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."

Aftermath & Esther Marie now available!

We have received thisquietarmy's Aftermath CDs! Unfortunately there is a little misprint on the front cover (as well as a discoloration in the inside panel, not shown here) :

It would take quite some time for the pressing plant to fix their mistake. After lengthy discussions with the label Basses Fréquences, we decided to make them available as is, in time for the planned release date (today). However, measures are still being taken to correct the mistake and we will switch the digipaks of our stock CDs when the correct ones will arrive from the pressing plant... it could take up to a month. This will also mean that misprinted version will be very limited (collector's item, anyone?)

This being said --- it is really your choice. Do you want to wait for the proper artwork as it was intended to be, or are you too anxious to hear the music and want to own a copy of the limited edition misprinted version? If you fall in the latter category, place your order now! You might also have the possibility to acquire a corrected version of the digipak later, that could be included with your next order or for shipping fees --- although you know how shipping is costly these days.

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NOW AVAILABLE !!!

> Mains de Givre's debut album "Esther Marie" (Textura, Canada) : gatefold jacket CD
> Thisquietarmy's 4th album "Aftermath" (Basses Frequences, France) : digipak CD
> Parallel Lines's debut album "38:22" (Dead Pilot Records, UK) : thick windowed sleeve & string CD

Take advantage of our special bundles :

Thisquietarmy + Mains de Givre + Parallel Lines = 25$ + shipping = 30$ CAN-USA / 34$ WORLD
Thisquietarmy + Mains de Givre =17$ + shipping = 22$ CAN-USA / 26$ WORLD
Thisquietarmy + Parallel Lines = 15$ + shipping = 20$ CAN-USA / 24$ WORLD
Mains de Givre + Parallel Lines = 15$ + shipping = 20$ CAN-USA / 24$ WORLD

Aftermath is also available through Basses Fréquences, Esther Marie through textura & 38:22 through Dead Pilot.

Textura - May 2010 issue

Established in August 2004, textura is a dedicated first-rate monthly publication of experimental and electronic music-related reviews, interviews, and articles. textura has now expanded their activities to being a record label, and is home to Mains de Givre's debut album Esther Marie.

To celebrate the release of the album, Ron Schlepper of textura has generously given me a wonderful center spread piece for this month's publication.

First, a thorough interview about all the projects I'm involved in, with focus on the release of thisquietarmy's Aftermath, coming out on Basses Fréquences April 30th, and of course Mains de Givre's Esther Marie, coming out on textura May 10th.

Ten Questions with Eric Quach:


thisquietarmy's Aftermath is one of the 3 albums of the month:


The first review of Aftermath and a wonderful one:


And last but not least, the front page features the promotion for Mains de Givre's Esther Marie's album, now available!


Many thanks to Ron & textura for this amazing coverage!

Parallel Lines Bandcamp + Shout outs

Noticed a couple of shout outs on forums such as ATPR & DFFD for my new project Parallel Lines. Also on blogs, such as Venntertainment, Steady Diet (added: May 3rd) & the good people at Norman Records:




Pretty encouraging! Keep them coming and spread the word... it only helps us to get motivated for future recordings --- as you may or may not know, Parallel Lines is a live tri-city project (Montreal-Quebec-Hamilton).

Also, the Parallel Lines bandcamp has been created for better share of our album... Fully streamable: http://parallellines.bandcamp.com

Mains de Givre reviews by Fluid Radio & Cyclic Defrost

The first reviews for Mains de Givre's debut album Esther Marie are already come in! Very positive so far, this is a great start. Listen to a sample on the player on the right of this blog, or via our Bandcamp page.

The album will be available on May 10th, 2010 and you can already pre-order it via our label Textura, also home of excellent ambient/experimental coverage since 2004.

REVIEWS

Fluid Radio (Daniel Crossley), April 5, 2010:

++

Cyclic Defrost (Joshua Meggitt), April 13, 2010:

Parallel Lines CD available!

Parallel Lines is my other side-project with Pascal Asselin/Millimetrik & Ryan Ferguson/Electroluminescent = drum/synth/guitar aventures! Our CD is now available, limited to 200 hand stamped and hand numbered copies in standard windowed sleeve tied with string, from Dead Pilot Records (UK).

