Need to know

What: Owen Pallett (formerly known as Final Fantasy)

When: Saturday, Feb. 27. Doors open at 7:30 p.m.

Where: Lincoln Alexander Centre, 150 King St. E.

Tickets: $15 advance, available at Dr. Disc and Cheapies. $20 at the door

Owen Pallett admits that his remarkable new CD Heartland was a tad overly ambitious in concept.

It is grandiose in orchestral arrangements, lush in electronic patterns and, at times, confounding in its lyrical twists and turns.

But the Toronto violinist/composer wouldn't have had it any other way.

"I went into this knowing that the ambition was going to be limitless, that it was even a little preposterous that I was going to make this record," Pallett explains in an interview from his Toronto home. "Yet, knowing the kind of work and knowing the amount of thought that went into it was so deep, I felt that no one could really dismiss it, either."

Heartland certainly can't be dismissed, but it is near impossible to categorize.

How could it be any other way?

Pallett, 30, is a classically trained violinist and composer, steeped in the ways of Sibelius, Stockhausen and Stravinski, as well as possessing an unabashed appreciation for Beach Boys and Beatles.

Under his previous stage persona of Final Fantasy, Pallett became the darling of the Canadian indie-rock circuit, arranging strings for Arcade Fire and other hip bands such as Stars and Great Lake Swimmers. In 2006, his mischievously titled record He Poos Clouds won Pallett the inaugural Polaris prize for Canadian record of the year.

Pallett is so much in demand as an arranger, sideman or soundtrack composer that he could make a good living working for others.

In the spring of 2008, however, he decided to devote his time to his own work. For more than a year, Pallett would labour almost obsessively on the 12 tracks that would eventually become Heartland. He started out with ideas modelled on the stories of American horror writer H.P. Lovecraft. His goal was to build a fantasy world of unseen mythical creatures through music and lyrics.

"These are different songs that have to do with different things, but there is this thread that runs through them," Pallett explains.

He went to Lisbon -- his "favourite city" -- rented a cottage and started writing. "I spent about a week and a half there and emerged with masses and masses of lyrics," Pallett says.

By August 2008, he had started his first demo recordings of the new material. Then the real work seemed to start. There were trips to a recording studios in Reykjavik and another to Prague where he enlisted the Czech Symphony Strings. A woodwind ensemble was recorded in Toronto.

"By the time we had finished our first mix, it was May 2009," Pallett says. "From August til May, it was all I worked on. I spent so much money on it. You have no idea.

"The most expensive part was when we sat down to mix it, and I realized that we had to actually build a studio to do so. It was crazy."

The end product was released last month to rave reviews from critics. Now, he's got to tour the album to make it pay for itself. He has a string of concert dates booked around the world. Some of the big European stops, such as Lisbon, are already sold out.

"I can play as good a show in Vienna as I can in Toronto," says Pallett, who performs in Hamilton Feb. 27. "Bigger shows in London, Lisbon and Dublin than in Toronto."

Performing Heartland live has presented huge challenges, however. Pallett has typically performed as a one-man band, using electronic keyboards and piping his violin through complicated loops.

Heartland's lyric density has forced him to learn how to sing and play violin at the same time. "I had to spend some time practising. It's basically not something that people do."

Pallett has also added guitarist Thom Gill to his tour to give some added lift. Gill, an Ancaster native, is a former member of Hamilton All-Star Jazz Band and local funk group Flattstreet.

Completing Heartland at times became a burden, Pallett admits. But now that he has started performing it live, Pallett can draw satisfaction from it.

"What technology has allowed my visions to do, is kind of phenomenal," he says. "You can make records that are so ambitious, and so complicated, and traverse all these genres and styles. I was very conscious of the lofty ambition that was going on with this project. I would often even err on the side of the decision artistically that was a little more audacious.

"I wanted to make the kind of record that was ... ridiculous, I guess."

grockingham@thespec.com

905-526-3331