About The Acorn
The Acorn is the collaborative music project of Honduran-Canadian musician/songwriter Rolf-Carlos Klausener.
Formed as a vehicle for Klausener's early improvisations and interests in regionalism, his songs mine the human condition, exploring family, kinship, and the permutations of the heart. The Acorn’s releases have run the gamut from American primitive guitar and psych-folk, to art pop, balladry, and minimal electro.
Emerging from Ottawa's underground in 2004, the project’s first five years were defined by the indelible contributions of bandmates Jeff DeButte, T. Jeffrey Malecki, and Howie Tsui. Joined by composer Keiko Devaux in 2006, the quintet co-wrote Glory Hope Mountain, The Acorn’s most enduring album. Drummer Pat Johnson joined in 2008 to tour the album, and wrote on 2010’s No Ghost. To date, The Acorn has released five full-length albums, multiple EPs, and has headlined tours worldwide, as well as supporting artists like Bon Iver, Calexico, Fleet Foxes, and Elbow.
Both their acclaimed 2007 album, Glory Hope Mountain, and 2015's Vieux Loup were long-listed for Canada's Polaris Music Prize.
Collaborators
Jarrett Bartlett
Recording Engineer (2004 - present)
Before The Acorn had a name, I’d already worked with this unflappable New Brunswicker for about four years. This fella has had a hand in mixing, engineering, almost every song I’ve written.
T. Jeffrey Malecki
Drums (2004 - 2012)
I remember Kepler’s Samir Khan coming up to me after one of The Acorn’s first full-band shows, and saying “That’s a shit-hot band you’ve got there.” A heavy third of that shit’s heat came from Drumbo Ontario’s T. Jeffrey Malecki. Hell, I didn’t even know this mercurial genius even played drums for the first three years that I knew him. Jeffrey went on to make indelible marks on our first five records. He gave Blankets its rhythmic idiosyncrasy, GHM its polyrhythms, and No Ghost its bite.
Ho Yan ‘Howie’ Tsui
Guitars (2004 - 2010)
Howie and I met in the Summer of 2002 at (concert) when he and his future wife Madi were on their way to see Deerfhoof and Frog Eyes in MTL. We quickly bonded over our love of experimental music, hip hop, and cooking. He agreed to play on The Pink Ghosts drunk at a house party. The next six years would see him dependably pluck inimitable melodies from the aether, and be a life-affirming presence on stage and on the road. A visual artist first and foremost, you can keep up with his remarkable career here: www.howietsui.com
Jeff DeButte
Bass, Guitars, Vocals (2004 - 2010)
Jeff DeButte may very well be the most intuitive and complimentary harmonizing singer I’ve ever work. In Ottawa’s insular art rock scene in the early 2000’s, Jeff was someone I knew I had a kinship with long before I met him. A dazzling intellect, music school chops, and a rare kind of sensitivity made him an indispensable ally as I navigated songwriting...and trying to “run” a band. Glory Hope Mountain owes a lot of its subtle, counter-intuitive structures to his influence and creativity. He also got me into Talk Talk.
Keiko Devaux
Piano, Keys (2006 - 2008)
Keiko’s first language is music. We met at Ottawa’s SAW Centre where her now defunct, experimental art-rock band People For Audio were playing on a frigid December night in 2005. She introduced me to minimalist composition, and offered The Acorn a sense of space we hadn’t quite grasped yet, and one I’m ever reaching for. Her piano chords open Glory Hope Mountain and I still get chills to this day. I said “Can you make the chords sound like heartbreaking church bells on a Sunday morning?” and that was that. Keiko has gone on to become the renowned composer we all knew she’d become. I encourage you to explore her incredible and ever-growing body of work.
Pat Johnson
Drums, Bass (2008 - 2015)
A longstanding pillar of Ottawa’s art-punk community (Steve Adamyk Band, Sleeping Pilot, and more), Pat brought an explosive counterpoint to Jeffrey’s idiosyncratic polyrhythms. He quickly became a permanent member of the band, shaping Glory Hope Mountain’s live show, and then directly co-writing several tracks on of 2010’s No Ghost, including: Restoration, Misplaced, On The Line, Bobcat Goldwraith, Second Fiddle, and Almanac. He also helped shaped the heart of 2015 Vieux Loup’s hybrid electronic/acoustic rhythms.
Martin Charbonneau
Bass (2012 - present )
Coming on as the founding band transitioned, Martin brought a dedicated and attuned sensibility to the Acorn’s bottom end. A veteran of the Ottawa scene (FEVERS, Kalle Mattson, Jon Hynes), Martin toured on 2015’s No Ghost, 2017 Glory Hope Mountain anniversary shows, and countless other shows and tours.
Adam Saikaley
Keys (2010 - 2015)
Originally teaming up to form our psych-dance collab project SILKKEN with Pat Johnson, Adam became an indispensible member of The Acorn’s reimagined live show. Bringing a depth of compositional instincts, vast music knowledge, and a facility across genres. He was essential to bringing the project into its next incarnation, and guiding 2015’s Vieux Loup, which in many ways was a return to The Acorn’s hybrid electronic-folk roots of 2004’s The Pink Ghosts.
Jordan Howard
touring guitar (2009 - 2012)
Steve Lappano
touring percussion/bass (2009 - 2012)
Shaun Weadick
touring percussion, guitars (2007 - 2008)
Mike Dubue
touring keys/bass (2008 - 2009)
Casey Mecija
guest vocals (2007)
Boyhood
guest vocals (2015)
Flecton Bigsky
guest vocals (2007)
Sylvie Smith
guest vocals (2015)
Jacob Bryce
guest drums, percussion (2004)
John Higney
guest lapsteel (2004)
Pascal De La Quis
touring drums (2015 - 2017)
Pierre-Luc Clement
touring percussion/keys (2017)
Jonas Bonetta
guest piano/production (2015)
Mike Essoudry
guest drums (2015)
Ryan Carley
guest percussion (2007)
James Bunton
guest percussion, trumpet (2007)
Stefanie Power
guest vocals (2007)
Michael Feuerstack
guest lapsteel (2007)
Paul Kearns
guest percussion (2006)