Biography

Southpacific are back, more than two decades after their sudden exit from the 1990s Canadian music scene. Formed in Ottawa in 1997, Southpacific—Joachim Toelke on lead guitar, Phil Stewart-Bowes on bass and Graeme Fleming on drums, guitar and vocals—crafted a drone-guitar-driven, largely instrumental live sound inspired by Joachim’s initial idea to create “unmapped music”. They faithfully captured their live sound to tape with their debut self-recorded mini-LP, '33', released on CD in August 1998. After relocating to Toronto, Southpacific signed to New York-based Turnbuckle Records, then home to Bailterspace and Oneida, in 1999. Their new label re-released '33' to much acclaim, and the mini-LP made it into the top 100 on the CMJ chart. Southpacific followed up with their debut full-length studio album, 'Constance', in 2000 before embarking on a short cross-Canada tour. They played their final show on August 26, 2000, to a sold-out Lee’s Palace in Toronto. The three members parted mutually, but the seed was always planted for an eventual return. Toelke, Stewart-Bowes and Fleming came back together to experiment again as Southpacific in 2019. The trio released the single 'Depths' in 2020, shortly before the COVID pandemic delayed further plans. The band returns with the release of the 5-track 'Radar Road' EP on February 24, 2023.