The violin is not an instrument that one automatically associates with indie-rock. But Toronto's Owen Pallett has forged a unique musical path that defies convention and has garnered him a loyal cult following.

First playing solo under the moniker Final Fantasy, Pallett has also done string arrangements for some alt-rock bigwigs, including The Mountain Goats, Grizzly Bear and Arcade Fire.

His last two outings, He Poos Clouds and Heartland, are a swirl of baroque-pop that veer from bracing dissonance to lush melodies. Both albums are lyrically framed by tangible concepts. The former being inspired by the Dungeons and Dragons role-playing game, and the latter telling the tale of a "young ultra-violent farmer" named Lewis.

Prior to a Japan tour, Pallett spoke about his songwriting process.

"With both of them it's kinda loose," he says. "I want the concept to almost be an Easter Egg. I grew up listening to a lot of David Bowie records that kind of have an underling theme. As a teenager I would get into parsing out the details and stuff. I don't want these things to come out like operas. I definitely sit down and try to incorporate the narrative. And it definitely changes over time."

Live, Pallett plays solo with no backing band, incorporating a loop pedal to flesh out his sound. During his distinctive performances, he has been known to cover the likes of Maria Carey and Celine Dion. Happy just to play alone, he says he has no immediate plans to put a band together.

"I just play solo," he says. "I've been flirting with the idea of getting a band together for years. If I'm gonna play with a band, then I'm gonna have to really have to start to think like a bandleader. But the thing about touring solo is that it's so easy. And, honestly, I've been doing it for so many years. We'll see what happens."

With a successful solo career and having done arrangements for more than 30 albums, Pallett is still often associated with Arcade Fire. He has done the orchestration for all three of the band's highly praised discs as well as played with them intermittently. Pallett doesn't mind the association.

"It's fine," he says. "I was never really a fulltime member of that band. But I still work with them all the time. I still play with them; they're still a bunch of my best friends. And I'm proud of them; they just got the Grammy Album of the Year nomination. I love them, it doesn't bother, me at all."

Openly gay, Pallett has gone on record saying that heterosexual males may have a hard time connecting with his music.

"It's not meant to be a dis," he says. "Take your average white dude, they're typically gonna be more into rock than rap music. It's just this cultural thing. And it's something I never recognized, because my record collection is filled with rap and math-rock and classical music and music by women and gay people and straight people. Pretty much everybody...except Asians. I'm kidding!"

More than the fans themselves, Pallett believes the industry itself is to blame.

"When Heartland came out there were a lot of heterosexual music writers who loved the record and had nothing but great things to say about it. But were hesitant to go to bat for it. Everybody's been talking about how misogynistic the music journalistic community is for years. And I've always kinda felt that way.

"My point is not that there's actual homophobia or actual misogyny. It's just that when the world is filled with heterosexual male music writers, it's gonna favor music made by heterosexual males. Or music made by the women who could be the girlfriends of these heterosexual males. There's not necessarily gonna be as much time for sex and crazy bitches and stuff."

Owen Pallett will play at Harajuku Astro Hall in Tokyo at 7 p.m. on Dec. 18, (03) 3444-6751;

and Unagidani Sunsui in Osaka at 7 p.m. on Dec. 20, (06) 6535-5569.

(Dec. 10, 2010)