Jordi Rosen, based in Montréal, is a singer / songwriter and accordionist. She has performed and toured with the likes of Rufus Wainwright, Godspeed! You Black Emperor and Annabelle Chvostek. Rosen was also nominated best singer/songwriter at the 2001 MIMI awards and played a five week residency at The Living Room In New York City in 2007.

Folk, pop, classical and other styles blend in her eclectic music which features her Hohner accordion and Casio (yes Casio) keyboards. When asked to categorize her work she ultimately turns to a friend's description.

“It is hard to categorize. There are different genres I play. Some are quite traditional. People say they sound familiar; like a dirge they have heard before," she says. "A friend of mine called it 'dream pop.' There are folk elements too. The style I write in, using lots of 5ths, can be pretty poppy and folky.”

Then there is the use of the accordion. Playing the same notes on a guitar would lend an entirely different feel. Most bands who use accordion use it as an exotic accent. Rosen uses it in most of her songs.

“The main one is a Hohner. It has 120 bass notes. It is called a Carmen 3m,” she says. “Years ago I was playing a friend's accordion for fun. I felt I needed my own, and I went looking. I found it in a pawn shop on St. Catharine's. It's red and gold originally, but when tuning it up, they changed the grill so it is mostly silver now.”

When servicing the accordion techs also change the reeds. The wax wears off the reeds.

“Sometimes there is this quiver or rattle. They have to re-dip the reed in wax.” says Rosen. “On the left hand side, where the buttons are, there are tiny rods, like needles. They straighten them. They are very delicate.”

And if one is bent they you will have a hard time getting the sound you want. As far as the expense is concerned in getting an accordion serviced, Rosen says that it is not exorbitant. The first time she brought hers in, it cost a couple of hundred bucks -- but remember that was straight from the pawn shop.

Recently more extensive maintenance almost became necessary when her accordion almost bounced off the floor.

“I played a show, and the strap snapped. I need to replace them.” she says.

As far as how to amplify the accordion Rosen has used both ways -- external and internal microphones.

“What we used to do in Montreal, I used two mics from the outside," she says. "The years later had a mic installed in the accordion. So I plug it in to a DI and from there I can adjust the volume for each side.”

The externally miked accordion and the one with an internal mic have different sounds.

Rosen also uses a couple of old keyboards in her music -- the aforementioned Casios.

“The one I use the most is a children’s one.” she says. "I found a little Casio on my recycling box. It has all these 80s beats and programmed beats. It is hard to find the same sounds even with my big Casio.”

The "little one" is a Casio SA-3. And you are likely to find these at yard sales. If you do find one for sale it will not be for much. But they also make sounds, as Rosen notes, you cannot get elsewhere.

“The little one is very portable. I bring it to shows and hook it up. I mostly use it live.” she says.

Efforts to use it recording have met with mixed results. She did record it on a French radio show and she says it sounded great. Home recording was a different matter.

“We tried to record it from home; plugged it in, but it didn’t work," she says. "It has this hum thing that happens whenever it is plugged in. Someone told me I could mic it from the exterior."

She also uses a more advanced sort of Casio, the Casio CTK 900. This one is a little more pricey but the use of the word "pricey" is relative here. This keyboard can be bought new for around $200. You will see people trying to sell used ones for this much. They are bad people. They are trying to rip you off.

“It has many, many sounds. I am trying to figure out how to mic these things," says Rosen. "Hooked up live through a DI, the lower notes were just meddled in the mix.”

She was told she needed another amp. She was told that it could be an issue with live compression. Despite the problems she is fond of both Casios.

“I am really having fun with that big thing.” she says.

Rosen has upcoming shoes with Jane Gabriel and Lake of Stew at Yellow Door in Montreal. She plans to record in the fall.