Brescia

On our way to Italy from Germany, we went through Switzerland. The landscapes were gorgeous enough to make the eight-hour ride quite enjoyable:


How we ended up in Brescia, I have no idea - we were probably secretly wishing that we were in Milan instead, which is located an hour an half west of. But a gig is a gig, even in a little smalltown. However, it is often in those nowhere places that we have the most to tell about, Brescia was no different.

We felt like we were invading a smalltown community located in Southern California, whose main evening activities revolved around ping-pong, cards and boards games, and have never heard this kind of music before, nor did they care for it. The concert took place in this small restaurant/bar called Enosteria located at the bottom of steps under a large apartment building.


What kind of drone/doom/noise show could be held in those quarters? Answer: a really quiet one. To top it off, they could not turn on the projector when it was time for me to play, and it was quite the scene between the owner, sound guy and promoter, trying to make it work (even though it did work during soundcheck)... So I said fuck it, and I played a completely improvised set because that's how much I cared about this gig.


What's funnier is that Nadja were treated as the "hired band of the evening" by the owner, as after they finished playing the dreadful gig, he requested them to play another one "for the people who just got in"... twice! I should also mention that the gig was free. It was later explained to me by Anna (hey, if you read this - write me!), an American girl from Myrtle Beach, SC, living in Brescia (?!) that they have these sort of associations were people can get memberships and have access to free food and shows all year long, and this place was one of them. On the upside, the food served was excellent, consisting of stuffed clams and risotto.


I also made a video exposing the silly context of the gig, watch it:

We slept at the restaurant owner's apartment, which took a while to get there as he was having too much fun with his people and we were getting tired and bored.


As if it wasn't enough, he showed us a single room with a double-bed for all four of us to sleep in (Aidan, Leah, Hlg & me); I slept on the floor. Even weirder is that he mentionned that his grandmother was sleeping in the next room, then he left us to go back to the restaurant. The next day, we found him sleeping in the next room (which was quite fancy) and we tried waking him up but he was sleeping like a dead duck. Or dog. Whichever. We stormed out of there, got some coffee and groceries for the road.

Esslingen

We arrived in Esslingen mid-afternoon, which is about 15km from Stuttgart. We were invited to play at Villa Markel, which is a gallery for temporary art exhibitions, located in the middle of a huge park, which made me think of some kind of retirement home, or recluse clinic center for mental health --- I really wasn't sure whether we landed at the right place or not.


To our surprise, we were told that we would be playing outdoors, in the adjacent old and beautiful terrace to the gallery. The full sound and lightning system was professionally set up by the team, with a screen and dvd projector for my set --- however, the sun did not set until 9:30pm or so, and they were rendered useless as i started playing at a quarter to nine.


Nonetheless, it felt really weird to start playing while it was still bright outside and people were just starting to get in. The projections were very faint, so I did not have the visual support that usually goes with my introverted music and persona, which was quite nerve-wrecking for me. By the end of my set, I looked up and to my surprise, the place was packed! They were applauding for a really long time, like for a full minute, which froze me to death, unexpected. The crowd was a mix of young and old people, a lot would not have attended if it wasn't for the special circumstances and affiliation with the art gallery. My only sales that evening was a tank t-shirt and a sticker to two of the younger female crowd members, that was cute I think.

You can also read in article of the event here, courtesy of the Esslingen Zeitung (in German).

Here's a time-lapse video I did of the gig:

We slept in the attic of the Komma, which is another venue/cultural center not far from there. We were served pasta and other assorted veggies. Later, I raided the Komma's fridge to make some cheese sandwiches with horseradish spread after a full evening of smoking and drinking on the roof of the Komma.

Frankfurt

We made our way to Frankfurt the next day after a nice breakfast at Transit. I spent the whole ride rolling up the new army green tank t-shirts in the car that i picked up in Berlin, but I also kept falling asleep --- courtesy of jet lag. I quickly learned that it costs 50 cents to use the toilets at the autobahn's rest stops. However, you also get a 50 cents voucher which you can use to buy candies at the store.

Frankfurt reminds me very much of... Ottawa. Banks. Universities. Conservative. Dull. In the middle of it all was the IVI (Institut für vergleichende Irerelevanz) which once were university grounds and now a squat slash cultural center, where 14 people currently live, where political/social/cultural exchanges & artistic events are being held.


We played in the auditorium (or what's left of it) where the PA was set up. The power adapters and converters situation was stressing me out because I had to hold them with duct tape as they were very loose (thanks Addison). Considering the circumstances, i.e. first show on European soil, jetlag and all, it was an okay debut. The crowd was quiet and does not react much, it was hard to tell whether they enjoyed it.


We were fed some bread and chili and we slept in one of the room's of the IVI's 2nd floor. The next morning, we had a pleasant breakfast outside of the IVI --- in the sun, under a tree, which was a nice change of scenery from the squat's dirty vibes. Bagels, spread, olives, cheese, coffee & juice was served --- just what we needed before hitting the road. Thank you Phantom Limbo!

Also, check out Laurent Orseau's photo gallery from the show: http://lorseau.hinah.com/gallery.php?c=pzic&s=concert&g=thisquietarmy

Arriving in Berlin

Landed at Tegel, Berlin at 2pm after some 10-hour flight with a connection in Heathrow, London. Watched 'Yes Man' on the plane and slept a little, avoiding the old british lady sitting next to me (great, just my luck). Border control was a breeze, no questions asked - just a quick look and stamp!