They are now available via TQA recs' distro:
http://thisquietarmy.com/records/#dpr032

They also look so much better in real life, very slick.

three:four records announces thisquietarmy & Scott Cortez 12" vinyl

This is one I'm very excited about... We've just approved the master and the artwork, which was handled by the three:four french-swiss record label crew.

Let me just tell you something about the artwork: it's one of those records that you would buy just for the cover, even if you don't know the music. Of course, the music is a huge bonus in this case, as it's a a collaboration with one of my biggest influence, Scott Cortez of lovesliescrushing <--- look, thenospacesbetweenwordsbandname --- coincidence? think again! It has always been an homage to them. This will also be thisquietarmy's first slab of vinyl! And the first of three this year only, if all goes as planned. News from three:four : http://www.three-four.net/news

TQA013-ADS01 & TQA014-ADS02

Aural Diptych Series # 1 : Mains de Givre / thisquietarmy

Release date: April 6th, 2010

Double-split 3" CDR placed on a heavy stock folded & printed insert, packaged in a slick coyote red envelope, with printed artwork by New York City-based artist Elayne Safir. It includes two sets of diptych photography by Montreal-based artist Meryem Yildiz. LIMITED TO 100 COPIES ONLY.

Disc 1 : Mains de Givre | Insomnie à l'ail : 1. Insomnie à l'ail
Disc 2 : thisquietarmy | Drifting/Falling : 1. Part I 2. Part II 3.Part III

Mains de Givre is thisquietarmy's latest side-project with Emilie Livernois-Desroches on violin. Both discs were improvised & recorded during the same session on a single night, October 27th. 2009, by Eric Quach : spontaneous drone/violin sound-making fueled by garlic. Mixed at TQA HQ, Montreal. Listen here: http://www.myspace.com/mainsdegivre



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Aural Diptych Series # 2 : Quilt / Hoefizer

Release date: April 6th, 2010

Double-split 3" CDR placed on a heavy stock folded & printed insert, packaged in a slick cactus green envelope, with printed artwork by New York City-based artist Elayne Safir. It includes a set of diptych photography by Montreal-based artist Meryem Yildiz. LIMITED TO 100 COPIES ONLY.

Disc 1 : Quilt | Vague

1. The killers that run / 2. Peggy, Charlie and Francis / 3. A difficult and mysterious word – here – / 4. The more mystery and romance = more sales

Quilt is Seth Graham of the sadly defuncted but incredibly captivating & dynamic 4-piece ambient band Romance of Young Tigers from Dayton, OH. ROYT has released a few recording on Magic Bullet Records (This Will Destroy You, Lymbyc Systym, ec.). Quilt is now based in Brooklyn, NY and this is his 2nd synth-based output under this name. Listen here: http://www.myspace.com/quiltrecords

Disc 2 : Hoefizer | Henning

1. Ideals / 2. Rose hips / 3. Dr. Theman

Hoefizer is David Mitchell from Montreal. He plays bass for Saccidananda & Burls, and runs a local booking/promoting agency. He met Seth/Quilt when he booked a show for ROYT and has since been influenced by their sound. His guitar drones were captured by Patrick Lacharité of Below The Sea/Apillow. Listen here: http://www.myspace.com/hoefizer



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Pre-order ADS01 + ADS02 here: http://thisquietarmy.com/records/
Shipping April 6th, 2010

It's actually going fast...

Halifax, NS

A little post about my trip to Nova Scotia (March 9-13).


I was invited by a childhood friend of mine, Yassine Ouhilal, to perform at his art opening. We went to school together from age 6 to 16 or so and have not seen each other in 10 years... more concretely, in 15 years.


Yassine has become a surf photographer who travelled in the Arctic Circle and managed to captured the beauty of these arctic landscapes, mostly in Iceland and Norway. It was really nice to see him again to catch up, eat sushi and well, drink a lot of coffee: when I got there, he was in stress-mode as the opening was in 3 days, and no print was ready yet.

