Video Premier: Ekoti 'The Garden'

By Maddy Cristall

Ekoti is a folk quartet hailing from various pockets of BC. The band’s frontman Davis Steele is no stranger to the music world and has been hard at work for several years refining his craft. His latest project Ekoti are releasing their debut live album early July. Each song on the record features a corresponding video that was in the acoustically rich living room of Steele’s parents home in the Lower Mainland. The videos are poetic, clever and intimate; just like the music.

Like many powerful songs, The Garden was inspired by a breakup. Steele shared that “The garden is probably the most obvious motif present in the song. In my mind it stands for the experience of a relationship that I was in. We grew our roots together and they became bound in the meaning of a new collective element. But when I got out of that relationship both my partner and I had to find meaning on our own. In this song, I was visiting with the idea that one must grow and become confident in themselves before being completed by another. I found that what, at first, is uncomfortable becomes fulfilling and essential.”

The video pairs perfectly with this vulnerable and relatable song. The entire album is a multifaceted body of work that showcases the band’s unique talent. The videography suits this sincerely classic folk approach to music that we don’t see enough anymore. It’s non-pretentious music that derives straight from the soul. You can hear every astute detail in these well-crafted songs. Check out this black and white masterwork below…

Ekoti celebrate the release of their debut record on July 4th as part of the wonderful Root Dwellers Series at Spade Cafe on Commerical Drive (Vancouver)