CONTACT:
Management; Norah Holtby, Gabba Productions
info@gabbaproductions.com
cell/text: 604 360 5175
ABOUT KELE FLEMING
Kele (pronounced Kelly) is a versatile artist, whether performing solo or with a band, she delivers a mesmerizing show marked by jangly electric guitars –– and her voice, a majestic instrument of seemingly-limitless force and dexterity that shifts from choir girl naiveté to Sinead O’Connor edge. Her work encompasses several genres including, pop, indie, folk-rock and adult contemporary.
no static, her current release, combines her literate folk rock sensibilities with the Baroque pop melodies of Ron Yamauchi (Insomniacs, Soreheads) and the result is truly the best of both worlds.
Kele founded Vancouver indie folk pop band Hazel Motes in 1991. Before they disbanded in 2000; they toured Canada three times; played Bumbershoot (1992), North by Northeast (NXNE 1995) and Canadian Music Week (1996); charted on college radio across Canada and the U.S. and recorded a Nightlines session with CBC Radio’s David Wisdom (1993). Along with acts like the Grapes of Wrath and Lava Hay, they defined the “Vancouver sound” of the era.
SHORT BIO
Kele opens for Jane Siberry on April 3rd in Vancouver. Her 3rd solo record, no static reached number one on CiTR’s charts in April 2018. She is working with Sheldon Zaharko on her next album to be released in fall 2019.
Kele was born in Trenton, Ontario and grew up in small military towns in Ontario, Nova Scotia and on Vancouver Island in BC. She relocated to Vancouver BC to go to university where she founded and fronted iconic band hazel motes. The environment, women, and modern dislocation are common themes in her music which has been described as literary and baroque pop due to the jangly, layered guitars, soaring vocals and melodies and literary lyrics. She has toured across Canada and the Pacific Northwest gaining a following on stages in Vancouver and beyond.
Her pop band Hazel Motes – along with acts like Lava Hay and the Grapes of Wrath, defined the Vancouver sound of the 90’s. 4 of the Hazel Motes albums are being re-issued on Bandcamp.
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SOLO SHOW DATES
Sept 15 2018 Pat's Pub and Brew House, Vancouver with Sarah Wheeler and Monica Lee (capacity 150)
Aug 31 2018 Aquarius Sessions House Concert, booked by Side Door, Vancouver with Ron Yamauchi (capacity 40)
Aug 29th 2018 International Pop Overthrow at The Fairview (capacity 187)
Aug 25 2018 LanaLou's Rock and Roll Eatery, Vancouver with Aquafit Soundtrack and The Furniture (capacity 100)
May 5 - May 17 2018 Spring Tour of Southern Ontario with dates in Toronto (capacity 100), Hamilton (capacity 50), Peterborough (capacity 100), Ottawa (capacity 75), Kitchener (capacity 50), Brantford (capacity 50), Kingston (capacity 100), London (capacity 100).
May 2017 Tour of Southern Ontario with dates in Toronto (capacity 80), Ottawa (capacity 75), Hamilton (capacity 100), Cambridge (capacity 50), Guelph (capacity 75).
Feb 2017 Mini tour of Southern Ontario (Toronto, Ottawa) and live performance on CP24 Toronto TV Morning Show.
BAND SHOW DATES
April 3rd, Jane Siberry with kele fleming, The WISE Hall, Vancouver (Capacity 250)
Oct 19 2018 Autumn Euphoria at The Fairview Pub, Vancouver with Aaron Trory and The Diviners (capacity 187)
April 13 2018 The Cultch, Vancouver with Silent Martin and Sarah Wheeler (capacity 200)
Oct 15 2016 The Cultch, Vancouver with Silent Martin and Lara Kroeker (capacity 100)
DISCOGRAPHY
In Development
Kele is working with Juno award winning producer SHeldon Zaharko on a new album due for release in fall 2019. The first single Vanishing of Bees is available on Bandcamp. The music video, shot by R.D. Cane is on YouTube.