There wasn't much time for sightseeing, but I got to witness and be part of the whole production process of 50-60 prints or so, from the last photoshop touch-ups to the pure pigment on watercolor paper printing process to the cut to the frame assembly to the exhaustively precise mounting process --- which in the end, we had to do most of them ourselves in a borrowed studio space for 2 days in a row & into the wee hours of the night. I may even have learned a new trade; I got out of this training with several paper and glass cuts on each of my hands.


So, it wasn't exactly a vacation but it was nice and somewhat fun to be a part of something relatively big in terms of a real art show. The prints were framed in size ranging from 7"x14" to panoramic 32"x44" views, some in unique or extremely limited edition of 5 or 25. As you can imagine, all that material was pretty costly. You can check out all the prints here.

As for the music, we were supposed to work on a soundtrack for his projected time-lapse films of weather-changing landscapes à la Koyaanisqatsi. When I got there the first night, I plugged in all my gear at his place and improvised some ambient soundscapes mood patterns... but we never got further because we were working around the clock on the framing. Instead, for the art opening at Argyle Fine Arts gallery, I played an improvised three-hour ambient set, from 7-10pm on a friday evening. It was different from anything I've done before, performance-wise --- I was like a paid musician performing at an event, and it is really a weird feeling because I've never considered myself like a musician, but rather an artist that pours his angsty emotions through brushstrokes picks on strings of steel!! (okay, no --- but see article below).

Usually, at my shows, people are very attentive, hypnotized and surrounded by the wall of sounds with the addition of the ghostly abstract visuals. But in this context, it was mostly background music, which was fitting because the point is to sell those large prints to the Halifax bourgeoisie, not scare them away with doom-metal riffs (maybe I could get away with it if I wore a top hat?). However, there were quite a few people who came up to me while I was playing, to compliment me on the music and tell me how it fitted the ambiance of the Thawscapes art show. Three prints were sold that night, that was pretty good. The show runs until April 6th.


The other show at 1313 Hollis with D/A A/D the previous night was a little bit disappointing in terms of turnout, despite the article in Halifax's only alternative free paper The Coast. But it was good to play a real loud show with my own visuals (as a contrast to the hired-musician-at-the-art-show context), for the people who came (those are always rare, in any city) and to play with Alex. We also got to hang out a little, eat at Freeman's, drink some Propeller beer and get one of those famous hfx sweet donairs.


Here's a transcript of the article in The Coast:

"Guitarist and sound engineer Eric Quach first picked up an instrument after discovering the shoegazing genre, which he describes as "creating a huge wall of sound with guitars, using a lot of effect pedals to alter their sound." Quach adds that it's a place of music that has the artist spending "a lot of time concentrating and staring at the floor, making it an introspective performance, as much as for the musician as for the audience." Quach says he used to paint a lot, pouring out his feelings onto canvas, and after creating thisquietarmy five years ago he now pours his feelings into his music, creating sound brushstrokes with the guitar. For his shows, Quach creates soundscapes with his own visuals, just like the real-time scoring of a film. "Every sound produced is created live on the fly, in real-time," he says. "The themes of the visuals are dark and abstract, dream-like and ghostly, which I guess is what you can also say about the music." Be hypnotized by thisquietarmy at Quach's 1313 Hollis show, or go to his specially created soundtrack and performance for photographer Yassine Ouhilal's art opening at Argyle Fine Art on Friday. –Holly Gordon"

Unfortunately, I had to catch the plane to Montreal rather quickly because I was playing the day after the art show with my power-drone outfit Ghidrah with Tom Carter & Zaimph for the Under The Snow festival. On the way to the airport, Yassine showed me his cottage house area and the beach on the eastern shore... it seemed like a really nice place to relax in the summer.

The Bandcamp model

I spent all weekend uploading all my releases on bandcamp.com --- it's only when I was faced to all my releases freely available and streamable for real, that I was starting to feel conflicted about this particular business model.

For those who don't know what Bandcamp is yet, it's a platform that allows you to upload all your music and have it available to listen and download, either for a name-your-price fee or a minimum fee, at the artist's choice. Since you upload everything in WAV format, Bandcamp converts everything and creates the tags to make the downloads perfectly available in high quality 320 kbps MP3s or even FLAC/other lossless format. It also gives you tools for viral distribution such as to share on blogs, fb, websites, etc. And the best part to me, is that you can also set it up to sell the physical copy immediately and have the purchaser get an instant download of the album while he waits for his copy to appear at the door. It's easy to manage, it's clean and it looks great. You can probably customize your URL and have it integrated as part of your website. All in all, this is a great tool.

