Ivytide is an indie pop band from Montreal, Canada. The story of Ivytide began as Nathan Gagné (vocals/guitar) developed a passion for making music in his teenage years, singing in his room with the door closed. He taught himself guitar and built upon what he loved from the artists he admired. After some convincing from one of his musician friends, Nathan decided to look into some local studios in the West Island.
Jamie Snytte (guitar) grew up playing in different bands, and developed an interest in the recording process, so much so that he opened up his own recording studio with a business partner in 2016. After honing his craft by working with artists from many genres, Nathan happened to book a recording session at Jamie’s studio. Together they worked on Nathan’s first solo EP, and a year later Nathan returned for a follow-up project. For this project, they began working together on songwriting and composition, and found that they shared a mutual love for indie pop music, with hip-hop influences.
Following the release of this EP in 2017, Nathan was eager to perform the songs live with a band. With Jamie on guitar and a session drummer on board, they began to seek out a bassist. That’s when Kyle Ruggiero, Jamie’s long-time friend and former band mate, stepped in. After a few shows, the trio began working together on new music which led to the formation of Ivytide.
Combining their unique influences resulted in the production of bedroom pop songs with intricate, but catchy melodies, which float on top of well-thought-out instrumentation. Drawing inspiration from creative RnB artists like Frank Ocean, and indie artists such as Still Woozy, and Clairo, Ivytide developed their trademark indie pop sound.
After releasing their debut EP “Bloom”, the group continued to perform live in Montreal and Toronto, highlighted by a headlining show at Canadian Music Week in 2019. Following up on their debut EP, the band began developing a fan base by releasing singles, ahead of their sophomore offering “Pardon our distance” in 2020. This project received major support from digital streaming platforms such as Spotify, Apple Music, and independent music blogs. Landing “Undone”, “Blurr”, and “Late Nights” on editorial playlists such as “Chill Vibes”, “Indie Pop & Chill”, “Fresh Finds”, and “Made in Québec” allowed the band to reach a much wider audience.
In 2021, Ivytide released a string of singles, culminating in an EP entitled “softy”. Each single on the EP gained both local and global recognition from major streaming platforms. In addition to Canadian and international playlist placements, their singles “ouest side” and “call it what u want” allowed them to be featured on the cover of Spotify’s editorial playlist “Montreal Chill”, while “text me when u get home” got them the cover of “Indie Pop & Chill”. The band was also featured on both CTV Morning Live Ottawa and Atlantic to promote and play their single “miss u btw”. With the release of “softy”, the music video for their song “rent free” was featured by popular blog Earmilk, and the band was asked to play an online EP release show for ADISQ. Ivytide is currently totalling around 6.5 million listens on all streaming platforms. The band began to release another string of singles, leading the front with “extra”, “moving song”, “overgrown”, “flood lines”, “please don’t sugarcoat it”, and “brokeboy” to display their versatility. These releases are intended to build anticipation for their upcoming debut album, set to be released in early 2024.
