Announcing our new live lineup anD premiere oct 12 in toronto!

We're formally announcing our new live lineup, including (pictured from left to right) Braeden McMillan on drums, percussion and keyboards/sampling, Kevin O'Leary on bass, keyboards and vocals, and Scott Carruthers on guitar and vocals. We also expect to be announcing additional members of our recording and live performance collective over the coming months. We've been preparing our live product for a few months now, and we're very excited to have our debut show booked for Friday Oct 12 at the legendary Bovine in Toronto (link below). We'll be sending out invites over the coming days, but please reach out if you have any questions and if you're interested in joining us! We can't wait to kick-off the live show!

See you there! -Scott

https://www.facebook.com/events/293730454774174/

ABOUT OUR NEW PHOTOS:
Photo by: Boris R. Aguilar 
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/br_aguilar/

For these pictures, we had an opportunity to go and see one of the last remaining pipe organs in Toronto at 151 Annette Street in the Junction. We wanted to feature an interesting historical space in Toronto and we thought the musical theme was a great fit. This is a smaller version of the large pipe organs that are still in use in the city (for example, the organ in St. James Cathedral on King St.), and was constructed around 1909 by Leonard Morel. At the time, churches and wealthy home owners would commission these massive, custom-built instruments, and there were a number of local craftsmen and piano-makers in the Junction who specialized in building them.

675 pipes rise into the attic from the chamber below, and their pitch can be fine-tuned by peeling strips of metal from the individual pipes. The pipes range between a few inches and eight feet in length.

Unfortunately, due to the specialized nature of the instrument and the cost of maintenance, this organ (like many others) has fallen into disuse. The motor that pumps air through the pipes hasn't been working since 2012, though the building owners have expressed interest in having it fixed. We went down into the large chamber below with the organ keyboard and the acoustics and natural reverb in the room were unbelievable. The slightest sound produced echos and whispers that were amplified by the room's acoustics, but also took on a slightly metallic quality. We could only imagine how the organ would have sounded in the room if it was operational.

EP1 Out Now!

Hey ya'll, it's with great pride we announce the release of our debut 6-song EP! We had released the first three tracks and have kind of been sitting on the final three - but we finally had enough and said "to hell with it" and now they're out in the ether. The new tracks are divergent from the first three in that they're a bit more upbeat and more vocally dynamic. When we first set out to record for this project we really had no idea where it would take us. These 6 songs embody a number of different sounds and styles and we've learned more about where we want to take our music. To that end we've also re-entered the studio and are working on new material! The plan will be to release songs as they are finished and then we might consider bundling a few into an EP or Album collection. Finally, we're going to start seeking additional live players to put together a live act. All in all very excited with our progress and can't wait to share more art with you all!

-Scott & Mike

We live

We are Northern Heirs. Wow, I've been waiting a long, long time to say that. We've finally posted our first songs and I really hope you all enjoy listening to them as much as we enjoyed making them. We have a 6-song EP in the wings and we're getting ready to release a whole bundle of content over the coming weeks. If you like what you hear, please share, and don't hesitate to reach out with your feedback! Stay tuned as we'll be trying to keep new tracks coming on a near-weekly basis until the full EP is released.

It's been a real journey for the two of us - this is the culmination of about three years of tinkering, starting over from scratch, and trying to figure out just what to call ourselves (which was probably the worst part). Well, we landed on a sound, a name, and decided it was "better out than in". Many thanks to everyone reading this, and to those who listen and share. And most of all, thank you to our loved ones, friends and family, who gave us the support and the courage to pursue this project.

More to come.

With love,

-Scott & Mike