thisquietarmy remixes Kino by Arms and Sleepers

Between 2007 & 2009, thisquietarmy has played something like 8 shows with Arms and Sleepers in Montreal (QC), Burlington (VT), New York City (NY) & Boston (MA). We've gone a long way since, releasing a few albums, touring extensively and we've remained friends since, following each other's progress.

On August 30th 2009, I was in Boston for the release of my friends Caspian's third opus Tertia; Arms and Sleepers were opening for them. That's when they asked me to do a remix for them. A couple of months later, I received the remix kit for Kino which contained about 40 tracks for 2GB worth of files that I had to go through & familiarize myself with.

I've always felt like this song could use more intensity and I wanted to expand the potential moments of climax in that track, and make it more explosive. I thought, "what if Arms and Sleepers was played by Caspian, how would that sound?" --- of course, within the limitations of a remix. With that concept in mind, the drum sounds were tweaked to sound more like it came from a rock drum kit, distortion were added on certain lead synth tracks, I added some fuzzy/phasey guitar tracks, and I also tried make it more ethereal & noisy as to add some thisquietarmy glazing to it. It was a very fun remix to work on, and I'm glad it will be released in vinyl.

Here's the info from their label, Expect Candy:

Matador Remixed limited edition vinyl is available for pre-order through Expect Candy's website starting on April 25. The first 100 units come on beautiful clear transparent vinyl and all copies include a digital download code. The first 25 orders will also include an Arms and Sleepers European tour poster. Pre-orders ship before the official release date of May 28, 2010. The release will also be available via iTunes and other digital stores on that date. For more info and to pre-order the limited edition vinyl, CLICK HERE.

Tracklisting:

Side A
1. Matador (Uzi and Ari Remix)
2. The Architekt (Lymbyc Systym Remix)
3. Twentynine Palms (Nolens Volens Remix)
4. Simone (Amanda Rogers Remix)
5. Helvetica (The American Dollar Remix)

Side B
1. The Architekt (The Consulate General vs Boy In Static Remix)
2. The International (Arms and Sleepers Remix)
3. Kino (Thisquietarmy Remix)
4. The Architekt (Bigadiga Remix)
5. The Paramour (Elika Remix)

Grouper + Grimes + thisquietarmy - June 8th @ Suoni Per Il Popolo

More info about the festival: http://www.suoniperilpopolo.org/

Mini-tour with Monarch! doom band from France in June

I'll be playing the Toronto, Guelph, Quebec City & Montreal gigs, June 5-6-10-12.

More info on Monarch!: http://www.myspace.com/monarchuberalles

thisquietarmy / Mains de Givre release show pictures

Some pictures of the show by Etienne Blythe:







Poster for the show:
Also reviews by New Zero Kanada blog of thisquietarmy's set and Mains de Givre's set. Oh well, some people really liked Mains de Givre as well, but can't please everyone! I don't know how it sounded in the room... so, I'm looking forward to getting and analyzing some live recordings for future considerations.

Nadja / thisquietarmy European Tour 2009 : a short film

A short film by Eric Quach : thisquietarmy tours across Europe with Nadja in june 2009.

Shot with a shaky digital camera during sporadic moments of inspiration within the 3-week adventure across the landscapes of Germany, Switzerland, Italy, France, The Netherlands, Czech Republic & Poland --- the film was quickly assembled and edited in Montreal by Eric Quach in two days, merely a year after it all happened.

A new found hazy and dream-like perspective of the journey is revealed throughout the global overview of the daily change of scenery and events occurring between live performances by both bands in unusual locations such as in a small town Italian restaurant outside of Milan, in the outdoor terrace of a gallery located in a suburb of Stuttgart, on a floating barge at the quay in Lyon, at a multidisciplinary arts center in Eindhoven and in a squatted university building in Frankfurt.

Special thanks to Albanmono, SMVO, Leszek & TAC Live for some of the extra live tqa footage, without which this film would be solely about Nadja and probably would never have been made.

Featured music:

thisquietarmy - Taming the Beast
thisquietarmy - Dronewars
Nadja - No Cure for the Lonely

Nadja / thisquietarmy European Tour 2009 from thisquietarmy on Vimeo.

Norman Records recommends Mains de Givre - Esther Marie

Tokafi interview with Mains de Givre

Tobias Fisher of the very respected german-based publication Tokafi was kind enough to cover the release of Mains de Givre's Esther Marie with a conductive interview about this new project :

Aftermath gets a write-up in the Montreal Mirror

This week's issue of the Mirror, April 29-May 5 2010, Volume 25, Number 25, p. 21: Johnson Cummins' Punkusraucous Rex column:


"On a completely different note are the dark, ambient electronics and heavily effected guitar of Thisquietarmy’s new release, Aftermath, on French drone label Basses Frequences. TQA is the solo project of Eric Quach, with his sound only becoming more dense and dramatic over subsequent releases. Quach takes his time carving melodies out of unlikely places and crescendos creep slowly as he easily moves from desolation to claustrophobia. A truly impressive and ambitious piece of work."