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Imaginary Cities was a Canadian indie pop duo based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The project consisted of multi-instrumentalist Rusty Matyas, formerly of the Waking Eyes and a sometime collaborator of the Weakerthans, and vocalist Marti Sarbit.

History

Matyas and Sarbit began collaborating in 2010. That year, they played a few live shows and began to record tracks for an album. In 2011, they continued performing, at first serving as the opening band for more established groups.

Their debut album, Temporary Resident, was released in 2011 on the Hidden Pony label; it went on to top Canada's campus radio charts. That year, the band won a Western Canada Music Award for Best Pop Album of the Year and was subsequently named as a longlisted nominee for the 2011 Polaris Music Prize. To support the album, they played several dates in Eastern Canada and the US as an opening act for Pixies.

Imaginary Cities performed at a number of pop festivals, including the 2013 NXNE, and gained a following in Germany. The band released their second album, Fall of Romance, in May 2013. Fall of Romance was produced, engineered, and mixed by Howard Redekopp, who has also worked with Tegan and Sara, the New Pornographers, and Mother Mother.

In 2014, they collaborated with Porter Robinson on his song "Hear the Bells". In the same year, Matyas toured with The Sheepdogs as a guitarist following the departure of Leot Hanson from that band.

Imaginary Cities stopped performing and recording in 2016. Sarbit launched the new band Lanikai the following year. Matyas suffered from alcoholism-related liver disease in 2017 and spent some time recovering before reemerging in 2021 with the solo project Rusty Robot.

Discography

• Temporary Resident (2011)
• Fall of Romance (2013)

References

1. ^ "Imaginary Cities are here to stay". National Post, February 21, 2011.
2. Alex Hudson, "Indie rock and Motown meet in Imaginary Cities". The Georgia Straight, July 13, 2011.
3. "Imaginary Cities Perform "Hummingbird"". Exclaim!, December 13, 2011.
4. Alex Hudson, "Waking Eyes Offshoot Imaginary Cities Set Up for NXNE". Exclaim!, June 15, 2010.
5. "2011 Western Canadian Music Award Winners". breakoutwest.ca. Archived from the original on January 15, 2013. Retrieved October 19, 2012.
6. "2011 Polaris Music Prize Long List announced" Archived October 2, 2015, at the Wayback Machine. aux.tv, June 16, 2011.
7. "Imaginary Cities Announce North American Tour". Exclaim!. September 7, 2011. Retrieved October 19, 2012.
8. "NXNE 2013 in Review: Five Days That Will Live in Infamy". Torontoist, June 17, 2013.
9. "Imaginary Cities Is the Best Indie Band You Don’t Know Yet". Huffington Post, 06/04/2013/ Andrew Blackmore-Dobbyn, Ellen Dobbyn-Blackmore
10. "Imaginary Cities set to release highly anticipated second album". CBC News, May 16, 2013.
11. Ryan Reed, "Imaginary Cities: Fall of Romance". Paste, May 28, 2013.
12. "Fall of Romance - Imaginary Cities | Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic.
13. "The Sheepdogs 'parting ways' with guitarist Leot Hanson". CBC News Saskatoon, July 2, 2014.
14. Sarah Murphy, "Imaginary Cities Serve Up 'Leftovers' EP Before Going on Indefinite Hiatus". Exclaim!, July 27, 2016.
15. "Marti Sarbit takes a trip from Imaginary Cities to Lanikai". CBC News Manitoba, March 18, 2017.
16. "'Dryuary' a lifestyle choice for some, but quitting booze was a question of survival for Winnipeg musician". CBC News Manitoba, January 13, 2019.
17. Eva Wasney, "Delivering delight: Musician's Rusty Robot project is two scoops of fun with a cherry on top". Winnipeg Free Press, July 8, 2021.

• Musical groups established in 2010
• Musical groups disestablished in 2016
• Musical groups from Winnipeg
• Canadian indie pop groups
• 2010 establishments in Manitoba
• 2016 disestablishments in Manitoba
• Grand Hotel van Cleef Records artists