Cobblestone Jazz/Modern Deep Left Quartet
Members: Mathew Jonson, Tyger Dhula, Colin de la Plante and Danuel Tate
Formed: 1997
Genre: Jazz-inspired live dance music
Full-length recordings: 23 Seconds (2007), The Modern Deep Left Quartet (2010)
Website: www.cobblestonejazz.com
Juror comment: The best Victoria band that no one in town has heard.
It can be confusing keeping track of the who, what, when and where as it pertains to current and former Victoria musicians Mathew Jonson, Tyger Dhula, Colin de la Plante and Danuel Tate.
No matter the division, their unique sound is a blur of bass synths, electronic pianos and turntables (or variations of all three).
The foursome of friends participate in two projects which co-exist simultaneously: Cobblestone Jazz and the Modern Deep Left Quartet. Geography separates Dhula and Tate (who live in Victoria) and de la Plante and Johnson (who live together in Berlin), so the line is often blurred between to the two full-time projects.
It depends on the time of year, in a sense, said Dhula, who co-owns popular Douglas Street restaurant the Mint. Mat has a solo career, as does Colin (aka the Mole), and Dan just put out his own album. I also DJ on tour, so weve each got other projects as well.
The roots of both projects date back to 1997 when various members were either hanging out at Boomtown Records, playing with local collective Velvet (which Dhula co-founded) or dabbling in self-directed output (Johnsons label, Wagon Repair, now has 64 releases to date).
Dhulas only regret is that they havent played more shows locally. When Mat is home for three or four days, instead of cramming in a show we get in the studio.