Six years ago, the then-four-piece Behind Sapphire squeezed into a dusty crawl space in Vancouver, British Columbia with nothing but wide-eyed ambition and embarked upon their first flirtations with writing music. Inspired by Billie Holiday's 'Strange Fruit,' they wrote and recorded their first song within weeks of their voices dropping.

Matthew Mazankowski, Grant Cassell and Matthew Tomkinson came together as an after-school pop-punk experiment, unsure and full of awkwardness. Jump to now, with more than a half-decade's worth of musical exploration under their belts, and Behind Sapphire is an unlikely artistic outpouring of folk-pop with a fantastically woven live show that spills over with quirky energy and intense celebration. Think: "Patrick Watson backed by Hey Ocean!" fused with the grandeur of Sufjan Stevens and Sigur Ros.

In early 2010, Behind Sapphire recorded and released a self-titled CD, with drummer Steven Ward coming aboard to fill the group's rhythm section. Built upon hundreds of home recordings, they reached out to Tom Dobranzski (The Zolas, Said the Whale, Hey Ocean) with the best of them. One by one, friends and family jumped into the fold with their own musical talents and tastes, adding layers of sugary harmonies, brother and sisterly spirit and a sense of improvisation and collaboration that marks the record in a truly positive way.

The album is carried by rollicking backbeats, sweeping orchestration and outsized arrangements that borrow the nostalgia of Walt Disney, nod to The Beatles' flights of fancy and carry the croon of Billie Holiday and Jason Mraz.

In celebration Behind Sapphire took to the stage, backed by a 35-piece orchestra composed of their old high school band, good friends and family. The CD release marked the start of a summer of touring as the band traveled across BC, Canada and as far north as Alaska - making a stop at the Southeast Alaskan State Fair.

Currently in 100.5 The Peak's: Peak Performance Project, Behind Sapphire was chosen along with 19 of BC's most talented artists (out of 470 applicants) for a chance to win $100,500 towards career development.

Focused primarily on their child-at-heart agenda, Behind Sapphire's ambition to capture your imagination will surprise you with every new step into their world. With an upbeat, quirky and fun-loving nature, Behind Sapphire is certain to find a home within your heart.

"Chock full of folk instrumentations and soul-moving vocal melodies, the album is a painting of experiences, faith, and nature...It is without a doubt that the band has what it takes to make the grade and truly make an impression within the Canadian music scene. They are a new generation of young artists who have a clear vision of who they are and what they want to do." - Xu Wang [The Peak (SFU Newspaper)]

"If you were looking for a soundtrack to your summer, Behind Sapphire may have just made it." ALBUM RATING: 4/5* - Francois Marchand [Vancouver Sun]

"Behind Sapphire's self-titled album is the perfect summer music, great for any occasion and will especially strike a chord with fans of Walt Disney, The Beatles, John Mayer, Sufjan Stevens, Patrick Watson, Andrew Bird or St.Vincent." - John Tanner [Vancouver Observer]

"BC CD OF THE WEEK: Behind Sapphire. As well as an attractive package, this duo has made attractive pop. Sometimes cinematic in scope, Behind Sapphire employs instruments as diverse as trombone, ukulele, glockenspiel and vibraphone to create uniquely arranged '80s influenced post new wave songs." - Tom Harrison [The Province]

"Behind Sapphire immediately won over the capacity crowd with a set that was heart-felt, upbeat, and timeless... ...The band conveyed a comfort with each other as they jumped between lilting melodies and raucous backbeats, always maintaining an element of originality that was refreshing." - Dean Morrison [Merritt News]

"Since they started playing together about five years ago, Mazankowski’s guitar skills have "improved tenfold," while the xylophone-like glockenspiel has become the "weapon of choice" for Cassell." - Boaz Joseph [The Leader Newspaper]

"...they will make your heart feel happy and you will catch yourself humming their tunes for the rest of the day (if not longer)." - [How I Killed The Scene]

"...their sound was, for lack of a better word, magical." - [Forty Four Magazine]