Every artist I've seen that uses the Bandcamp platform (big names, small names, artists I respect, artists I respect less), whether they choose to charge for download or not, has put all their tracks of all or most of their albums fully available and streamable for listen. This can be seen as a good strategy. I've been reading a lot about viral marketing that promotes this music business model, about how people have to hear music as to grow to like it, repeatedly and for free, in order to finally engage in an economic relationship in order to consume. I agree with this, no question about it. People won't buy a piece of music they don't know, let alone have not heard. The radio works that way, doesn't it.

However, by seeing all my releases available to be streamed online, it makes me realize how we're taking this philosophy a little bit to the extreme, and how much it cheapens your product by doing so. As a fan, or even just someone mildly interested in an artist, who wants to discover that artist's music, it's an amazing platform. But as an artist, it totally devalues the music. In fact, my opinion is that downloading a product illegally increases its worth a lot more than just having it accessible that way. I almost want to say that piracy is a better viral marketing tool than Bandcamp for the following reasons: when you see people sharing a link to download music on their blog or when you see seeders/leechers ratio on torrents downloading an album, it means that people are interested, no? There's something there, maybe not necessarily good - that's for you to judge, but it does create a hype and you feel drawn to join and see what the fuss is all about. With Bandcamp, it feels a bit like: "OK hey, I'm the one making the music, I'm the one making it available for free. I want the attention, pay attention! And pay me maybe? ... before you're tired of listening to my music since it's all freely available."

So, where is the middle ground? I think you need to add a touch of black metal mentality into this business model, especially for experimental music. Especially in this short-attention spanned ADD society, where everyone expects things to be easy and accessible.

Seriously, who wants to listen to 10 available albums worth of ambient/drone music? Especially for a first-timer, someone you want to lure into your music. What's the point of having all of those available? Moreso, why would anyone purchase or even bother to download it if it's so readily available and streamable on Bandcamp? Most people have a computer or is connected to the internet. People often listen to music while being on the computer, Bandcamp provides a platform to be your personal library that you can access any time you want --- if you're not a fan already, if you're only mildly interested, why would you even bother downloading it? Even for free! Yes, it is freely available in attempt to turn you into a fan. But let's not be disillusioned, the process of creating a fan is not an easy one. Especially with this kind of music.

This is where the black metal thing comes in. It's like those undecipherable black metal logos. You're being somewhat drawn to the music or type of music, to a certain level. You kinda want to know what the logo is spelling out, you're trying to figure out their name, trying to find out things about them that are not so easily revealed publicly, you're peeling out the layers, digging deeper into the world that they have created. You're getting lured to where they want you to be; the element of mystery is always present. This is the kind of marketing that should be aimed instead of whoring it around like that.

Yes, yes. It is an ADD society out there, and most people won't care. But at the same time, you're aiming for the people that do care! And not just trying to brainwash anybody who listens to music. I mean --- if you're starting out, maybe it's a good thing to put it all available. But when you're jumping on the bandwagon with a dozen of releases under your sleeve, you gotta think twice about selling short, no matter what your status or popularity is. Maybe if you're releasing a new album, it might be justifiable as well. The point is, the strategy has to be re-evaluated for every case scenario, and in particular to less accessible, less available music.

In conclusion, unlike what the Bandcamp creator had in mind, what it was made for and how most artists are using it at the moment --- I will be using its platform to present my works, and so that people are able to sample full-length key songs of the album only (instead of all tracks, by hiding all non-key tracks) --- as to lure people in and retain the mystery of the rest of the record, while having an immediate download or purchase option available.

