Purity Ring is a Canadian electronic duo formed in Edmonton, Alberta in 2010 by vocalist Megan James and producer Corin Roddick, former bandmates in Gobble Gobble. Shrines (2012, 4AD) practically wrote the blueprint for 2010s indie electronic dream pop; Another Eternity (2015) and Womb (2020) refined it. Browse Purity Ring vinyl, CDs, and reissues at Wax Trax Records.
Purity Ring formed in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada in 2010 around Megan James (vocals) and Corin Roddick (production), who had previously played together in the indie rock band Gobble Gobble. They signed with 4AD Records and released their 2012 debut Shrines, which received critical attention. Their distinctive blend of indie electronic, dream pop, and vocal-driven atmospheric production has positioned them as a defining contemporary indie electronic act alongside contemporaries like Grimes, the xx, and James Blake. They have continued releasing material across multiple decades.
Purity Ring's sound combines indie electronic, dream pop, electronic pop, chillwave, witch house, future pop, and atmospheric electronic with James's distinctive ethereal vocal delivery, Roddick's signature atmospheric synthesizer-driven production approaches (use of pitched-down and pitched-up vocal samples, atmospheric textures), and lyrical content addressing relationships, identity, and abstract themes drawing on contemporary indie electronic and dream pop traditions.
4AD Records pressings of the Purity Ring catalog have been issued in multiple color variant editions and limited deluxe pressings, with collector demand.
Listeners new to Purity Ring typically start with Shrines (2012) or Another Eternity (2015).
