Toronto Music Scene

September 2, 2008
By: Sheena Lyonnais

When director of Virgin Festival Canada Andrew Bridge told TMS last year that Dragonette was the band he was most looking forward to it was easy to see why.  The three parts Toronto one part London, England quartet was just beginning to create buzz with their addicting electro-pop beats.

But then more interest was garnered when reporters learned the group was the birth child of an adulterous relationship between now married singer Martina Sorbara and her keyboardist husband Dan Kurtz. Sultry songs like “Competition” capture the naughty but fun nature of the group and lace a little bit of promiscuity with a whole lot of sass.

One year later the band has been on several successful tours, created hilarious youtube videos, had numerous mentions on celebrity blogger Perez Hilton’s blog (including a recent one for new video “Competition”), had their music featured in commercials and have landed themselves on college campus radio charts for their 2007 album Galore.  Now it’s time to start getting ready for their second major release, which is apparently supposed to be out in March.

“I guess that means we have to finish it before Christmas, which seems like a lot of time until I realize it’s August and we’re on the road all the time,” Kurtz said.  “We’ve actually gotten pretty good at writing where ever we happen to be.  Martina and I were at a cottage in Haliburton writing songs the other week.  We’ve done some stuff in Barcelona and I don’t even remember where, but it works out.  It will take every minute we have to do it.”

“I don’t have a finish date, but we’re definitely on our way.  It’s impossible for us [to predict] because we’re such delinquent writers,” Sorbara said.

The newer songs have unintentionally taken on a different direction, one Sorbara describes as being even more “playful.”

“I think this album is more heart less muscle maybe,” she said.  “That’s what’s happening.  The songs are sounding to me a bit more fun, where as before I was playing with a nastier side of me on the last one.  Now I’ve melted into a pool of love.”

Nasty works for Dragonette.  Although their unapologetic and unforgiving songs are merely a small part of what sets Dragonette apart from other acts stemming from this city, they’re hugely why I love blasting them on my iPod while I’m running my stresses away on the treadmill.  This is a group that dares to push limits and does it naturally, honestly and with conviction, all set to the backdrop of wicked electric beats and catchy hooks.

Australia will be stealing them for a while, but Dragonette is set to return to Toronto at the latest in December when they play the Cavalcade of Lights.  Between then they’ll be playing some shows in New York and heading to Spain.

“We’ve got a lot of places to go,” Kurtz said.

Check out Dragonette at www.myspace.com/dragonette , including a wicked, modified cover of Calvin Harris’ “the Girls” renamed “the Boys.”

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