Silence Presents the Return of 'Minor Empire' to Guelph

This Friday evening, Nov 2 at 8pm, Silence presents the return of "Minor Empire", an award-winning Turkish Canadian world music group who in the past have mesmerized audiences at Guelph's Hillside Festival. Their sound is defined by the dreamy vocals of Ozgu Ozman, which soar above an ambient bed of organic instrumentation to create an airy, atmospheric vibe. Lead by guitarist Ozan Boz, the band features some of Canada's finest musicians; Michael Occhipinti on guitar, Chris Gartner on bass, Ben Riley on drums and Patrick Graham on percussion.

Silence Presents: Minor Empire http://minorempire.net/
Friday November 2 at 8:00 PM (Doors open at 7:30 PM)
at Silence, 46 Essex Street, Guelph, ON N1H 3K8 http://www.silencesounds.ca/$15 - Order Tickets Online at:https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/silence-presents-minor-empire-tickets-50747939453
*At the door: Cash Only

The band has showcased its captivating blend of ethereal vocals and trance-y, trip hop inspired arrangements at prominent venues such as Yoshi's in San Francisco, National Arts Centre in Ottawa, Banff Centre for the Arts, Harbourfront Centre in Toronto, Luminato Festival, Sunfest, Vancouver Folk Music Festival, Calgary Folk Music Festival, JAZZ.FM91 World Music Festival and Musikfest. Minor Empire was also featured on Identities, award-winning documentary series on Jazz FM.

Variously described by reviewers as "trippy", "dreamy", "cinematic", "stylishly hip" and "deeply exotic", Minor Empire has racked up a lengthy list of plaudits for its seamless blend of traditional music and modern sounds. Its debut album, "Second Nature", earned it a Canadian Folk Music Award for World Group of the Year, an Indie Music Award for Favourite World Artist of the Year, a nomination for the About.com World Music Readers Choice Award and number one spot on the Canadian World music radio charts.

Exclaim magazine praised the band for its "slinky, dub­-y, knotty rhythms". Le Devoir called the sound "refined" and said "Ozman weaves a most beautiful music from her roots". Songlines praised "Ozman's pure and sinuous vocals" and the "percussion that simmers with delicious intensity". CBC Radio said "the album marked an important way forward for world music".