After a cab ride to Treptow at Aidan & Leah's + a walk around the neighborhood to get some Halloumi sandwiches, I began to unpack my two suitcases full of gear and assembled my pedalboard together. I also blew up a North American power bar, trying to figure out the European adapters and converters, but nothing a German beer can't fix. Travel fatigue crept in quickly...

out-of-office auto reply

goodbye corporate life, done with you for a little while...
i'ma gonna be an artist now.


tour poster by christy & leo romanick @ space30a.

Hammer Smashed Jazz interview

Read up!

http://hammersmashedjazz.blogspot.com/2009/05/thisquietarmy-interview.html

Tonight at Zoobizarre

For Montrealers:

Lineland + Animal Hospital + Mark Templeton + thisquietarmy
Zoobizarre / doors @8:30pm, thisquietarmy @9pm...

Last show before Europe, last local show for a while; come wish me a good tour or something, won't see you for another month at least... not that i ever see anyone of you, but WHATEVER. when i get big in Europe, i will completely IGNORE you. Last chance.

(Kidding)

New track featured on The Silent Ballet compilation

A new thisquietarmy track "Orchestral Dots Under Static", recorded this year & previously unreleased is featured exclusively on the latest Silent Ballet compilation, Vol. XII. The track will probably appear on a future & upcoming album this year, TBA. Meanwhile you can download it for free, as part of the compilation released via the Lost Children netlabel. Tracklisting is as follow:

1. Stephane Horeczko - Fugaces
2. Jasper TX - Sky
3. thisquietarmy - Orchestral Dots Under Static
4. Anduin - Lovers in Transit
5. Light Under Water - Awake
6. Cobra-Matic - Braille
7. Autistici - Curet Must be Protected (Little Murmurs Grow into Big Shouts Mix)
8. CJ Boyd - Pensive Pez
9. Sickoakes - Live Demo

Download here: http://www.archive.org/details/LostChildren068à

More info here: http://thesilentballet.com/dnn/Home/tabid/36/ctl/Details/mid/367/ItemID/2392/Default.aspx

foxy review of A Picture of a Picture

Sorry for the silence. Since the last update, I've:

- been to New York.
- been working on material.
- tour planning, logistics, packing.
- been designing my Tour 3" CD/DVD package, a labor of love.

And probably more... of course, the energy-sucking day job.
Tour is soon, leaving May 30th.

++

Here's a great review of A Picture of a Picture by Foxy Digitalis:

Aiden Baker and Thisquietarmy’s Eric Quach reconvene on this follow up to their first EP together, “Orange.” Rather than relay tracks back and forth through the mail however, this time the duo made a point of working the material out live, with little to no overdubbing involved. What results is a symbiotic approach to drone that is concerned as much with forward momentum as it is with textural elements.

Lasting an hour, the disc’s four tracks each represent a logical exploration of one element of the unit’s sound. The opening “Imagistic Continuity” glistens as the duo’s guitars intersect in slow motion iridescence. Combining equal parts Fripp & Eno with an undercurrent of noisier influence, the piece transforms itself continuously as it radiates outward from its opening. The following “Loss of Perspective” immediately inverts itself however, slipping inward as it delves deep into some cavernous patterns of thick, folk strums and cresting tonal waves. There is a proggy, constructive element here that separates the material from your usual drone act, as it manifests itself more closely to a live composition than an overtly drone-oriented work. The result is some of the moodiest drone one is likely to come across, as harmonic progressions drive a dirge-like theme above the crystalline shards intermingling below. The work even begins to take on an almost club-like vibe, with a certain brooding trance feel not so far off from the same forest-of-the-mind traversed by Gas.

“Negative Space” once more looks outward, as trickling notes delay and decay around one another, building into a tall cloud of sound whose intricacies are endless and immersive. Each movement, no matter how decisive, is swept into the cyclical center, only to be seen again when another revolution has completed itself. The addition of an amorphous bass line adds to the club feel, pulsing and bobbing in the light of night. Not that this is dance music whatsoever, though maybe the emerald green world of more mysterious creatures believe otherwise. The closing “Horizon Line,” the longest work here at 20-minutes, only deepens the nighttime atmospherics of the rest of the disc, albeit in a far more haunting, even sinister, vein. Deepening the blackness, the piece moves through vast swarms of sinuous mental lines whose construction treads on the right side of a fine line between ambient/drone atmospherics and clichéd movie mood setting. Yet the duo exudes such clarity of vision that it is hard to not be swept up in the grandiose nature of the pieces. One for summer nights and firefly fights. 8/10 -- Henry Smith (20 May, 2009)

http://www.digitalisindustries.com/foxyd/reviews.php?which=4287

thisquietarmy joins Alien8 Recordings

thisquietarmy is proud to be part of the Alien8 Recordings family, alongside of musical friends Nadja/Aidan Baker, Menace Ruine & Aun, but also of internationally respected artists such as Tim Hecker, Acid Mothers Temple, Merzbow, Keiji Haino, Sam Shalabi and Set Fire To Flames, just to name a few! One of my favorite labels for sure, very excited!

Alien8 Recordings has just launched a new series of digital-only releases and chose to open their digital store with the re-release of thisquietarmy's Transmissions, a conceptual soundtrack to Christy Romanick’s Very Large Array book, which features a series of colored photographs shot in San Agustin, New Mexico.

