January 20, 2009 Fringe Arts

Tic-tac-Oh!

Local duo Hexes & Ohs on live shows and Montreal’s harsh musical climate

by Natasha Young

Cute, fun, energetic electronic pop may not often be considered serious business, but for Montreal’s dating duo Hexes & Ohs, it most certainly is.

Despite their hometown success, Edmund Lam and Heidi Donnelly have taken off across Canada in the past few years, with their current release, Bedroom Madness, garnering mainstream attention. And with this indie outfit’s infectious, lovey-dovey microcosm of synth and funky rhythms it isn’t hard to see why.

All of the performing experience has helped shape their sound. “On our first record,” Lam explains, “the songs were good, but... not so much fun to play live. Now, we just write songs that we enjoy playing.” The joy is felt by the audience, and the success so far is definitely a result of this spirited effort.

The band’s couple dynamic has also proven to make for a good working relationship. “We live together, so we’re used to working together,” Lam says. “When we’ve worked with other bands, it’s a very unnatural environment. We’re used to travelling together, too, so it’s a very organic way of working.”

In an effort to keep it as organic as possible, Hexes & Ohs doesn’t tend to tour with supplemental musicians. For their current album, a drummer and trumpet player were brought in, but “we’ve adapted the live show to be the two of us. It’s more innovative, and it keeps it minimal,” says Lam. This includes Donnelly alternating between her bass, synthesizer and laptop and Lam switching from guitar to drums.

With all these ways of mixing it up, their live performance definitely brings something different to the table than their studio efforts. “It’s more stripped-down live, more energetic, more raw,” Lam says.

According to Lam, it’s the competition of the local music scene that keeps their drive alive. “There is probably the highest amount of artists per-capita in Montreal out of all the bigger Canadian cities,” Lam says, “which forces you to up your game. You can’t really get away with doing anything half-assed.” Taking their adorable synth-pop style very seriously, you’d be hard-pressed to find any of Hexes & Ohs’ music half-assed.

Jan. 22, Hexes & Ohs will be at Jupiter Room 3874 St-Laurent Blvd., along with bands Winter Gloves and Politique. Tickets are $10 in advance, available through indiemontreal.ca, as well as at Cheap Thrills, Phonopolis and Atom Heart, or $15 at the door.