Conspiracy of Sound's debut at Center Stage Cafe

Jan 21, 2015

If memory serves me correctly, when the foursome known as Skjelliphetti: A Conspiracy of Sound, were asked for an encore following their set, I believe it was the first time any guest band at the Center Stage Café had been asked for one.

Skjelliphetti performed a generous selection of original material at the first Center Stage Café of 2015, which took place at the Sharbot Lake Legion on January 15.

Led by 18-year-old fiddler and vocalist, Japhy Sullivan of McDonalds Corners, the band’s repertoire consists of tunes described as a mix of Celtic, funk, pop, classical and jazz. Difficult to classify, the music does not fit into any specific genre and for that reason alone the work of these young musicians is even more exceptional. Their polished and well-rehearsed sound stems from the fact that they have been playing together as a group for the past three years.

The band is comprised of Japhy Sullivan on fiddle/vocals, Noah Sullivan on bass, Phil Schleihauf on drums and Maddie Field-Green on keyboard. They recently opened for Kate Weekes at the Full-Circle Theatre in Perth.

Japhy Sullivan, who has been playing fiddle for nine years, began composing his own music after his first year playing fiddle with the Blue Skies Community Fiddle Orchestra, when the conductor, Carolyn Stewart, encouraged orchestra members to write their own songs. His tune “Sea Dog” was played by the BSCFO and was included in Thursday’s set. It started as a slow, dirge-like Celtic solo on fiddle but then quickly erupted into a faster-paced fling that with the addition of Noah Sullivan's funky bass line, continued to build along with a steady drum beat, ending right back where it started, with Japhy's soulful repetition of the lone melody line.

Japhy said that before he became a fiddle player/composer, he always made up “little ditties” of his own to sing. “I always knew that I wanted to sing as well as play fiddle”, he said, “but it took me a while to get to the point where I was comfortable doing both.”

Two original tunes at Thursday’s performance featured Japhy on both fiddle and the mic, the first titled “Of An Evening” demonstrated his wide vocal range, his earnestness and sensitivity as a singer in a soulful lament that was perfectly balanced by Maddie's subtle and accomplished piano accompaniment.

In “A Magpie”, a haunting cabaret-sounding tune that recalled 1930s Berlin, Japhy's hypnotically suspenseful solo was buoyed by Noah’s snakey bass line, a solemn marching beat on drums and an eerie tinkling of the upper notes on the keyboard. The band is almost as much fun to watch as they are to hear and it's easy to see that a successful performance depends on band members watching closely for cues of upcoming rhythm and key changes, which, thanks to Japhy, are plentiful, fast and furious. The music is complex, multi-layered and very accomplished and Japhy admitted that he composes music that “plays to his strengths”. However, he said that more recently he has been inviting the other band members to compose their own parts. In an effort to “keep things interesting”, he said he often likes to improvise on top of what the band is doing, which “keeps everyone on their toes”. Asked about his musical influences, Japhy said that they are numerous and varied but named Canadian fiddler Oliver Schorer first and foremost.

For those who missed the Sharbot Lake concert, Conspiracy of Sound is part of a double bill along with singer/songwriter Shawna Caspi and will be playing at the MERA School house on Sunday, January 25 at 2pm. Tickets for the show can be purchased at Jo's Clothes in Perth at 39 Foster Street or by calling 613-485-6434 or online at ticketsplease.ca.