...As the Poets Affirm was a Canadian independent rock band formed in 2001 in Ottawa, Ontario. The band began as a three-piece acoustic project, and later evolved into a seven-member line-up experimenting with jazz, classical and electronica. Its name is taken from a line in Dante's Inferno. The original members were - Gary Udle (guitar, vocals), Nathan Gara (drums), Ryan Patterson (guitar, Pocket trumpet, vocals), Adam Saikaley (Moog synthesizer, organ, vocals), bassist and singer Alex Cairncross and cellist Cindy Olberg. They were occasionally joined by violinist Renée Leduc, bassist Ryan Griffin, keyboardist, cellist and singer Kina De Grasse Forney, and on guitar, keyboards and trumpet, Ben Belanger.