montreal POP Montreal is an annual music festival occurring in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, in the early fall, usually at the end of September or the beginning of October. More than 400 bands are scheduled to play in more than 50 venues across the city, most ...

, CMW (

Canadian Music Week Canadian Music Week (or CMW) is an industry conference and music festival held over ten days in Toronto and Ontario, Canada. History Canadian Music Week began in 1981 and has grown to become one of Canada's largest and most influential media a ...

), Stereophonic, In The Dead Of Winter, [(2015), and LOLA (The London Ontario Live Arts Festival).

Band members

*Olenka Krakus - lead vocal, classical guitar *Andromeda Monk - saxophone, clarinet, bass clarinet *Jo Hirabayashi - electric guitar, vocals *Jeffrey Moon - drums *Dan Toews - bass, electric guitar

Selected discography

Albums

*May 2008: ''Warsaw Girl'' EP (independent) *November 2008: ''Olenka and the Autumn Lovers'' (self-titled, independent) *November 2008: ''Papillonette'' EP (independent) *October 2010: ''And Now We Sing'' (independent) *October 2012: ''Hard Times'' EP (independent) *October 2012 / 2013: ''It's Alright'' seven-inch vinyl record (independent)

Contributions

*March 2009: ''OH! Compilation One'' (Open House Arts Collective, compilation) song -"The Decline" *November 2010: ''OH! Compilation Two'' (Open House Arts Collective, compilation) song -"Sparrow" *December 2011: ''Folks Songs of Canada Now'' (compilation) song - "The Murder of Maggie Howie"

References

External links

Olenka and the Autumn Lovers
official website {{DEFAULTSORT:Olenka And The Autumn Lovers Musical groups established in 2008 Musical groups from Vancouver Musical groups from London, Ontario 2008 establishments in British Columbia Canadian indie folk groups