Here's an excerpt of my project Parallel Lines - live drums, synth & guitar improv in a cathedral in Hamilton a few weeks ago... Enjoy.
29 September 2011
28 September 2011
24 September 2011
Sherbrooke show - October 1st
PiedBo Dancing présente :
à ne pas rater: un one man band culte de Montreal, un duo inédit Franco/Quebecois
et un autre duo inédit de Sherbrookois mais de musique électronique composée..
que faire de plus pour susciter ta curiosité maladive?
avec/
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thisquietarmy (Montreal): ambient/drone/shoegazer/experimental
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est un guitariste soliste de montreal branché sur 20 000 pédales pour te faire atteindre le nirvana....
tu crois en l'amour? viens te tester !
lui en tout cas n'a plus rien à prouver.
www.thisquietarmy.com
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZcgpAjjILmc
www.youtube.com/watch?v=NyKPE4T2nTU&feature=related
www.myspace.com/thisquietarmy
www.facebook.com/thisquietarmy
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.cut featuring Gibet (Montreal/Lyon): experimental/post-rock/progressive/electro/noise
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est un duo instrumental "post-rock/experimental" basé entre Montreal et Lyon (France).
ils produisent une musique sombre et évolutive (veut dire qui ne respecte pas les critères de durée de la chanson populaire classique)
un peu comme si tu contemplais l'effroi tout en réconfortant ton angoisse de la stagnation de ce monde perdu à jamais...
www.dotcut.org
www.myspace.com/dotcut
www.youtube.com/watch?v=HU8ci5QwTfg
www.facebook.com/dotcut
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Paf Dignitas (Sherbrooke): fusion/electronique
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est un duo batterie / saxophone / électronique.
Vous êtes tannés d'écouter des bands qui copient l'esprit des années 80 sans rien y comprendre ?
Paf Dignitas est fait pour vous, enfin un band qui réécrit (ou plutôt recompose) la fusion électronique des années 80-90 avec
tous les clichés qui vont avec mais tout en y apportant une vision contemporaine..quoi que...
une bouffée d'air frais!
http://pafdignitas.bandcamp.com/
http://me.voir.ca/piedbodancing/
www.myspace.com/piedborecords
13 September 2011
Parallel Lines 2x3" CDR/DVDR - 11:3:11
Grab it now! The second recording from Parallel Lines was captured live on video by Wearepostrock at Divan Orange in Montreal, part of the Under The Snow Festival on March 11th 2011, opening for Esses & Sianspheric.
Completely improvised and totally unrehearsed, tri-city trio /// Pascal Asselin on drums + Ryan Ferguson on synth + Eric Quach on guitar /// gets together once again and put themselves in danger on stage for some thrilling moments. Whatever happens happens: downtempo ambient, psyched-out shoegaze, tension, buildups & explosions.
This will be released as a 2x3" CD/DVD on TQA Records, handmade & limited to 100 copies - just in time for their next performance for the Hamilton Art Crawl at Christ's Church Cathedral on September 9th, 2011.
1. 11:3:11 - Part I
2. 11:3:11 - Part II
3. 11:3:11 - Part III
4. 11:3:11 - Part IV
7 September 2011
Hamilton shows - Sept. 9 & 10
Friday Sept. 9th: AKUMU + PARALLEL LINES
Christ's Church Cathedral
252 James Street North
Hamilton, ON
The New Harbours music series returns with deep bass soundscapes and hypnotic visuals from AKUMU (Deane Hughes) and psyched out shoegaze from PARALLEL LINES (Pascal Asselin, Ryan Ferguson and Eric Quach).
8pm doors
Pay what you can / Donation
++
Saturday Sept. 10th: New Harbours Supercrawl Edition w/ W.A. DAVISON and THISQUIETARMY
Christ's Church Cathedral
252 James Street North
Hamilton, ON
Crawl in a different direction with polymedia performance artist and founder of recordism, W.A. DAVISON. This will be a SONGS Of The NEW EROTICS performance - expect otherworldy sonics, surrealist theatre, and general weirdness. Also performing wll be THISQUIETARMY (Eric Quach), conjuring cascading drone magic from six strings.
Pay what you can / Donation
24 August 2011
Vessels CD restocked!
If you missed out, they are available again at the store: http://thisquietarmy.storenvy.com/products/140198-thisquietarmy-vessels-cd
17 August 2011
Would a 35-mins live drone set, sped up at 500%, sound like Justin Bieber?
This is the ultimate test.
Recorded in Ghent on May 31st 2011, Belgium at Huis Ligy, a crumbling 15th century mansion. The audio/video was time-stretched 500% faster, and the sound was pitched down 2.4 octave to avoid the chipmunk effect for this video.
