Emi Honda and Jordan McKenzie began Elfin Saddle after migrating from Canada’s lush west coast to Montreal, transporting their nature-inspired, ethnically ambiguous folk creations to the urban environs of the east. Already seasoned collaborators in sculptural installation and music, Elfin Saddle began as a more contained outlet for these multi-disciplinary activities, using prepared acoustic instruments, found percussion elements, and often mythological, animistic / pantheistic themes delivered in a mixture of English and Japanese. The resulting hybrid-folk music reveals aspects of their combined ethnic backgrounds of Japanese, Scottish, Irish and Cree.

Since joining the ranks of Montreal’s Constellation Records in 2009 with their release, Ringing for the Begin Again, Elfin Saddle have expanded their practice to include stop-motion animation and video projection (Wurld), and have expanded their live act from a trio with Nathan Gage on upright bass, to a quartet, with Kristina Koropecki on cello. Elfin Saddle’s 2012 release, Devastates pulls from their diverse background in sound, song, philosophy, and atmosphere, resulting in an almost operatic narrative set in a characteristically lush and otherworldly environment.