The book/soundtrack, limited to only 75 physical copies, was originally released on Christy’s imprint, Space30a. The digital release features an exclusive 15-minute track and includes the electronic version of the book.

http://www.alien8recordings.com/digital/transmissions

The Silent Ballet + Textura + Heathen Harvest reviews

The Silent Ballet reviews "A Picture of A Picture":
http://thesilentballet.com/dnn/Home/tabid/36/ctl/Details/mid/384/ItemID/2362/Default.aspx

Textura reviews "A Picture of A Picture":
http://www.textura.org/reviews/bakerthisquietarmy_envenomist.htm

Heathen Harvest reviews "Blackhaunter":
http://www.heathenharvest.com/article.php?story=20090429175614750

thisquietarmy playing 2 loft shows this weekend!

Saturday May 2nd, 2009
@ Loft From Hell, 439-D St-Remi
Starting at 7:30pm (thisquietarmy on at 10:30pm)



Sunday May 3rd, 2009
@ Friendship Cove, 215a Murray St.
Starting at 1:00pm (thisquietarmy improv-collab with maggot breeder at 1:30pm)

Montreal Mirror reviews "A Picture of a Picture"

Aidan Baker/thisquietarmy
A Picture of a Picture (Killer Pimp)
The pairing of Nadja’s Baker and local one-man drone-meister thisquietarmy recalls the first meetings of Brian Eno and Robert Fripp on this ethereal, dense and haunting masterstroke. Brightness and hope take up the first half of the record before some seriously dark ambience rears its head on the remaining two tracks. A truly glorious listen. 8.5/10

Trial Track: “Imagistic Continuity” (Johnson Cummins)

http://www.montrealmirror.com/2009/042309/disc.html

Aidan Baker & thisquietarmy / A Picture of a Picture: charted #1 on CKUT this week

CKUT 90.3 FM - CHARTS

All charts reflect ACTUAL AIRPLAY RECEIVED.
Top 30 compiled and specialty charts (beatbox, jazz, rpm, world, loud) compiled weekly.

Listed as artist - album - label. Canadian content in bold.
ckut top 30 april 21 2009

aidan baker & thisquiet army – a picture of a picture – killer pimp
land of kush – against the day – constellation
bell orchestre – as seen through windows – arts & crafts
julie dorion – i can wonder what you did with your day – jagjaguwar
lhasa – lhasa – audiogram
various – eccentric soul: smart's place – numero
mountains – choral – thrill jockey
neko case – middle cyclone – anti
tim hecker – an imaginary country – kranky
dan deacon – bromst – carpark
isreal m – nareah – aagoo
gun outfit – dim light – ppm
pink mountaintops – outside love – jagjaguwar
olenka and the autmn lovers – s/t – independent
neil young – fork in the road – reprise CC
shout out out out – reintegration time – normals welcome
pixel – the drive – raster noton
aun – motorsleep – alien8
buraka som sistema – black diamond – fabric/enchufada
torngat - la petite nicole - alien8
bonnie prince billy – beware – matador
paul cargnello – bras coupe – anubis
mastodon - crack the sky - reprise/relapse
numinous – vipassana(the music of Joseph c. Philips jr) - innova
pj harvey & john parish - a woman a man walked by - island
darwin's bitch – ore – digitalis
michael snow, alan licht, aki onda – five a's, two c's...., one w – disques victo
lotus plaza – the floodlight collective – kranky
storsviet nix noltes – royal family divorce – fat cat
joel plaskett – three – universal

Thank you CKUT 90.3FM, Montreal's best English radio. That's pretty cool.

++

Not so cool is Aidan Baker & thisquietarmy's Orange EP on ebay for an outrageous $75.00 here.

Europe Tour Itinerary June 1-21, 2009

This will pretty much be my itinerary with Nadja for the Europe tour in June. Much to prepare for this as June will come hitting like a storm light. Two legs: 1) West of Berlin: Germany + Italy + France + Holland; 2) East of Berlin: Czech Republic + Poland.


Sorry about the other countries, I tried very hard to get shows in Belgium and Luxembourg (yes, I am my own agent), it just did not work out. Next time. As usual, the UK is a world apart, it will have to be done another time as well.

Aquarius Records write-up on A Picture of a Picture

BAKER, AIDAN & THISQUIETARMY A Picture of A Picture (Killer Pimp)

Long overdue rematch between Mr. Aidan Baker, who is as you probably know also of Nadja, and Thisquietarmy, whose previous collaboration, Orange, cause quite a stir around here. And it still gets a lot of play at home, it's the perfect hazy moonlight drifting off to never never land sort of dreamy drone record. Almost like M83 with everything removed but that glorious soft buzz. Sorry if you missed out that one, it was limited to 200 copies and is long gone, but the good news is, that A Picture Of A Picture sounds like it could be part two. In fact it sounds like it could very well have been culled from the same sessions that produced Orange.