16 August 2011
15 August 2011
New TQA webstore
We now have a brand new store!
There was something comforting about having all the releases on one page. To add a picture, a description and a paypal button whenever there was a new one. However with the constant increase in new outputs, it became more and more difficult to update my website in a non-frustrating manner. The page is also getting more clogged with each one, and with the popular increase of self-managing webstores out there, I needed to make the move to something more convenient.
There was something comforting about having all the releases on one page. To add a picture, a description and a paypal button whenever there was a new one. However with the constant increase in new outputs, it became more and more difficult to update my website in a non-frustrating manner. The page is also getting more clogged with each one, and with the popular increase of self-managing webstores out there, I needed to make the move to something more convenient.
You'll find everything on the first page, but more importantly the categories will help you to browse the items that you might've missed. And you'll know which items were newly added to the store... I would also suggest to register to the site for faster checkouts.
To commemorate the opening of this store, I've made a promotional coupon available for 15% off any items that you will purchase until the end of the week (Aug. 21st). Just enter the code: "TQASTOREOPENING" to claim the rebate when you checkout.
Thanks for your continuing support!
Added this week (very limited quantities! like 5 or so) :
- GHIDRAH - The Guitar Years CDR (Brise-Cul Records) - collab between thisquietarmy, AUN & Maggot Breeder/Reuel from Squalor.
- V.A. - Golden Classics 2xCDR (Chat Blanc Reocrds) - featuring an exclusive track by Mains de Givre.
- V.A. - Kito Sounds #3 (Chez Kito Kat) - featuring an exclusive track by Mains de Givre .
- V.A. - Canadian Drones Vol. 1 (0bpm) - featuring an exclusive track by thisquietarmy.
- V.A. - Golden Classics 2xCDR (Chat Blanc Reocrds) - featuring an exclusive track by Mains de Givre.
- V.A. - Kito Sounds #3 (Chez Kito Kat) - featuring an exclusive track by Mains de Givre .
- V.A. - Canadian Drones Vol. 1 (0bpm) - featuring an exclusive track by thisquietarmy.
9 August 2011
Aural Diptych #6: Electroluminescent / Giant Claw
Aural Diptych #6: Electroluminescent / Giant Claw
Release date: July 14th, 2011
Preview:
Double-split 3" CDR placed on a heavy stock folded & printed insert, packaged in a felt-textured harvest yellow 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. Inner artwork by Keith Rankin. This releases comes with a digital download code with bonus tracks. LIMITED TO 100 COPIES ONLY.
ADS06 features two psych cosmic synth kraut lovers. Electroluminescent (2nd release on TQA) from Hamilton, ON - presents 'Lost Time', a ambient-driven conceptual storytelling inspired by french new wave cinema, Eric Rohmer's six moral tales in particular. Meanwhile, Giant Claw reciprocates madly with a massive dose of heavy-psychedelic bubbly chiptunes, fittingly titled 'Nuclear Hellearth'.
Disc 1 : Electroluminescent - Lost Time ++ 1. Two Means Yes / 2. Hidden in Books / 3. Faith and Fate / 4. Mystery Collection / 5. A Single Chance / 6. In The Afternoon*
Disc 2 : Giant Claw - Nuclear Hellearth ++ 1. Nuclear Hellearth pt. 1 / 2. Nuclear Hellearth pt. 2* / 3. Open Fields / 4. Nuclear Hellearth pt. 3
* Bonus Digital Tracks (download included)
PURCHASE HERE: http://thisquietarmy.com/records/#tqa018
Catch up on reviews
Vessels #44 on the National Campus Radio Chart for July 5, 2011: http://www.chartattack.com/charts/campus-radio/2011-07-05
Norman Records reviews Valley: http://www.normanrecords.com/vinyl/126548-thisquietarmy--yellow-6-valley
Montreal Mirror reviews Vessels (album of the week): http://www.montrealmirror.com/wp/2011/06/16/music-reviews-37/
Avant-Garde Metal reviews Vessels: http://avantgarde-metal.com/content/beyond2.php?id=131
Drowned in Sound reviews Vessels: http://drownedinsound.com/releases/16210/reviews/4142604
Emoragei Magazine reviews Vessels: http://www.emorageimagazine.com/old/musique/26/thisquietarmy-2039
The Hour/Ottawa Xpress reviews Vessels: http://hour.ca/2011/08/04/vessels-2/
The Silent Ballet reviews Vessels: http://www.thesilentballet.com/dnn/Articles/tabid/55/ctl/Details/mid/411/ItemID/4032/Default.aspx
Indie Rock Mag reviews Vessels: http://www.indierockmag.com/article13388.html
Norman Records reviews Vessels: http://www.normanrecords.com/cd/125183-thisquietarmy-vessels
Rock-a-Rolla reviews Vessels & Orange:
Textura reviews Vessels & Valley: http://www.textura.org/archives/t/thisquietarmy_vessels_valley.htm
1 August 2011
19 July 2011
16 June 2011
Hamburg
The last show of the tour at the Markthalle in Hamburg, this time with our friend Erik K. Skodvin aka Svarte Greiner & Nadja. Unfortunately, the big bulk of my pictures of this day is from this rest-stop. Here's Leah (of Nadja) being sad about her fictitious dead mama...
