My Old Controller

 My Old Controller is the solo project of Toronto musician Chris Sytnyk. In the late 1990s, Chris was a member of Toronto indie rock band MAdE, recording their second album in Chicago with producer Keith Cleversly and touring alongside prominent Canadian acts. He has also performed and recorded with artists including Chicklet, Michael Kulas (James), Little Creatures, and New Moon Junction.

After returning to songwriting in 2020, Chris released “Out Loud,” a song inspired by hope, mindfulness, and gratitude, followed by The Basement Sessions (Live and Underground) in 2022. For the past three years, he was also a member of Toronto indie-folk band Dandelion Highway, whose debut EP The Crossing received international attention and charted on Canadian college radio. Following the band’s breakup in April 2026, Chris revived My Old Controller to showcase new material while revisiting some older favourites.

These days, My Old Controller is rounded out by longtime musical colleagues Robin Mason on drums and Jason Pilling on bass and backing vocals. Robin and Chris were road warriors in the alt-country band Driveway in the early 2000s, while Jason is an accomplished solo artist and producer who also builds and performs with his own Make-It-Fit instruments. Ralf Caetano completes the lineup on lead guitar, bringing a vintage tone and feel reminiscent of Arthur Lee’s Love and 1970s legends Television, with a hint of The Strokes.

The newly reformed My Old Controller returned to the studio this past July and made its live debut in September at Toronto’s Tranzac Club. The band will release a new single, “Ghosts,” produced and co-written by Ron Lopata, on Thursday, October 15, 2026. “Ghosts” is about holding on to everything you hold dear during times of uncertainty. Ron brought the lyric, “in a world so cold do we want to be alone?” to the initial writing session, and Chris responded with the chorus: “We could weather the storm, get lost in desire. We’ve got a good thing some wood for the fire.” It’s a timely song with a hopeful message, speaking to both individual and universal emotional wants and needs.