Four long long tracks, each a slow swirling amorphous cloud of gauzy half melodies and thick layered textures, the sound slips from gritty and pixilated, to glistening and soft focus in a heartbeat. These two soundscapers are a fantastic match, it's really impossible to tell who's doing what, and where the work of one ends and the other begins, and it hardly matters, as the two together have created something ethereal and ephemeral, a sun dappled drift, equal parts minimal new age hush, and warm languid dreamdrone shimmer. A few moments find the duo ramping it up, but even then, it's only loud or heavy or intense, relative to the rest of this record, which does in fact spend most of its time hovering, whispering, floating lazing, gradually changing color and shape, it's the musical version of watching clouds drift across a brilliant blue sky, so tranquil and mesmerizing and meditative, even the occasional storm cloud, only serves to infuse the afternoon's siesta with some greys and browns, which perfectly balance the rest of the record's endlessly prismatic palette. So gorgeous. Definitely a new nighttime sonic soporific. Released on Killer Pimp, who also released the Dead Letters Spell Out Dead Words cd, reviewed elsewhere on this week's list (psst... it's one of the Records Of The Week!).

http://www.aquariusrecords.org/archives/315.html

Ontario Easter Weekend Mini-Tour Recap

This all happened because of Elayne from NYC, one of my favorite person in the world. She had planned to spend that weekend in Toronto and had asked me to join her. Only, I am not so fond of Toronto. As a compromise, combined with gig-a-holism, I booked some shows to play as a way to pass by Toronto and hang out with her for a bit. I was actually overwhelmed of the choices and opportunities that were given to me, only 2 weeks prior. First of all, thank you Cailen, Kyle, Brad, Dorian and Mike to have helped out with getting two shows at the last minute like this. Basically, I drove to Toronto after work on Thursday, and met up with Elayne. Friday morning was a lame/fun quest for free wi-fi, which we ended up paying for + coffee, breakfast, and record shopping at Soundscapes. So here we are!



We also went to Niagara Falls early afternoon with another Toronto friend. However, I couldn't stay for very long as I had to leave for Hamilton to pick up Ryan/Electroluminescent. We headed to London and made it to the East Arts Village Co-op (EVAC) where we were greeted by the guys from the collective. It was a cool artist/gallery space, with a big jam room in the back, which used to be an old auto workshop. I was treated for some awesome curry chicken + mango juice at the Rickshaw thai restaurant in front by Matti, next to the Above Average Hair Care.



Elayne & friend came to join us as the show was about to start. There was a good crowd, the small space was quite full of people and they seemed really appreciative of the music. Exit 2012 played really well, it was the EVAC people, i.e. Cailen, Lido, Eleanor, Kevin and Mike, and their set was quite refreshing, I hope they record their jams. We slept at the space, with the fire place on for heating. The next day we hung out at the farmer's market for a couple of hours, where we treated it as our own personal home. We had coffee and cheap greasy breakfast there. There was also a flea market on the 2nd floor. I later bought an orange for 50 cents, good old-fashionned Dutch-style apple fritters for everyone (1 dollar each) and an experimental cupcake (also 1 dollar).





Windsor. It was cold & windy, and the streets were depressively empty by the time we got there, so we went straight to the waterfront to hang out with Cecile.



However, by midnight, the streets were filled with loud drunk clubbing girls in short skirts, passing by and around the venue while we were playing, and after we were playing. It was quite surreal and weird for some reasons, just because it did not make sense in the environment of an indie post-rock/ambient show. That venue is the Phog Lounge, which were voted the best music venue in Canada by CBC Radio 3, at everyone's surprise! Our show was also broadcasted live on the internet by Tom, the co-owner of the Phog, who is by far, the coolest venue guy in Canada. Beware of his danger juice however, aka the 8% stout on tap, which is amazingly tasty and addictive. A little late twitter/facebook announcement brought us a couple of dozens of viewers around the world, including Sofi, Shaun (DAD drummer), Shane, Z, Neil/Naw, Mike/Sales Dept/Beef Terminal, Dylan, friends from back home in Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto and Hawaii! It was wicked as we could also chat, IRC-style while watching the performances, that was quite cool. Electroluminescent possibly played the best set I've seen from him and I think he was pretty happy about it too. What Seas, What Shores played great as well, I was pleasantly surprised and I look forward them coming to Montreal in July.

Close to 24 hours on the road this weekend, that was a good practice run for Europe in a couple of months, except that in 24 hours we would've done like 6 countries or something.

Easter shows in London & Windsor, Ontario

With good friday off this week, I will be hitting the road tomorrow for the long weekend, be playing at the East Village Arts Co-op (EVAC) in London, Ontario --- Friday April 10th with my friends from Exit 2012 and Electroluminescent.

Will also play at the Phog Lounge in Windsor, Ontario --- Saturday April 11th with my friends from What Seas, What Shores and Electroluminescent again. Should be a great weekend ahead! Looking forward to it.

Sunday Afternoon Drones, Vol. 1

Last sunday was. I would like publicly to thank everyone that have attended throughout the day, and everyone that played. I cannot recall a bad set nor a bad moment throughout the day.

Hoefizer, Cloudscapes and I were the first to arrive at an already packed Cagibi at 2:30pm, filled with people & their laptop, studying. We quietly set up, while I asked Cloudscapes to pass out the nice bookmark-flyers that I made to let people know what was going on... I felt like we were invading the room, and imposing a sonic attack to the patrons, without them knowing or wanting. But Hoefizer kicked it off quite nicely. It was nerve-wrecking, but the people did not leave, nor did not seem to be disturbed. In fact, they looked like they quite enjoyed it... the whole point of the event was to have live ambient music playing while the Cagibi café was up and running with their regular patrons coming in and going. Ambient can be passive as it can be active, the choice is up to the audience, whether they choose to participate or not, that is the theoretic beauty of ambient/drone.

