On a rainy night in a small room that seemed more the comfortable house of an old friend than a music venue, Jean-Paul De Roover stood before an undeniably intimate crowd of wet-haired individuals on couches and folding chairs and showcased some original works from his album Windows and Doors in promotion of his latest music video for his song Fix at London’s East Village Arts Co-op.

Fix is a stop motion video created with more than 2,000 still photographs and has been recently featured on Much Music. Seizing the moment, De Roover decided a tour was definitely necessary. The walls of the EVAC reverberated with sounds produced by De Roover through his unique set-up. Arranged on an apparatus consisting of red tubes, listeners were met with digital looping, synth drum, and a series of assorted pedals. While constantly adjusting and changing these, De Roover also manages to hold a consistent beat and guitar melody as he electronically composes the layers of the song.

De Roover is a busy guy, taking only short breaks between tours and now on the first leg of his cross-Canada tour. Growing accustomed to life on the road, and catching up on sleep in the backseats of cars and friends’ couches, one would assume a sense of weariness and apathy, not so.


There is an inherent bi-polar quality to De Roovers music, and it is something he knows all to well through his touring, some nights playing to rooms of 600 plus people, and then playing small coffee shops. The EVAC crowd was energized by danceable tracks and a palpable sense of enthusiasm, the organic aspect of De Roover’s performance is definitely an important point, and it’s obvious there’s a deep love for the music created through the effort and showmanship displayed (including dancing, audience interaction and even wrapping himself in a string of Christmas lights), but it doesn’t come across as pretentious, but rather more down-to-earth, and while it’s obvious De Roover likes to work alone, he invited his friend and percussionist Richard Modin to join him in some laid back hand drum beats.

Using a do-it-yourself aesthetic, one that seems to be a key element in his performance, De Roover uses improvisational handclaps, tongue clicks and other vocal instrumentation. (Think more Regina Spektor than Sigur Ros.) With a selection of favourite artists near and dear to De Roover’s heart ranging from Bjork to Mike Patton, the show itself expressed intriguing fluctuations in style, from lighter, more mellow radio-friendly tracks to heavier songs such as Knife and How Come No Bones with baritone vocals which are at times somewhat reminiscent of Nick Cave. It is difficult to classify the music created into a specific genre, as many of the songs are varied and employ a wide array of different techniques, and while one could say that this vagueness could represent a lack of direction, De Roover manages to carve his own niche and express his personality and parlay it into a personal chemistry and stage presence that is something distinctly his own. If the innate optimism and excitement can be maintained and nurtured through experience, De Roover’s growth as an artist will be impressive and will come as no surprise.

The show drew to a close with Radiohead proving to be a popular theme of the night, with De Roover presenting an a cappella four-part harmony (a favourite technique) layered version of Idioteque to accompany a cover of Creep performed earlier in the evening by musician and self-described “angry house cat” Jeffery Ormston.

More about DeRoover at http://www.jeanpaulderoover.com, and listen to some tracks at: www.myspace.com/jeanpaulderoover.

Info about the London East Village Arts Co-op can be found at: http://www.eastvillagearts.com