Latest News
Two Great Shows This Weekend! May 27th and May 28th!
Saturday May 28th Benefit For Japan! @ 1900 Wellington in Pointe-Ste-Charles 7pm.
Friday May 27th Opening For Belgrave!@ O Patro Vys
the mittenstrings will play the musical interlude for Poetry Plus on December 15th 2010 at Arts Cafe(Fairmount corner Jeanne Mance). Poetry starts at 8pm, we go on at 9pmish. Short set!
the mittenstrings will be opening for Martha Wainwright on September 7 and 8 in Quebec City and September 9th in Outremont!
the mittenstrings along with Ryan Newman will play a double bill at the Yellow Door on September 11th! Not to be missed!
the mittenstrings @ Muziekfeest II in Pointe St-Charles
6pm-11pm
FREE!
Espace Les 9 Soeurs
1900 Wellington
Gerie Lee Arie, the mittenstrings and Pamela Pachal
(we go on 2nd!)
Thursday, May 27, 2010 8:00 PM 8$
Centre St-Ambroise
5080-A St-Ambroise
Montreal
the mittenstrings are the musical guests at
Poetry Plus May 5th 2010!
We'll play a mini set, we go on at 9pm(i think...) FREE
We'll be going on first! Short set!
Here we are on Blogotheque. This was shot during Pop Montreal this past October.
come see us at the indyish monthly mess at il motore! we'll be going on around 11pm! $10
TONIGHT!! Oct 7th 2009. the mittenstrings opening for James Correa at Green Room (st-laurent below st-viateur, west side) at 9pm. Come on down! 8 bucks i think...
Guardian Article: Wainwright cousins make musical debut in animated 'sitcom'
Friday January 16th, 2009
Original Article
by Sean Michaels
Two members of Canada's famous folk clan have launched their singing careers as the Mittenstrings, characters in an online stop-motion series
Lily and Sylvan Lanken – cousins of Rufus and Martha Wainwright, the children of folk legend Anna McGarrigle – have made their musical debut ... as handmade paper cut-outs.
The Mittenstrings, the Lankens' mysterious multimedia project, launched online last week, revealing an eight-episode "sitcom" about a fictional band – with real songs. It's a charming, stop-motion wonderland, with elaborate hand-painted sets, characters and flying tour buses.
The music, though lo-fi, offers the same melodic knack that the rest of the family is known for. But whereas Rufus and Martha Wainwright are often caustic and sour, the Mittenstrings' music is wistful and gentle, evoking frosted-over windows, Kathryn Williams and indeed the McGarrigle sisters.
The episodes display a sharp sense of humour with bone-dry jokes and a healthy appreciation for the absurd. Mouth-trumpet muzak plays during a short stint in a lift, while Anna McGarrigle has a cameos as a crone at a radio station. Rufus and Martha are thanked in the final credits.
Though the Mittenstrings have played a handful of gigs, they have largely kept their identities secret, masquerading under their characters' names, Raelene, Lance and Chess. In a different incarnation, Lily Lanken is a member of Martha Wainwright's touring band and both siblings have made frequent appearances with their mother and aunt, including the recent McGarrigle Christmas Hour concert at Carnegie Hall.