Not many Canadian bands have had this type of exposure before even having released a debut EP. Light Company has toured throughout Peterborough, Toronto and Oshawa and have recently booked six new shows, including one in Montreal.
The alternative/post-rock band of four from Peterborough, Ont. was founded in September 2010 by vocalist/guitarist Michael
Langiewicz, who has always been excited about the prospect of playing in a legitimate band with his brother Adam, as opposed to jamming in their basement.
“When I began Light Company, I didn’t have a clear idea of where I wanted the project to go, but I knew I wanted to dabble in the genre of post-rock,” said Michael, a Concordia communications student.
The name Light Company was inspired from the HBO miniseries Band of Brothers, which follows an American platoon called “Easy Company” through their European campaign.
“The unity of Easy Company was truly inspiring for me and I really wanted to build a band off of the same brotherhood a company of soldiers have,” admitted Michael.
After having picked up their third member, bassist/vocalist Lukas Wojcicki, through a mutual friend, the trio began writing songs in November 2010. However, things slowly began to fall apart after Wojcicki moved to Toronto and Michael to Montreal.
After a year-long hiatus, the band decided to give it another go, and in December 2011, they recruited guitarist and vocalist Shayne Ernst.
“It was the greatest thing that could’ve happened,” said Michael. “For the first time, I was able to put a lot more time and energy into writing interesting vocal melodies and our sound began evolving in a very positive way.”
With musical inspirations stemming from Explosions in the Sky, Sigur Ros, M83 and We Were Promised Jetpacks—to name a few—Light Company creates original music that is emotionally driven.
“Our ideas are born from the emotions we feel in that certain moment when the song’s being written,” said percussionist Adam.
However, that wasn’t the case for the band’s first single “Each to a Grain” which, strangely enough, was inspired by ants.
“I was sitting under a tree, reading a book and got distracted observing a colony of ants,” recalled Michael, who wrote the song in high school. “I know they may be super lame, but the complexity of their work caught my attention and I thought it could be a cool thing to write about.”
Light Company is broken down by instrument and can be categorized into a multitude of genres including ambient, rock, metal, post-rock and more recently, elements of pop.
“With all these elements combined, we strive to make post-rock more accessible to a larger crowd by creating a new soundscape for the listener by including evolving styles of music,” explained Adam.
One of the biggest challenges plaguing the band, however, is the fact that three band members are living across Ontario, while one is located in Montreal.
“We’re essentially in a long distance relationship,” said Wojcicki. “It’s a bit hard to keep momentum moving forward living in four separate cities, but I think it’s a challenge that is slowly dissipating.”
When it comes to songwriting, Adam says the band tends to write the inner workings of their songs individually and then send their ideas to each other in audio files. After everyone has a rough idea of where they want the song to go, the group gets together to jam it out.
When you’re a band that’s trying to break out onto the scene, getting people to listen to your music isn’t always easy.
“Constant badgering of our family and friends to listen to our tunes is how we started, but luckily enough, we’ve collected a base of fans already willing to advertise our songs to their friends as well,” said Adam.
Despite the challenges, the band members are looking forward.
“I think I speak for everyone when I say we want to make this band the rest of our lives,” said Michael. “We’ve got our sights set on success. We want to be able to play festival circuits, headline our own tours and play tent stages. I can’t stress how much we want to do this.”
“If we could inspire anyone to follow their dream in music, I think we’re on the right path,” said Adam.
With their debut EP The Boy Who Sat On Ocean Floors still in the works, Light Company is hoping it will be made available online in both digital and hard copies by late February or March.
Light Company will be performing at Casa del Popolo/Sala Rossa (4873 St. Laurent Blvd.) as part of the Peace by P.E.A.C.E Montreal annual Benefit Show on Jan. 18 at 9 p.m. Tickets cost $10.