The out-of-prints EP will be available to download for name-your-price fees. The albums which are still physically available to purchase, will be also be available to download, but for a minimum fee (as long as I have the digital rights, gotta re-read all my contracts now). Don't forget that the downloadables are high quality 320 kbps MP3 or FLAC/other lossless format and that if you purchase the physical copy of the album, you will be able to download it immediately and listen to the album instantly. I think everyone wins this way.

http://thisquietarmy.bandcamp.com

Upcoming shows in Halifax: March 11th & 12th

I'll be flying to Halifax to play 2 shows on March 11th and 12th. First time there!

The first one will be with my friend Alex who plays analog synth doom as D/A A/D at 1313 Hollis St. This will be the ultimate TQA multimedia experience...

The second one will be for my friend Yassine Ouhilal's art opening at Argyle Fine Arts. I will be playing a soundtrack to his visuals this time:

Yassine Ouhilal | Thawscapes: visions of global warming

Art opening Friday March 12th 7:00-9:00pm at Argyle Fine Art
1869 Upper Water St.

Yassine Ouhilal's images have graced the covers of the world's most coveted publications. Over the last 10 years, he has traveled the world extensively as an editorial photographer. Thawscapes will show some of Ouhilal's most personal work. These images from the arctic regions of the world are an honest portrayal of the impacts of global warming on the far north. While some glaciers Ouhilal photographed are receding at alarming rates-many of which will be entirely gone in our lifetime, the thawed spaces left in these glaciers wake are revealed for the first time in recent geologic times.

A series of limited edition pure pigment on watercolour prints will be on display along with select, unique edition pieces.

Live music will be performed by Montreal's thisquietarmy.
A short film will be presented during the opening.

IF YOU ARE AT A DISTANCE, YOU CAN STILL SEE THE SHOW once it has opened at www.argylefa.com

Video trailer for the Aftermath album: Spring 2010

Teaser for the forthcoming album called "Aftermath" :

It will be released by Basses Fréquences from France, in April 2010. Details and track sample here: http://bassesfrequences.org/frequences/aftermath/index.htm

THISQUIETARMY : AFTERMATH

1. The Hierarchy of Angels

2. Heaven and Earth

3. The Iron Harvest

4. Melted Lead on Ashen Fields

5. Finding the Fallen

6. Unearthing the Past

Label: Basses Fréquences

Format: Full-length CD Digipak

Distribution: 500 copies

Release date: April 2010

Video trailer for Esther Marie: Mains de Givre debut album

Watch the short video trailer by Meryem Yildiz for Mains de Givre's debut album Esther Marie, out in the spring of 2010 on Textura:

Mains de Givre is a thisquietarmy drone/violin side-project.

MAINS DE GIVRE: ESTHER MARIE

1. Un choeur d'âmes en détresse

2. Le cercle des moeurs

3. Cauchemar noir et rouge

4. Larmes sanglantes

Label: Textura

Format: Full-length CD Jacket

Distribution: 500 copies

Release date: April-May 2010

Nuit Blanche, Saturday Feb. 27th

I will be performing an improvised synth-based set as "hi my quiet tsar" for Nuit Blanche, this upcoming saturday febuary 27th at Galerie Nota Bene, 3416 ave. du Parc. in Montreal.

8:30 : .cut
9:30 : Cloudscapes
10:30 : Les Beyond
11:30 : hi_my_quiet_tsar
12:30 : Montreal Nintendo Orkestar & Johnny Vane

1:30 : Valley Of The Shadow of Death

VJ set all evening long by IV.

Added:

Random updates

Design & packaging for the following albums have been approved and are almost ready to send for printing/pressing:

thisquietarmy - Aftermath (Basses Fréquences, France)

Mains de Givre - Esther Marie (Textura, Canada)

Parallel Lines - 38:22 (Dead Pilot Records, UK)

Things are in motion for April 2010.

Can't wait to reveal the artwork... they won't disappoint.

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thisquietarmy appears in the lovesliescrushing Q&A sessions hosted by Ambient Airwaves. You can read it on the LLC facebook fanpage (public).

It mentions my upcoming collaboration with Scott Cortez of LLC, coming out on 12" vinyl through three:four records. Scott was ahead of his time with his brand of guitar ambient for the last 25 years, and has been a huge influence of mine. It's a shame lovesliescrushing isn't more well-known... You should all discover/re-discover this band again. I just received the new 2-cd boxset from him, it's called "girl. echo. suns. veils." and it's amazing.