I went on second. By then, Aun, de.i.te, half of the Montreal Nintendo Orkestar had arrived for support and camaraderie. I played a totally improvised drone-set for about 40 minutes, with a board that I had set up a few hours prior. Here's a youtube extract of my performance, made by Alberick:



Then de.i.te, Cloudscapes & Maggot Breeder went on. More people came by. Everyone was respectful throughout the sets. It was a very cozy atmosphere and people commented how great the event was. By then, I already had request of making it a monthly, but that would be quite a commitment. The Montreal Nintendo Orkestra, Anti-School Year & Aun followed... and it was dark outside, which was quite fitting. Shane Whitbread & Electroluminescent closed out the night. By then, everyone was too tired, and Ghidrah chose to postpone their world premiere to a better time in the future.

All in all, it was quite a successful and special event. But with some 10 hours of drone/ambient, my brain got pretty mushed and I was physically and mentally exhausted. The bar is set high however, and Vol. 2 will have quite a task to maintain the quality of the event, to be followed. Some people complained about the general overall sound, but Cagibi is not reknown to have the best P.A. However, their big windows facing St-Viateur, the decaying mould of the ancient Esperanza pharmacy look of the 70s still make the cozy atmosphere unbeatable. Nonetheless, stay tuned for the next edition.

thisquietarmy + Caspian in HD

We Are Post Rock presents:
thisquietarmy + Caspian in HD
Live at Divan Orange, March 12th.
(Under The Snow Festival)

www.wearepostrock.com

The live thisquietarmy video is mostly a filmed montage of my projected visuals on stage as it was pretty dark on stage and the guys could not get good clear shots of me - however i do appear in the end, at 16:35 as to give you an idea. The audio is not the live audio as they had problems capturing it properly, so studio works were used instead. Still, great first effort guys --- I appreciate it, thanks to Joe & Daniel!

Check out the Caspian live video as well. It is a different type of montage, with great transitions and enough light to work with, great shots & good sound, very well done!

Next shows: March 27th, April 5th

Current works, Vinyl search, Europe booking

Current Works.

A few collaborations. Aun, Yellow6, .cut & Emmanuel Tremblay, Christy Romanick, and more that I probably forget. I am also working a couple of film soundtracks/scores. A few albums at the time, different themes. Remixes for Elika and Auburn Lull for their upcoming split, released by TQA(R). However I am trying not to rush into things. That's always a recipe for disaster. I am trying to maintain my personal quality standards, as there is nothing worse than not being satisfied with one's own work for the sake of putting things out there.

A lot of shows are being planned, locally... I try not to play too often, but I am always offered to play on some great bills that I just don't have a choice but to give in and accept the gig. So fuck it if people think I play too often, they are all different bands with different crowds anyway. Good for visibility, and I don't believe in the whole "tiring your audience" thing. Besides, there is always something different in my sets or my visuals if anyone cares that much. I am really excited to play with Romance of Young Tigers, Exhaust/ex-GY!BE's drummer Aidan Girt's band Please Don't Put Charles On The Money, Dora Bleu, Junius, Mark Templeton, Animal Hospital, Lineland & the whole Sunday Afternoon Drones line-up... Also excited to play a collaborative noise set with Maggot Breeder at the next Sunday Punk Matinée at the Cove.

Last but not least, my new collaborative project with Aun & Maggot Breeder will be called "GHIDRAH", it was stemmed from the tag-team set that we did back in November at the LFH show. We hope it to grow into a full-on project.

++

Vinyl Treatment.

If there are any label out there who thinks that Unconquered and/or Blackhaunter deserve a vinyl treatment, please get in touch. Alternatively, if there are any labels out there who want to put out any kind of TQA vinyl, be it 7", 10", 12"... also please get in touch, as I have been buying more and more vinyls over the past few years, and I feel like this is the next step I'd like to take, even more so than releasing a new CD/digital album.

++

European Tour.

Booking still on-going, all shows with Nadja or Aidan Baker. So far, 3 dates in Italy, 2 in France, 2 in Holland, 2 in Germany, 2 in Poland.

We still need help for Poland, especially Warsaw & Poznan (June 18-19). Also it would be nice to have something in Belgium or Luxembourg (for June 9). Also anywhere south of Germany, such as Munich, Nuremberg, Stuttgart or Switzerland (for June 3-4). Those are pretty much the holes to fill, please get in touch if you can help!

Yellow6 + Apillow tonight - with tqa as special surprise guest

Last-minute announcement!

Mainly, because this was decided about 12 hours ago, after meeting up with Jon/Yellow6 (UK) last night upon his arrival in Montreal. thisquietarmy will be a special guest tonight, for an impromptu improvised set with Yellow6, and... maybe Apillow too? We haven't had a chance to talk to him yet.

This is tonight, March 14th @ Il Motore, 179 Jean-Talon W. 9pm +++



On a side note, it was an amazing night thursday at Divan Orange. Thanks to everyone who came & supported, it was loads of fun. Special thanks to CASPIAN for burning down the place (the new songs are amazing, it will be a HEAVY record, can't wait), Jeff & Under The Snow for providing a great festival for us to play in.

