The collaboration between Scott Cortez and thisquietarmy doesn’t really come as a surprise. The latter acknowledges that the previous works from Cortez (under the lovesliescrushing moniker) greatly influenced his work, to the point of using the same way of writing the band’s name (no capital letter and no spaces between words) for his actual solo project. The main thing that they have in common is their unconventional use of the guitar, which they consider as a signal generator. They then process those sounds through various effects, to obtain a different result than that of the original signal until the source becomes almost undetectable. Meridians is also the first vinyl production from thisquietarmy, as it is Scott Cortez’s first under his real name.
Meridians is a cross-project between the two artists. Separated by 1.000 miles, Eric Quach (thisquietarmy) and Scott Cortez simultaneously began to record the first guitar layer for both sides on December 18th 2009 at 1pm EST. The original drone was supposed to be played like a three tones piece, with the use of a different string for each tone. They then sent the result to each other to work on the piece that the other had begun. This is how they recorded the two tracks that feature on this record.
This is definitely an unusual practice, far from the classic split exercise and the result is fascinating: abstract, radiant and hypnotic drones that intertwine with numerous harmonic structures. They created a coherent whole that goes beyond their unique recording method.
Written and pressed to be played at 45 rpm, the record can also be played at 33 rpm. Darker and more mystical, the result is stunning.
Tracklist
A. 41° 52' 50" N, 87° 42' 39" W
B. 45° 30' 4" N, 73° 33' 29" W
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Available on three:four Records. Order here: http://www.three-four.net/releases/TFR005
There are a few available for Canada/USA through TQA Records: http://thisquietarmy.com/records/#tfr005