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xxx film/burn/drone xxx night was a pretty good gig, fun... it was nice to have conversations with Dave Bryant, Roger Tellier-Craig & co. tried some new pieces with new video sequences... as always, i try to change something for every set.

"making music is just something you do to keep yourself from putting a bullet in yr head"

I also played last night in trois-rivières, did a tag-team set with Hoefizer, and ended the set with two drum/bass driven tracks... I thought it was appropriate because the event was listed as "electronica", and we played with this trance DJ and none other than 1-speed fuckin' bike. Aidan Girt's breakcore set was off the hook! very entertaining.

Aidan Baker / thisquietarmy - Loss of Perspective video

My good friends Andrew Krajewski & Marieve Gagnon made us this wonderful video... Really amazing work from them. It deserves to be shared, so please do.

Credits:

Directed by: Andrew Krajewski and Marieve Gagnon

Cinematography: Andrew Krajewski

Art Direction: Marieve Gagnon

Performance/choreography:

Performers: Audrey Malo, Marieve Gagnon, Francis O'Shaugnessy

Things to come

Here's a list of finished records to be released this year, including collabs and side-projects. There are obviously more the works, but it's too soon to talk about them. The following have already found a home & the details will be announced in due time.

LPs:

- Aftermath (CD) --- Basses Fréquences (France)

- Vessels (12") --- Divorce (Canada)

EPs:

- Drifting/Falling (double-3" CDR split) --- TQA Records (Canada)

- Sunday Afternoon Drones (10") --- Szara (Germany)

- Meridians (w/ Scott Cortez, 12") --- three:four (France/Switzerland)

Side-projects:

- Mains de Givre* - Insomnie à l'ail EP re-release (double-3" CDR split) --- TQA Records (Canada)

- Mains de Givre* - Esther Marie LP (CD) --- Textura (Canada)

- Parallel Lines** - 38:22 LP (CDR) --- Dead Pilot Records (UK)

* Mains de Givre is my new violin/drone project with Émilie Livernois-Desroches.

** Parallel Lines is my new kraut-gaze project with Pascal Asselin & Ryan Ferguson.

xxx film/burn/drone xxx feb 13th @ l'envers

TQA Records presents: Aural Diptych Series

TQA(R) will be releasing a split series, called Aural Diptych Series (ADS). It follows the same concept as the split record with 2 bands/artists, however each one will have their material on a separate 3" EP CDR, and both will be packaged as one item --- much like a diptych in photography, which uses two different images side by side to form one single artistic statement. Thus: Aural Diptych.

We are once again teaming up with visual artist Meryem Yildiz as she will provide her trademark diptych photography as the artwork to be included in the packages.

The packaging format will follow the custom-made one we did for TQA010, i.e. the thisquietarmy European tour CDR/DVDR w/ photographs. There will also be an option to receive an additional 5" CDR of the split for those who can't use 3" CDs (Mac users & slot CD players).

This said, we are happy to announce the first artists of the ADS series:

ADS 01: Mains de Givre / thisquietarmy | TQA013

ADS 02: Quilt* / Hoefizer | TQA014

ADS 03: Elika / Millimetrik | TQA015

* Quilt: Seth Graham from Romance of Young Tigers.

More info: http://www.thisquietarmy.com/records

Parallel Lines

Eric Quach (destroyalldreamers, thisquietarmy) from Montreal QC, Ryan Ferguson (Electroluminescent, Sianspheric) from Hamilton ON, Pascal Asselin (Millimetrik, Le Chat Blanc Orchestra, Below The Sea) from Quebec City QC have often crossed paths during their musical careers with their various projects --- the first time in 2005. Since then, they've become close friends and have played together all over Quebec, Ontario & even in Europe.

It was only a matter of time before a collaboration was to happen. And so it did, on July 26th, 2009 - live at Sam Murdock's house in Quebec City where he runs the P572 label and occasionally host house shows. This project, dubbed Parallel Lines, in reference to their numerous musical endeavours, is the result of this musical collaboration between 3 great friends.

Their first album will be released sometimes in 2010 on Dead Pilot Records.