And just a heads-up for Joe & Daniel who are starting a new website called "We Are Post-Rock". They filmed Caspian's set in HD, as well as some of TQA's, and both sets will be featured on its opening, March 30th. Bookmark this: http://www.wearepostrock.com

Aidan Baker/thisquietarmy CD available for pre-order via TQA(R)

I have received my artist copies of "A Picture of a Picture", you can pre-order now it for the special price of 10$ shipped, for a limited time (until March 31st) via my TQA(R) distro: http://thisquietarmy.com/records/distro.html#pimpk009

These will be shipped for the official date of release: March 31st.

It's march already

I've been working on a new album, or three, since November.

Practicing for upcoming shows inspired songwriting, but songwriting means you have an idea of what the song should sound like, and then you try to do it, and when you do it, it doesn't have the same impact as the non-existent fantasy song you had in mind. Those will probably take longer to finish. What's closer to being done are tracks, not songs, based on improvisation. Play-improvise-record. Then editing & isolating, overdubbing if necessary, crafting them into little masterpieces. Then finding links between them, themes, concepts, leaving some behind.

The past 3 weeks was an important turning point in its creation, and has set up a specific path to follow. Daily dedication & not much of any kind of social life nor elongated sleep patterns, following eight-hour workdays. I guess I am about 75% done with getting one album done, and pretty much fine-tuning at this point. Don't worry, it probably won't come out for at least another six months. I am in no hurry of having yet another release, but the whole label-production-promotion machine does take a lot of time & planning.

Caspian/thisquietarmy show moved to Divan Orange

ok, fuck this city.
the cops have shut down casa del popolo.

this sounds all too familiar.

remember when they shut down the main hall?
well, we still haven't recovered from that one.

re: the under the snow festival, the organizer has been hella quick on this one.
the caspian/thisquietarmy show march 12th, has been moved to divan orange,
the yellow6/apillow show march 14th, has been moved to il motore.

there is still the kimika/indian ocean show,
the angil & the hiddentracks/heliodrome show to move.

there is damage control to be done, but still. fuck this city, new yuppies moving on st-laurent, aka THE MAIN, with their noise complaints, attracting cops and inspectors into our humble sanctuary for culture, arts & music.

edit: casa del popolo will still be serving food, and make the proper renovations as to abide to city laws.

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new show info:

Caspian / thisquietarmy
Thursday March 12th, 2009
Divan Orange, 4234 St-Laurent
Montreal, QC

A Picture of a Picture (collab with Aidan Baker) - Pre-order NOW

Aidan Baker & Thisquietarmy - A Picture of a Picture CD
Official release date: March 31, 2009
Label: Killer Pimp Music

Their first studio collaboration was the Orange EP which came out as a limited edition of 200 orange CDRs on thisquietarmy's own imprint. The tracks were recorded separately from their home, sent back and forth via postmail for months, and finally mixed and edited by Eric Quach. The release was quickly sold out, much to the dismay of the largely reputed Aquarius Records store who kept asking for more after having sold a large part of the run in a very short matter of time.

For their first full-length album, Baker & Quach have decided to do things differently by setting a simple rule beforehand: the record was to be played and recorded live together, adding a very minimal amount of overdubs if not any. The recording session took place in the fall of 2007, in Quach's own home studio TQA-HQ in Montreal. Because of their very busy schedule, it took about a year before the two artists decided to get together to work on these tracks again. This time, Baker finalized the mixes in his home studio, resulting again in four long movements, clocking at around an hour's length. Instead of the overall terror-ambient feel of their first collaboration, the first two tracks actually find both guitarists exploring the brighter side of their spectrum, evoking the hope and the beauty represented in Christy Romanick's photographs that were again used for the artwork, in conjunction with Quach's sketches.

FREE MP3: Imagistic Continuty

Available for pre-order for only $9.99, free shipping worldwide:
http://brainwashed.com/commerce.html

Also check out the 4 other releases by Killer Pimp and get the 5th one free with the "Economic Stimulus" special! Kudos to Jon Whitney of Killer Pimp/Brainwashed.com for those killer upcoming releases.

Killer Pimp Music is also the home of one of my favorite current band "A Place To Bury Strangers", and I could not be more happier to be label mates with them.

next gig;

Panpot reviews Blackhaunter

On fifth solo offering, Eric Quach [also of Montreal's destroyalldreamers] creates layers upon layers of beautiful noise

Thisquietarmy’s fifth album, Blackhaunter, feels like one of those imaginary soundtrack albums. This time, it’s not so much for a film, but for a dance piece. More particularly, for an interpretive dance describing a journey across some barren grey landscape. That may sound cold, but it’s not. It’s actually warm and lush. That’s not altogether common in the world of guitar drone, but Eric Quach, the man behind the album, has been refining this for years and he could safely make the hushed squalls of his guitar compete with meditative organ music.

Blackhaunter begins with a simple motif, slowly turning with tonal variations, but never burying them. The shifts in tone create a distance between the different layers and the track creates a wonderfully spacious quality, retaining the nudity of each stream of sound. This spans over two tracks and then burrows into a rather different place. The next track, "Vampyrs", commences with a lengthy and captivating otherworldly sound before becoming heavier. Drums come in and break up the space that was created and things become more angular, more controlled. Perhaps that’s why the following track is entitled "Taming the Beast". The remaining tracks follow much the same pattern, oscillating between the delicate drones and the shattering drums. From beginning to end, the album holds together without ever peaking, instead simply resting for moments in the sonic equivalent of a blur. Despite some gentle passages, it never become fragile and it feels like it has carefully encapsulated something larger than itself.

