Ohbijou 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 s ...

band that was based in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

. The music of Ohbijou draws on

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop!, a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Albums * ''Pop'' ( ...

, folk and bluegrass influences.

History

Ohbijou began as the solo project of

Brantford Brantford ( 2021 population: 104,688) is a city in Ontario, Canada, founded on the Grand River in Southwestern Ontario. It is surrounded by Brant County, but is politically separate with a municipal government of its own that is fully independ ...

singer-songwriter Casey Mecija.Sayej, Nadja. "Underground rock", ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...

'', 2007-01-06, p. M2. (She also works as a production assistant at

MuchMusic Much (an abbreviation for its full name MuchMusic) is a Canadian English language specialty channel owned by BCE Inc. through its Bell Media subsidiary that airs programming aimed at teenagers and young adults. MuchMusic launched on August 31, ...

.)Lederman, Marsha. "Rocky mountain high", ''

'', 2008-03-27, p. R2. Casey began composing her own songs, taking inspiration from Canadian songwriter Julie Doiron. She invited her sister Jennifer Mecija, to assist with her early performances. The Mecija sisters later moved to Toronto to attend Ryerson University and the Ontario College of Art and Design, respectively. Ohbijou

In 2004, the sisters joined with Heather Kirby (bass, banjo), James Bunton (drums, trumpet), Anissa Hart (cello), Ryan Carley (piano, synth, glockenspiel, electric piano, harpsichord), and Andrew Kinoshita (mandolin) to form the band Ohbijou. In the context of Ohbijou, Casey remains as lead vocalist, though also plays guitar, piano and ukulele. Jennifer continues to add vocal layering, moreover, her instrumental contributions to Ohbijou include violin, harmochord, glockenspiel, organ and melodica. The music of Ohbijou has been described as being similar to

Bic Runga Briolette Kah Bic Runga (born 13 January 1976), recording as Bic Runga, is a New Zealand singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist pop artist. Her first three studio albums debuted at number one on the New Zealand Top 40 Album charts. Runga ...

and

Mazzy Star Mazzy Star is an American alternative rock band formed in 1988 in Santa Monica, California, from remnants of the group Opal. Founding member David Roback's friend Hope Sandoval became the group's vocalist when Kendra Smith left Opal. Mazzy St ...

, and called "hushed, heart-tugging music".Rayner, Ben. "Fans wake up to dreamy pop: Hometown buzz pushes Toronto septet Ohbijou into bigger venues", ''

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and par ...

'', 2007-09-09, p. E10. AnissaHart

Ohbijou released their debut album, ''Swift Feet for Troubling Times'', in 2006. They played festivals across Canada, including the

Osheaga Festival The Osheaga Music and Arts Festival (french: Festival musique et arts Osheaga) is a multi-day indie music festival in Montreal, Quebec, that is held every summer at Parc Jean-Drapeau on Île Sainte-Hélène. The festival takes place on six stages ...

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...

and the Hillside Festival in

Guelph Guelph ( ; 2021 Canadian Census population 143,740) is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. Known as "The Royal City", Guelph is roughly east of Kitchener and west of Downtown Toronto, at the intersection of Highway 6, Highway 7 and Wel ...

. They played the opening set for the Virgin Festival in Toronto, and were nominated for the 2007 Galaxie Rising Stars Award of the CBC, competing with

IllScarlett IllScarlett (styled as illScarlett; ) is a Canadian rock and reggae band formed in 2001. Their most prominent influence is California-based band Sublime. The band found their break when they set up their equipment (using a generat ...

Final Fantasy is a Japanese science fantasy anthology media franchise created by Hironobu Sakaguchi and developed and owned by Square Enix (formerly Square). The franchise centers on a series of fantasy and science fantasy role-playing video games. The ...

and Emily Haines of

Metric Metric or metrical may refer to: * Metric system, an internationally adopted decimal system of measurement * An adjective indicating relation to measurement in general, or a noun describing a specific type of measurement Mathematics In mathe ...

. The band were among the organizers of a 2007 compilation CD, ''

Friends in Bellwoods ''Friends in Bellwoods'' is a compilation album, released in 2007. It was the first release on Out of This Spark, through a distribution deal with Sonic Unyon Records. The album is named for a house on Bellwoods Avenue in Toronto, shared by two ...

''—based out of Mecija's Bellwoods Ave. Toronto home and practice space for Ohbijou and their friends—as a benefit for Toronto's Daily Bread Food Bank. In 2008 they were chosen as one of three bands for the

Banff Centre Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, formerly known as The Banff Centre (and previously The Banff Centre for Continuing Education), located in Banff, Alberta, was established in 1933 as the Banff School of Drama. It was granted full autonomy as ...