Solo Projects
no static (2016)
World in Reverse (2010)
Songs from the Tinforest (2004) - dual media project, printed book of poetry and CD
Hazel Motes
Kele Fleming is reissuing four Hazel Motes releases as free downloads on Bandcamp, starting, January 11th, 2019
Jan 11th 2019 Eponymous (1991) Digital Re-issue
Jun 7th, 2019 Ragnarok (1992) Digital Re-issue
Jul 12th, 2019 Stand (1993) - Recorded with CBC’s Nightlines Digital Re-issue
Aug 9 2019 Sturgeon Love (1998) Digital re-issue
20th Century Monologue (1995)
CAREER HIGHLIGHTS
no static enters CiTR charts at number one April, 2018
Honorable Mention in multiple songwriting contests, including Unisong International, 2001 and Write-On (Vancouver), 1990.
Opened for Lost & Profound (1996), Cate Friesen (2004), Katherine Wheatley (2004) & Susan Crowe (2004).
Performed at Bumbershoot Festival (Seattle, 1992), Music West (Vancouver, 1994), NXNE (Toronto, 1995), Canadian Music Week (Toronto, 1996), Under the Volcano (Vancouver, 1994 and 1997), Stonewall (Vancouver, 1998), Pride Festival (Vancouver, 1997), Music Waste (Vancouver, 2013).
Performed at Vancouver’s Word on the Street Festival as both a poet (1999, 2003) and lead singer of a pop band (1996).
National radio airplay on CBC Radio (Nightlines, Brave New Waves) and college radio (various stations across the country).
Selected (with band hazel motes) for CBC's “Nightlines Sessions” with David Wisdom; result was a 5-song studio recording and Nightlines special broadcast (1994).
A number of hazel motes songs and songs off of Kele’s solo records charted on North American college radio.
3 national tours (1994, 1995, 1996); multiple Pacific Northwest tours (Canada & US; 1993, 1994, 1999, 2005, 2010); multiple Southern Ontario tours (1995, 1996, 1999, 2002, 2005, 2009, 2010, 2017, 2018).
MEDIA QUOTES
“no static is an epic, anthemic album…it really rises.”
(Paul Corby, Radio Regent Toronto, Feb 24/17)
“ekologik…a lovely track…with a spooky wind at the end.”
(The Guest List w/ Joe Reilly (CKCU), May 25/17)
“Yamauchi … will be in her eight piece band at the Cultch …Fleming and Yamauchi met not long after he reviewed a Hazel Motes cassette for the Georgia Straight. They ended up playing hockey and got closer over the past 20 years. He has been accompanying her and has got to know her and her music.”
(Tom Harrison, Vancouver Sun October 13, 2016) https://vancouversun.com/entertainment/local-arts/the-garage-becoming-kele-fleming
“She always had it in her to be Kele Fleming…Thanks to Yamauchi, on her new no static album, there is someone who is more free, more expressive, more extroverted.”
(Tom Harrison, Vancouver Sun, Oct 10/16)
“As an occasional poet and would-be novelist, Fleming’s aim was to make a record that combined the depth of long-form fiction with the evocative qualities of verse…Fleming’s imagination operates on a similarly outsizedscale.”
(Alex Varty, The Georgia Straight, Oct 19/10)https://www.straight.com/article-353568/vancouver/kele-flemings-imagination-operates-outsized-scale
“It’s Fleming’s way with words, and her alternately Debbie Harry or Grace Slick delivery, that really will put your world in reverse.”
(Ottawa Xpress Hot List, April 1/10)
"kele fleming might have the most original songwriting style in Vancouver"
(Tom Harrison, Vancouver Province, 2010)
"[kele’s] vision is even more personal as she combines minimalistically arranged songs with spoken word passages. It’s a bold move but it works."
(Tom Harrison, Vancouver Province, 2004)
“[Kele’s] songs and poems probe beneath the surface of a city often considered superficial and cold, exploring themes of love, life and innermost feelings.”
(Kamloops Daily News, 2004)
"It's [Kele] Fleming's unusual way with words, her pop hooks, and her subject matter that most catch the ear."
(Michel Drouin The Georgia Straight, 1998)
“Kele Fleming is a great singer.”
(David Wisdom, CBC Radio’s Nightlines, 1994)
