Saltland

Rebecca Foon, a Canadian cellist, vocalist, and composer, launched Saltland in 2010 as her solo endeavor. After relocating from Montreal to Vancouver at age 17, she became a prolific presence in Montreal’s D.I.Y. scene throughout the early 2000s. She joined the experimental post-rock collective Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra in 2000, took part in Set Fire to the Flames, and co-founded the chamber rock group Esmerine. Following a European and North American tour in 2008, she exited Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra and turned to solo work in 2010. Jamie Thompson of Unicorns and Island supplied percussion and programming while Foon focused on vocals and cello. Three years later Constellation released her debut album I Thought It Was Us But It Was All of Us under the Saltland name, featuring guest contributions from Colin Stetson, Sarah Neufeld, and Richard Reed Parry of Arcade Fire. In tandem with her recording career, Foon engaged in environmental and social activism through membership in the Sustainability Solutions Group and co-founded the concert series Pathway to Paris to promote awareness of ecological issues and advocate for an international climate agreement. Her focus on these matters shaped the sophomore record A Common Truth, constructed chiefly from her vocals and layered acoustic, sampled, and processed cello parts yet also incorporating violin and pump organ from Warren Ellis of the Bad Seeds and Dirty Three. In 2016 she collaborated with Colin Stetson on his reimagining of Gorecki’s 3rd Symphony.