's first Indie Band Residency, where they had the opportunity to spend two weeks working with producers and recording engineers.< Their music has been playlisted on

CBC Radio 3 CBC Radio 3 is a Canadian digital radio station operated by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, which plays a relatively freeform mix of indie rock, indie pop, alternative hip hop, folk, country and electronic music. The service, which la ...

. Their song "St. Francis" peaked at No. 4 on the network's weekly charts in December 2006, and ranked as the No. 34 song on the network's year-end singles chart. Ohbijou was included in the April 5, 2008 broadcast of

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 belo ...

's ''

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 T ...

'' and chosen as Aux.tv's X3 Artist of the month for August 2009, in partnership with

and ''

Exclaim! ''Exclaim!'' is a Canadian music and entertainment publisher based in Toronto, which features in-depth coverage of new music across all genres with a special focus on Canadian and emerging artists. The monthly Exclaim! print magazine publishes 7 ...

''. As well, Casey Mecija was named one of ''

Chatelaine Chatelaine may refer to: * Chatelaine (chain), a set of short chains on a belt worn by women and men for carrying keys, thimble and/or sewing kit, etc. * Chatelaine (horse), a racehorse * ''Chatelaine'' (magazine), an English-language Canadian wo ...

''s 80 Women to Watch for 2008. Ohbijou is nationally distributed through

Outside Music Outside Music is a Canadian record label and distributor founded by Lloyd Nishimura in 2001. In 2007, it expanded to include an artist management division which includes Jill Barber, Matthew Barber, Aidan Knight, Justin Rutledge as management ...

. The band released their second album, ''

Beacons A beacon is an intentionally conspicuous device designed to attract attention to a specific location. A common example is the lighthouse, which draws attention to a fixed point that can be used to navigate around obstacles or into port. More mode ...

'' in 2009. Casey Mecija covered

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

' "Dear Prudence" for

American Laundromat Records American Laundromat Records is an independent record label founded in 2004 by Joe Spadaro. ALR specializes in almost annual indie rock compilation albums, which have included tracks by OK Go, The Dresden Dolls, and The Watson Twins. Compilation t ...

charity CD ''Sing Me To Sleep - Indie Lullabies'', which was released worldwide on May 18, 2010. During this year the band also visited China with local promoters Split Works. The album ''Metal Meets'' appeared on the !earshot Campus and Community National Top 50 Albums chart in January, 2012."The National Top 50 For the Week Ending: Tuesday, January 3, 2012"
''!earshot''. The band announced they would go on an indefinite hiatus after their farewell show on September 7, 2013. Casey Mecija has continued to work on music, arts and media projects, including hosting the documentary series ''

The Doc Project ''The Doc Project'' was a Canadian podcast and radio program, which aired weekly on CBC Radio One.CBC Radio One CBC Radio One is the English-language news and information radio network of the publicly owned Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. It is commercial-free and offers local and national programming. It is available on AM and FM to 98 percent of C ...

."CBC Radio One Unveils Fall Lineup"
. ''Broadcaster'', September 3, 2015.

Members

* Casey Mecija – vocals, guitar, ukulele, piano *Jennifer Mecija – violin, harmochord, Glockenspiel, melodica, vocals *Heather Kirby – bass, banjo *James Bunton – drums, trumpet *Anissa Hart – cello *Ryan Carley – piano, synth, Glockenspiel, electric piano, harpsichord

Past members

*Andrew Kinoshita – mandolin, guitar

Discography

Albums

* '' Swift Feet for Troubling Times'' (2006) * ''

'' (2009) * '' Metal Meets'' (2011)

Splits

* '' The Acorn + Ohbijou - 12" EP'' (2008)

Contributions

* ''

'' (2007): "The Otherside (Remix)" * ''

Friends in Bellwoods II ''Friends in Bellwoods'' is a compilation album, released in 2009 by Out of This Spark as a benefit for Toronto's Daily Bread Food Bank. The album is a sequel to the 2007 compilation '' Friends in Bellwoods''. Where the original album was, in pa ...

'' (2009): "An Ode to an End" * Swim Drink Fish Music (2010): "Tour Song"

References

External links

* *
Ohbijou
at

{{Authority control Musical groups established in 2004 Musical groups disestablished in 2013 Musical groups from Toronto Canadian indie pop groups Bella Union artists 2004 establishments in Ontario 2013 disestablishments in Ontario