You can sample to whole thing here: http://www.last.fm/music/Parallel+Lines/38%3A22

love,
///

Destroyalldreamers & Ghidrah live shows uploaded

I uploaded Destroyalldreamers' last show in Montreal from 2007, for the release of our album 'Wish I Was All Flames'. The setlist was as follow:

1. Wish I Was All Flames 2. Automne 3. Orage 4. A Summer Without You 5. Destroy All Dreamers 6. Victoire Sur Le Soleil 7. Facultatives Imaginaires, En Robes Et En Eclats 8. Her Brother Played The Riot

You can download it for free in 320 kbps MP3s here:

http://www.archive.org/details/Destroyalldreamers-LiveAtDivanOrange21-10-07

Also, the Ghidrah show from Nov. 28th 2009 was uploaded on our myspace, which you can visit here: http://www.myspace.com/ghidrahtrio

X-mas & Aarktica remixes compilations from Silber Records

White Silber - A Cold Slow Xmas

Silber Records 2009 Christmas Compilation (free download)

Release Date: Dec. 9th, 2009

This compilation features an exclusive thisquietarmy x-mas track (which is a secret cover/inspired version of a x-mas song... yours to guess), as well as a nice roster including friends Yellow6 & Aarktica, also great bands like Charles Atlas and Northern Valentine. It is offered as a free downloadable via Archive.org:

http://www.archive.org/details/silber079-white-silber

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Aarktica - In Sea Remixes

Silber Records 2009 (CD)

Release Date: Feb. 9th, 2010

Remixes include those from Ramses III, Landing, Yellow6 amongst other, and of course thisquietarmy, remixing the track "Corpse Reviver No. 2".

Email Silber for the details. Darla Records has already started the pre-order, you can check out the details: here.

Mains de Givre

Mains de Givre is a new thisquietarmy violin/drone side-project with the lovely violonist Émilie Livernois-Desroches, formely of Profugus Mortis fame & many other projects.

We've been jamming and working on tracks for a while, in preparation of albums, probably to be released in 2010.

Check out the tracks on our myspace & please add us: http://www.myspace.com/mainsdegivre

Also, here's a clip from our first ever impromptu live performance on november 28th @ Casa Del Popolo in Montreal:

The Musicians vs. The Masses (article)

I was interview recently for this article. Weird to be part of that, but an interesting read.

http://thevanarks.blogspot.com/2009/12/musicians-vs-masses.html

The synopsis is: "Montreal musicians Eric Quach (thisquietarmy), Patrick Krief (Black Diamond Bay), and Marcus Paquin (Silver Starling), share their views on the online music industry today"

Autumnal Tiny Tour w/ Aidan Baker + Animal Hospital

Last shows of 2009 for thisquietarmy with friends Aidan Baker & Animal Hospital:

Nov. 25th @ L'agitée, 251 Dorchester, Quebec City w/ Millimetrik
Nov. 26th @ L'app'art, 45 St-Antoine, Trois-Rivières w/ Korvette
Nov. 27th @ 443 Kent, Ottawa w/ We Fled Cairo

Edit: Due to family issues, Aidan will not be able to play Nov. 26th and Nov. 27th.

Also, with Aidan Baker & Animal Hospital, as part of Ghidrah (ambient/noise/experimental side-project featuring Aun, tqa & Maggot Breeder) & as part of Mains de Givre (violin/drone with Émilie Livernois-Desroches)

Nov. 28th @ Casa Del Popolo, Montreal

/// meanwhile...

"Meanwhile" is a limited sampler EP of edited versions of brand new tracks, untitled as of yet, to be released on separate work-in-progress albums, by different labels throughout 2010. self-released & handpackaged with tlc, on this lovely day of autumn, friday the 13th of november of 2009. this record is dedicated to those who, like myself, cannot wait... Limited to 50 copies, green CDR, via TQA Records (tqa011).

If you're impatient for the next thisquietarmy albums, grab it quickly. Some of the tracks may not even see the light for another 12 months or so... even though they are ready.

Running time: 33:00

Buy it now!

Saturday, November 14th

First SIANspheric show in Montreal since 2005.
Last thisquietarmy show in Montreal for 2009.