The Magnetic North

The Magnetic North

The Magnetic North is a Canadian group whose line-up includes brothers Paul van Kampen and Stephen van Kampen, along with their friends Dan Wilson and Stefan Smith. The band works in an indie and dark-pop style, with writing described through its minimalist and delicate complexity. Their songs focus on childhood nostalgia and the difficulties of new love.

The group’s first album is Constellations. The band is also described as a Canadian act and has been compared with Radiohead and The Beatles.

Another account of the group’s formation places it in January 2011, when Orcadian singer-songwriter Erland Cooper brings together Simon Tong and Hannah Peel to form The Magnetic North with the specific aim of recording Orkney: Symphony Of The Magnetic North, an album centred on the Orkney islands.