- Matt Purvis

http://panpot.ca/reviews/renderAlbumReview.php?id=323

this saturday

Set Times:

Depost Through The 9:15 - 9:45
The Baltic Sea 10 - 10:30
Arms and Sleepers 10:45 - 11:30
Thisquietarmy 11:45 - close

Fugues compilation feat. TQA reviewed by TSB

Here: http://thesilentballet.com/dnn/Home/tabid/36/ctl/Details/mid/384/ItemID/2106/Default.aspx

Thisquietarmy can produce more than a nocturnal character, and "Summer Isolation," by far the longest track on the compilation appears to be the perfect proof; for once, listening to tqa in full daylight does not seem like an absurd and foolish idea. - Diana S.

Not sure if it's still available, but see this blog entry for more info.

thisquietarmy Videos

thisquietarmy videos made out of live footage and projections used during performances, between 2007 + 2008; all credits goes to thisquietarmy.

Battlefield Arkestrah:



Warchitects:



Mercenary Flags:

Blackhaunter reviewed in the Montreal Hour

Pick up a copy of the Montreal Hour, read the "Blackhaunter" review (****) by Steve Guimond; throw it out with the rest of the 50,000 or so copies in the recycling bins next week.

If you're environmental-friendly, you can just read it online here: http://www.hour.ca/music/spin.aspx?iIDDisque=5178, but the papers are already printed anyway...

Actually, just read it here:

blackhaunter
Steve Guimond

Eric Quach (x-Destroyalldreamers) is the lonely general who commands thisquietarmy, a Montreal instrumental project that has been gathering steam since its inception in 2005. Quach goes it all alone, a guitar in one hand, pedals in the other, loops in another, processors in the next, and a computer in the other, creating a world where these beings live peacefully, slowly, side by side in a stunned seaside embrace. The music is carefully plotted, a turtle's pace for fragile sound worlds to build and collapse, rebuild and collapse. ****

facebook page

i have created: facebook page.

now whoring.

tqa-hq improv series: 001

sound and video recorded by webcam;

Exclusive track on "_post" compilation out on [walnut + locust]

An exclusive Thisquietarmy track "They Have Found Us" is available on "_post", a 3" CDr out on [walnut + locust]. They are available in the Distroboto machines for only 2$! More info: www.distroboto.archivemontreal.org

Spotted them at the Cagibi's Distroboto this weekend (5490 St-Laurent), but they should also appear in some other locations as well.



wl014 - v/a "_post" (3" CDr)
6 bands, 5 exclusive tracks, featuring : Aidan Baker (Canada), .cut & Friends + Agathe Max (Canada/France), Raymonde Howard (France), Molasses (Japan), Thisquietarmy (Canada).

Thisquietarmy in Cuba

Not for anything music-related though... Fled to an all-inclusive resort from Dec 28th to Jan 4th for the first real vacation in a very very long time. Well-deserved too, after this handful 2008:

* 2 full-length albums released
* 1 book soundtrack ep
* 1 synth-only ep
* 1 single/b-side
* 1 short-film soundtrack
* 1 collaborative album (forthcoming)
* 3 exclusive compilation songs
* 1 remix
* 22 live performances
* 2 full-time jobs



But I actually still cheated: I did some soundwave editing and created some beat-patterns in my hotel room. Can't really stop a workaholic.

2009, who knows... No real plans yet.
Lots of ideas, but as usual, not enough time.

Thanks to everyone who has supported Thisquietarmy this year - whether you have attended a performance, bought a CD, helped to promote, wrote a review or a comment, talked about, passed the word around, gave it listen, anything... Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Free download: TQA009 - Hi My Quiet Tsar

Ho, ho, ho.

TQA(R) has decided to give away an MP3 download of the unannounced release of TQA009a, Hi My Quiet Tsar, limited to 24 copies. Hi My Quiet Tsar was spontaneously released the night of October 18th, 2008 as a collector's item to Thisquietarmy's first official synth-only live set. Plans regarding this project remains unclear, thus the MP3s are released under the Thisquietarmy name.

Read up & download: here.

Very Large Array; ready to be shipped!

Christy Romanick's "Very Large Array" book features a series of colored photographs shot in San Agustin, New Mexico. Christy captures the beauty and eeriness of the VLA satellites occupying an isolated desert landscape. Also included is an exclusive 30 minute soundtrack cd titled "Transmissions to 3774379 258421 13S" by Montreal musician Thisquietarmy.

More info on Space30a.

Twitter

http://www.twitter.com/thisquietarmy

Built on a Weak Spot reviews Blackhaunter

Built on a Weak Spot speaketh of Blackhaunter:

"Where Unconquered used layered fuzzy tones and loops to create a bit of warmth here and there, Blackhaunter does the complete opposite. As the title might suggest, this is a darker and much colder vision from Quach that at times reaches unsettling hair raising atmospherics. In my opinion it seems like a fantastic way to follow up a record such as Unconquered and displays Quach’s ability to achieve such contrasting moods through his skillful guitar tone manipulations." - Jonathan Harnish

read the whole thing: here.

Improvised set @ Cagibi - this friday!

