Riishi Von Rex is a gypsy-rock duo from Ottawa who like to tell tall tales, invoke rainstorms and break old curses.
Formed in the dreary weather of an Ottawa, Ontario spring in 2012 the pair made up of singer, songwriter and guitarist Riishi Von Rex and drummer and vocalist Michel Delage never fully intended to be a duo. However, once they combined Riishi’s howling vocals and unique mixed rhythm and lead guitar styling with Michel’s highly dynamic and occasionally chaotic approach to a drum kit the pair realized they had stumbled on a secret formula likely sought after by alchemists throughout the ages.
With a special gift for manipulating the laws of time and a penchant for leading polite crowds into fits of maniacal laughter, RVR’s small size and stature belies their massive sound. Their innovative approach to rock blends diverse world music styles into the folds of guitar driven, danceable songs, and features Riishi’s various unlikely tales about meeting with Slavic witches, being haunted by ghosts and generally being an impossibly difficult woman.
Having independently releasing their debut EP,‘Shed Your Helmet’, in 2015 and played countless shows in their hometown, including two performances at the Ottawa Bluesfest, the duo felt it necessary to test their alchemical prowess the only way a young Canadian band can: with a six-week cross country tour. Throughout the spring of 2016 they wandered through seven provinces, performing for audiences small and large, drunk and sober, and inevitably lost a car to the gods of mechanical failure in Saskatchewan before making it back again for a sold-out homecoming show.
Riishi Von Rex is currently planning a second release sometime in 2017 and further touring in Ontario and Eastern Canada. With frequent performances in Ottawa and occasional opening slots for a diverse array of artists the duo intend to continue delivering their oddly goofy, dark new sound to unsuspecting audiences and dedicated fans alike. They believe music should be powerful, meaningful and a hell of a lot of fun, and deliver on that commitment with every raw, wild performance on stage or in the studio. While they deny the claim of alchemists from the four corners of the world that their music is the panacea to cure all modern ails, it must be noted that no one can be sure until they have had a taste.