Sidney York | Band Geek Chic

Bassoon dance music. Very few bands have a sound that fits that description, and for good reason: it's tough to pull off. But Brandi Sidoryk and Krista Wodelet, the pair behind Sidney York, have taken that esoteric woodwind instrument and made it the centrepiece of beautiful, infectious pop music. Not that the ladies are bragging. Even when asked if her band tops that absurdly niche category, Krista, the band's bassoonist, shows humility: "Well, we're definitely in the top five." Grady Mitchell chats to the sisters for ION to find out more about their unique sound.

Although listeners might not realize, the bassoon (take a moment now to look it up if you're unfamiliar, this article will make a lot more sense) is present in almost every track of Sidney York's new album, <3s. Occasionally it appears unfiltered: a low, muscular sound somewhere between a baritone sax and a stand-up bass. Often, though, it's piped through Krista's labyrinthian pedal board and disguised as keyboard or even guitar. It's the most discretely obvious part of Sidney York's offbeat mashup of classical elements with unapologetic pop. The pleasantly surprising results are the band's buoyant dance tracks.

Krista isn't the only member with classical training. The band's other lead lady, vocalist Brandi Sidoryk, has a master's in operatic singing, a talent she's been developing since the age of 12. "We're the most over-educated indie musicians in the world," says Krista.

Thanks to her training, Brandi's voice is bell-clear and powerful, soaring above the instruments. Krista, on the other hand, came more hesitantly to her role as co-vocalist. Although her education required brief snatches of song, Sidney York is the first time she's seriously manned a mic. "It's funny when we're sound checking," Krista says. "Brandi will check and they'll crank her down, then they'll have to push me up." She's quickly grown into her voice, though, and the harmonies the two interweave are a touchstone of their sound.

The band started as a long-distance collaboration. By recording small clips and connecting online, Krista and Brandi slowly patched songs together. Often the process began at 30,000 feet, during Brandi's shifts as a flight attendant. When inspiration would strike she'd have to interrupt the cookies and pretzels, stow her food cart, and retreat to the bathroom to sing a phrase, or hum a melody into her phone. Back on solid ground she'd send the clips to Krista, who'd listen for the important parts over the background hum of the engines.

Combining the orchestra pit with the dance pit wasn't a conscious decision, but with backgrounds so steeped in classical training, their unique sound was inevitable. "It's instinctive for us," says Brandi. Although indie rock has fewer rules than classical music–you don't need to wear your concert blacks, you can jump around onstage–it was still a challenge bringing the two worlds together. Just hooking up Krista's bassoon proved tough. She found one guy in the States who makes the pickup she needs. The rest of her kit is a velcro and elastic contraption she built with help from her dad.

While Brandi largely wrote the band's first album, Apocalyptic Radio Cynic (2011), <3s (said aloud as "Hearts") is a collaborative project. It's definitely a breakup record, Brandi says. When asked if that made the lyrics harder to write, she laughs: "In some ways, really hard. In some ways, way too easy."

"It was sort of like an escape hatch," says Krista of their writing partnership. "If I was working on a song and it wasn't going the way I wanted, I knew I could always pull Brandi in."

Although inspired by heartbreak and featuring some darker tracks - the shady, woozy “Electrolove” is a notable example—the album is primarily upbeat. Songs are energetic and bombastic, laced with cabaret theatricals. They're heavier, too, compared to Sidney York's first album. Crunchy breakdowns of thunderous guitar make a regular appearance, especially on the album's two opening tracks, “Hearts” and “Weird For You”, and mark a muscular counterpoint to the band's overall sugary sound.

For <3s, they've chosen a fittingly quirky release method. Fans can subscribe to the album's release and every two months they'll receive two tracks off the album. These won't simply be a link that pops up in your inbox (although that's an option too), but a physical package that arrives at your doorstep containing two seven-inch records. Each will have a different but related cover and a poster by Calgary artist Ben Rankel. Combined, the ten posters will create a graphic novel with each page based off one of <3s songs.

Sidney York is an innovative band in almost every aspect, from the way they make their music to the way they share it. Pop is the world's most ubiquitous genre, and as a result it's become over-saturated, formulaic, and had its life polished away. That's the sweet irony behind Sidney York's sweet sound: these self-confessed band nerds and their classical instruments are exactly what pop music needs to become cool again.