I'll be playing a short improvised set with some friends:

- S.Cibo
- The Montreal Nintendo Orkestar
- Pier-Emmanuel Tremblay & Friends
- Stochastique

+DJ sets by AlBéRiCk & Star Tsar

Friday, december 12th - 8pm - free
Le Cagibi - 5490 St. Laurent - Montreal, QC

The Silent Ballet reviews Blackhaunter

Diana Sitaru writes a wonderful review of Blackhaunter for The Silent Ballet:

"Following in the surrealists’ steps, Blackhaunter stands against everything loud, existing as an ever-flowing, ghastly-abstract shout, quiescent, but constantly humming in one’s ear. For that matter, thisquietarmy represents the genuine reincarnation of avant-garde, conquering realm after realm after realm."

Read it the whole thing: here.

Textura reviews Blackhaunter, Boomkat sells FLAC + 320kbps MP3s

Textura gave 'Blackhaunter' a great review, read it: here
.
"Blackhaunter is the kind of recording that, when it ends, you're satisfied but also hungry to hear more, and how often is that the case?" - textura.org

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Boomkat are selling 320 kbps 44.1 Hz MP3s or in loseless FLAC formats, check it out: here.
I personally think it's way cooler than itunes, or emusic - but either way, your digital choice! However, the digipak artwork is really worth it... think about it, limited to 1,000 copies only.

Boyd Devereaux and Elevation Recordings

Check out the article in the Canadian Business Magazine about Boyd Devereaux, NHL Toronto Maple Leafs hockey player who won the Stanley Cup with the Detroit Red Wings in 2002. What. Why, you may ask. Well, if you didn't know yet... Boyd is actually the co-owner of Elevation Recordings, the label that released 'Blackhaunter'. That's right. And this story is well-researched and well-written, and tells all about Boyd and his passion for music, and how he went about to create the label with Joe Greenwald, of Capitol Records (i thought it was Warner Music though). This article makes me proud of being on Elevation Recordings, and of Boyd! Read it: here.

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On a side note, the first review for 'Blackhaunter' was printed by the Montreal Mirror two weeks ago, by Lorraine Carpenter: "Like the wonderfully, woefully goth cover art, this is chilling ambient rock that you’ll be glad to get lost in. 8 (LC)"

Reviews for 'Unconquered' are still coming in, from Poland, Germany, Italy. Check out the myspace blog for an update, if it's of any interest to you.

Thisquietarmy has been recording here and there, surviving the season changes, dreading the upcoming glacial winter and putting out fires at his day job, fighting the end-of-the-year deadlines.

LFH & Casa show aftermath

Saturday Nov. 1st at the Loft from Hell was a blast, mostly because it's an old bomb factory hidden behind the courtyard of the Bread Factory in St-Henri. Martin (Aun), Reuel (Maggot Breeder) & I (Thisquietarmy) opened for Toronto's Holoscene (who played a fabulous set), as a tag-team improvised collaboration to a japanese war movie backdrop (can't remember the name, Reuel?). Reuel went first for about 15-20 minutes, bowing a hanger stucked in his guitar, raising it as high as possible, then I joined him and we did some noise together. When he went off the stage, I did a 15 minute drone-ambient trance-like solo set, piled up sound-on-sound with delays, tremolo, phaser, fuzz. Then I nodded to Martin and he joined me on stage - our collab was pretty cool, I was playing with the filter sounds going after my soundscape-loops the whole time, sweeping drones while he played low bassy distorted notes… I got off to let him play his set. It was the first time Aun had drum beats, it was a nice-change of pace for the set, by then the audience was already inflicted about 45 minutes of continuous wall of sounds. When his set finished, Reuel and I went back on stage with him and we all went into noise-war mode. It was getting really loud & intense at that point, I was afraid we'd blow up the speakers or something… I know my monitor was crackling but maybe it was my filtered sounds. Everyone really liked it, you couldn't escape anywhere, you didn't have any choice but to absorb it with your head in your knees.

The cops showed up like almost an hour after we were all done playing. Such a ridiculous delayed reaction. By then, the place must've stunk weed and sweat, people were high and drunk, but they left us alone somehow. We all hung out until 3am, cool night all around. Here's a picture of the Maggot Breeder/Thisquietarmy improv by Marie-Josée Roberge :


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Thursday Oct. 23rd at Casa Del Popolo. Not much to say, another smooth-sailing night. Nadja played a wonderful set with visuals... also performing were the .cut & Maggot Breeder collab and the duo of Whilst, both were very good as well. It was the 'Blackhaunter' CD launch, but we just focused on having a good time. I brought my Moog MG-1 synth for bass and synth-lines on a couple of songs and performed a version of my upcoming track on the Walnut & Locust _post 3" compilation, out soon in the local Distroboto machines. Aidan & Leah slept over, and we went to Chez José for crepes on Duluth the next day. I called off work of course, as I didn't sleep much. Here's an ambient picture of the show by Annie Stephens who also did the artwork for Blackhaunter :

Post Apocalyptic Halloween Nightmare

@ Loft From Hell, 639-D St-Remi
in an old bomb factory... next to the bread factory in St-Henri.

* 7:00pm: Doors open

* 8:30pm-9:45pm: Special drone-noise-ambient collaboration
AUN vs. MAGGOT BREEDER vs. THISQUIETARMY

* 10:00pm-11:00pm: Loud Post-Rock band from Toronto
HOLOSCENE

Mega-projections and fog machine included, chilling atmosphere garanteed.

Cover is 10$ costumed/12$
Beer, shooters = 2.50$, drinks = 3.00$ only.