Biography:

With a uniquely ancient-to-modern sound, Canadian singer-songwriter, Sora weaves together contemporary soundscapes with the mystical moods of Celtic folk, New age, medieval madrigals and other modes of early music. The result is a heady, colourfully evocative tapestry that conjures the imagery of long ago but feels just as current as anything from the present musical landscape – all while sounding like little else on today’s airwaves. With a penchant for threading stories and narratives through her live performance of swirling harp, earthy percussion, ethereal backups and soaring vocals, this much is clear; you have never heard anything quite like Sora.

Born and raised in Calgary, Alberta, Sora was classically trained on violin and piano as a child and toured with a youth orchestra and fiddling group when she was a teenager. While the love of music remained, Sora then went on to garner a degree in Psychology at the University of Calgary and then began a different chapter in her life as both mother and wife. Shortly after the birth of her first daughter (She is a mother of 4), the passion for music soon fired again. “I’d been away from music for years, and I was starting to feel like something was missing in my life,” recalls the vocalist. Fans and critics alike are constantly surprised to learn that it is only in recent years that she began her career as a singer and songwriter.

The initial fruits of Sora’s newfound voice were 2003’s Winds of Change, a collection of traditional folk songs from the British Isles, and 2007’s Light, a four-track EP. In 2009, Sora released a full length album, Heartwood, in which Sora delves deeply into examinations of human archetypes, all held within a contemporary framework. With this release, Sora received airplay on many college and community radio stations, charting on several while the reviews poured in, unanimously applauding her crystalline voice and unusual lyrical vision within the songs. While her love of mythology plays a central role in her songs, Sora maintains that for her it’s not simply about setting tales to music. “It’s always my goal to understand the heart of the myth, rather than to simply retell a story,” she says. “I’m far more interested in discovering why that myth is still meaningful today.” And like those ancient myths themselves, the songs Sora sings have a hauntingly elusive resonance that will surely see them echoing throughout the ages to come.

Sora’s uncanny sensitivity to meaning within stories and her ability maintain urban relevancy within the organic settings of her music is starting to garner recognition. In 2010, Sora was commissioned to give voice to Calgary Family Service’s 100 year anniversary, which became the song, Legacy, recorded with Juno-nominated producer, Douglas Romanow and performed at the gala event.

“My ultimate goal is to create something that people would want to listen to and get lost in,” says Sora. And to that end, Heartwood is indeed a wonderful place to get lost in.