The Luyas

The Luyas
Jessie Stein of the Luyas
Background information
Origin	Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Genres	Indie rock
Years active	2006 (2006)–present
Labels	Dead Oceans, Idée Fixe, Pome, You've Changed
Associated acts	Bell Orchestre
Website	theluyas.wordpress.com
Members
Pietro Amato Mathieu Charbonneau Stefan Schneider Jessie Stein

The Luyas are a Canadian indie rock band formed in 2006 from Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

History

The Luyas did their first live performance in December 2006. Their first album, Faker Death came out in August 2007, and was re-released in January 2008 on Pome Records; that label was subsequently disbanded and the album's distribution rights were picked up by You've Changed Records.

Jessie Stein, formerly active in SS Cardiacs,^[1] is also a member of Miracle Fortress, and is the sister of By Divine Right's José Miguel Contreras.^[2] Amato and Schneider are both members of Bell Orchestre, Amato also plays in Torngat and was formerly a horn player for Arcade Fire.

The band played at the Pop Montreal festival in 2008 and the M for Montreal Festival in 2009.^[3]

The band uses an uncommon set of instruments featuring guitars, a French horn, piles of keyboards, drums and percussion. Singer/guitarist Jessie Stein expands the band’s musical vocabulary when she plays the Moodswinger, a 12-string electric zither designed by the Dutch experimental luthier Yuri Landman. The band became a four piece band with the addition of Mathieu Charbonneau in their line-up.

The Luyas were profiled by McSweeneys in the spring of 2010. In the same year the band signed to Dead Oceans for a release of their second album. Working with engineer Jeff McMurrich (Tindersticks, Constantines), The Luyas have also teamed up with friend and colleague Owen Pallett, who is lending his arranging skills and violin playing to a number of tracks.

The Luyas released their second album Too Beautiful to Work on Dead Oceans in February 2011. The Canadian release of the record was also in February 2011 via a new imprint called Idée Fixe Records.

Members

• Jessie Stein (vocals/guitars/moodswinger)
• Pietro Amato (French Horn, bells, keys)
• Stefan Schneider (drums)
• Mathieu Charbonneau (Wurlitzer)

Discography

EPs

• Tiny Head/Spherical Mattress 7" 2009, Self Release^[4]

Albums

• Faker Death, 2007, cd, rerelease 2008, Pome Records
• Too Beautiful to Work, February 2011, cd, Dead Oceans^[5]

See also

Music of Canada portal

• Music of Canada
• Music of Quebec
• Canadian rock
• List of Canadian musicians
• List of bands from Canada

References

1. ^ http://www.panicmanual.com/2007/10/04/the-luyas-and-jessie-stein/
2. ^ "Cardiacs Attack". Now, May 26, 2005.
3. ^ review on brooklynvegan.com
4. ^ http://www.myspace.com/theluyas
5. ^ http://www.verbicidemagazine.com/2010/12/27/the-luyas-tiny-head/

External links

• The Luyas