When Winhara formed in December of 2003, six acoustic ballads were put through the grinder of a heavy, electric rhythm section. The resulting sound is a mash up of the members’ polarized influences. Smooth melody is poured over a distorted, synthy engine and gets references to bands from Muse to Keane to the Arcade Fire.
In independent recordings Winhara dabbled in a variety of sounds and instrumentation, but when renowned Toronto producer, Byron Wong, took them under his wing in 2007, all the doors were torn off. In the year of recording that has followed Byron has pushed Winhara’s sound to be bigger, edgier and more synth-driven. The album has strong hooks and melodies but is pushed by crushing choruses and epic outros. Perhaps, more than anything, the arrangements are written with a conscious effort to make every moment in a song exciting.
The group’s representation of these songs explode in an extremely dynamic live set where light melodies transform instantaneously into dark, pounding anthems. The high-energy performance reverberates through synthesizers and distortion and is built on a foundation of tight, energetic drumming.
The members of Winhara, Daniel Sundy, Kent Hammond, Hugh Montgomery and Stephen ‘Prevost’ Renton are from a small town. They grew up together, played in bands together throughout high school and attended the same University. During the recording of this official debut album the four moved into a rehearsal loft in Toronto where they write, rehearse and live together. But Winhara took a piece of home with them when they left. The band was formed in their first rehearsal space – a garage on Winhara Rd.