Most people are used to the traditional makeup of a band containing a guitar or two, bass and drums. Calgary-based band Raleigh has taken a different route and steered away from the norm by forming a band featuring a cello as their signature instrument, thus creating a new indie, prog rock sound with a mixture of male and female vocal unlike anything traditional.

I had a chance to talk to Clea Anais (vocals and cello), Brock Geiger (vocals, guitar, bass) and Matt Doherty (drums) and ask them about their sound and what they've been up to.

So Clea, you've been playing music since you were little. Was that something you always wanted to with your life? Because your parents are both musicians, correct?
Clea: "Well, my mother is actually a painter and my father is a ballroom dancer professional. Neither of them can play instruments too well, but they really pushed my three older sisters and I to play. It was kind of like torture when I was little and I never though about becoming a musical, but now it's something I do because I love it and I choose to be there. It just kind of happened. I never studied music of anything."

So you've always played the cello, which has become the main instrument in the band. How do you maintain a more indie rock sound with more of a classical instrument?
C: "I don't think we write with a particular sound in mind. We just have fun with time signatures and chord changes and what happens kind of happens."

Brock: "I think maybe the idea of having that different sound kind of puts it into that indie rock category in some people's minds because it's new and fresh. I can't say I know another guitar, cello, drum combo and it's just a different frequency range. There's weird spaces where you want to hear more or a lot of sound where you want to hear less. It plays with you a bit which I think tricks people into thinking it's a new indie 'thing.'"

One thing I noticed when researching you before the interview is that you have the same name as the bike company, Raleigh. Has that created any confusion for you in the past?
C: "Well, actually we find a lot of people get us confused with the city in North Carolina. But then there's the bike company and we're all spelled the same way. We didn't name the band after any of those things, but because it's really rich and has a lot of different colour and sound in your mind. Sometimes there's confusion, but other times there's great moments. Like one time this guy came up to us in Ottawa who said he came to see us because we had the same name as his city. Oh and we all have Raleigh bikes. They're pretty old school but they're fun to ride to shows and stuff."

This past summer you put out an album (New Times in Black and White). What kind of success have you been seeing so far?
Matt: "I'd say it was awesome for an independent release. We had a pretty successful first album tour across the country. It was rewarding and well received. Online we found good reviews and press as well and we think it definitely paid off locally, as we got to play two of the biggest festivals in Calgary."

C: "But we always want to play more. If we could play 24/7, we would. There are still new heights to be reached, but we're very happy with where we're at and what we've achieved."

Speaking of new heights, do you have plans for a new album?
C: "We definitely have four or five songs almost finished or in the works. Some we've already been performing that people really wanna hear, so yes! That's pretty new and exciting and we'll probably record more for the spring or next fall. We want to try and record in a really go studio space and with an engineer who's on the same page as us and is willing to experiment with new sounds. It should be a good journey."

Raleigh's debut album is now available in record stores and on raleigh.bandcamp.com.