Shelder the Electric Clamfish

Shelder the Electric Clamfish is a multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and storyteller from Mayne Island, British Columbia. She performs her eclectic-art-folk compositions on accordion and ukulele, drawing inspiration from her travels as a nomadic musician and from historical Canadian legends and folk tales. She has been compared to the likes of Pete Seeger and Gordon Lightfoot, but with a twist. With four Canadian tours  under her belt, she performs her eclectic art-folk compositions on  accordion and ukulele, drawing inspiration from her travels as a nomadic musician and from historical Canadian legends and folk tales. After residing in Halifax, Nova Scotia for three years, Shelder now incorporates traditional East Coast music into her original compositions, blending familiar sounds with a new deep-sea folk-punk energy. 

Shelder began songwriting as a young child, composing her first piece of music (about eating plums) at the age of four. When her family relocated from Edmonton to Mayne Island, she was embraced by the creative local community and began to hone her composition skills. She picked up trumpet in high school and focused on classical trumpet studies at the University of Victoria, where she also studied music education. After graduation, Shelder toured as a trumpet player with the bands Blackberry Wood and Compassion Gorilla, traveling around British Columbia, The Yukon, England, The United States and most of Mexico. Although Mexico was a life-changing experience (she still craves the tacos to this day), the highlight of these travels was playing on the same bill as The Rolling Stones at the legendary Glastonbury Festival. Following this stint of traveling, Shelder taught middle school band and choir for a year on Salt Spring Island. Her experience as a teacher lends her to engage openly with audiences, through interactivity and vibrant story-telling. Currently, Shelder is teaches music at the high school on Salt Spring Island. 
 
Her music has been described as wacky and unconventional, yet audiences relate to her lyrics, as they are drawn from real life experiences. She enjoys researching old stories from various regions of Canada and turning these stories into folk ballads. Shelder also incorporates traditional Canadian folk songs into her performance, and combined with her own compositions, this makes for quite the educational and entertaining experience for audiences of all ages and from all walks of life.

While living out East, Shelder recorded her first full-length album, Notes of a Vagabond. Although teaching takes up much of her time these days, Shelder is re-surfacing and performing more shows with a live band (Brandon Bronson - drums, Sam Schuette - bass, Pete Ravensfjord - saxophones) around the Gulf Islands, and is slowly chipping away at her second album. Stay tuned for the release!