Complex organisms that continually evolve, shape-shift and then vanish entirely, only to re-appear in an altered form, can be challenging to define. What if an organism has never been dissected clearly understood or expertly marketed like a can of Coke or a Led Zeppelin?

What now, if this organism avoids catchy mythical cliques like 'art collective' or 'super-group,' skating by these categories with more credentials than necessary to top each list. While driven by the visceral intangibles that make music genuine, this entity has survived the pigeonhole prone music industry to prevail uncategorized, with a hard-core fan base intact.

Against all friendly advice Ryan Dahle has kept alive a complex, ambiguous organism that he created named Limblifter. Continual re-invention and a revolving door of some of Canada's best musicians have kept the animal evolving, establishing Ryan as an innovator among artists and fans of many contrasting genres of music.

Limblifter has provided a springboard and served as a template and inspiration to countless indie-rock, art-rock, alternative, modern rock and pop bands alike. Let's put name-dropping and past associations behind us. With the purpose of rendering any definitions, derived from a list of past-related members, useless, except to illustrate diversity. Current and ex-members of the Limblifter band camp have been or are members of (in-alphabetical order): Age of Electric, Alarmbell, Attics and Cellars, The Black Halos, Black Mountain, Brundlefly, Blood Meridian, By a Thread, Change of Heart, C'mon, Fancey, A.C. Newman, The Salteens, Spanking Betty, Sparrow, The Spitfires, Matthew Good, Mounties, The New Pornographers, Small Sins and Sloan.

Ryan Dahle is the mastermind behind Limblifter. Described as poetic, arcane, colorful, poignant, unique, prophetic, instructional, and sometimes uncomfortably honest, Dahle's lyrics are forward thinking; wrought with instinct, escapism, social pressure, madness, addiction and disjointed relationships.

The name Limblifter has had many definitions: originating from a game called Slang Teasers and the meaning "land lubber", a term used by sailors to describe people of solid ground, and eventually ending up as the title of a stray song compilation that Dahle was working on. Deriving a metaphoric and then literal definition, the Limblifter entity gave him "a reason to work or to not be lazy."

Limblifter’s checkered past is sprinkled with Juno nominations, a Casby award, five number 11 Canadian radio hits, 20+ videos, and 3 independent full-length albums. Lately Dahle is the recurring collaborative force behind countless Can-music forays: from producing and songwriting with k-os on the BLack on BLonde album, to producing and songwriting with Dustin Bentall and Hot Hot Heat. Dahle’s music, songwriting, and personality are the omnipotent presence behind great invention, especially as seen in his current chart-topping supergroup project: Mounties, with Hawksley Workman and Steve bays of Hot Hot Heat.

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