Mini-vibrators, travel pussy, etc. okay nothing special, except that it was in one of those men's room where you usually leave change for maintenance...
Corny big...
Gurken-snack! Get one pickle for the road...
I played in Hamburg two years ago, on my first Eurotour at the same venue, Markthalle and we stayed at the same Superbude hostel - so I don't really have anything new to add. The experience was pretty similar, and I had taken more pictures: here.
However, we requested to have monitors on stage this time, so I could hear myself way better and I felt that I played a much better set than last time... There was a pretty good turnout, and a pleasant atmosphere throughout the whole evening.
I also requested as a joke to eat a hamburger in Hamburg, just for kicks. I believe I ordered the Tom Jones special burger from the Hollywood Canteen, which had pineapple in it, with a side-order of potato wedges & cheese. Greasy!
I'd also like to give a nod up to Faridee, who flew all the way from Mexico City the same day, landed in Hamburg at 9pm and went straight to the venue to catch us play... !
To top it off, I also sold more merch in Hamburg than any other cities on the tour. That was a good feeling, especially considering that I had to pack everything up for my flight the next day, as I was booked for the Suoni Per Il Popolo festival and playing with Locrian, Mamiffer & House of Low Culture the day after. Could not miss that. It was a quick end to the tour...
14 June 2011
Dresden
My power supply for my Digitech Space Station pedal (which is also the same one for my Digitech Jamman) blew up the day before, so I had to find a store to get a replacement... It's a peculiar 9VAC with a 5.5 mm female tip. Turns out it's not that common in Germany. Though, I found out that Just Music had them on their website, but I had my german-speaking friend Stefan call both Berlin store to make sure they had it in stock... Turns out, they didn't! So I walked over to Noisy Rooms, an rehearsal/store/rental place near Bis Auf Messer to see if they had anything... nothing but generic Boss power supplies. The last resort was to get some kind of universal power supply at Conrad, an electronic store. Again, it was a complete fail... so, we headed to Dresden, which is our second-to-last show of the tour... I'd figure something out.
Also travelling with us was Jérémie Mortier who was playing drums with Aidan Baker this time.
We arrived at AZ Conni late afternoon, a fully equipped alternative cultural center. We were welcomed by Ralph, who had snacks prepared in the backstage, and also a lovely meal brewing in the basement kitchen for us.
This bill was with Khuda, a heavy instrumental duo from Leeds, UK. It was good to meet and share the stage with them...
Some snacks & ping-pong exchanges later... Aidan & Jérémie soundchecked.
I was setting up behind them, because I had to figure out a way to play my set with one power supply for both the Jamman & the Space Station. It was kind of frustrating. On top of that, the show has to end at 11pm sharp, which meant starting at 8:30pm. So I had 5 minutes for my soundcheck, and I didn't bother setting up the projections for this show... Result: improvised set w/ alternate versions of some structured parts, which turned out alright in the end.
From the merch table;
During Khuda's set...
Found in their merch box:
Dresden was only 90 mins away, so we went straight back to Berlin to enjoy another day off there the next day.
13 June 2011
Berlin
Back in Berlin for the week including two shows, one Teufelsberg expedition & one trip to Tempelhof airport. Okay let's try to make a condensed entry for all of that stuff, June 9-15 (Dresden 6/14 + Hamburg 6/16 separate entries).
Oberbaum bridge at sunset, where they found that WWII uxo a couple of weeks back:
The first show was June 11th, at Bei Roy in Neukölln, southeast of the city - between semi-industrial & suburbia, this area is the new haven for students and artists. In fact, Bei Roy is a 5th floor loft located above and overlooking automotive garages.
Surrounding the venue was a Turkish wedding in this sketchy place. Some dressed-up guests were wandering around, seemingly lost, as if they were going to this secret rave and had just been given directions at the map point.
Next to all that, there was a huge hotel complex called Estrel. According to their site, it's Europe's largest convention, entertainment and hotel complex with 1125 rooms & suites, 5 restaurants, 2 bars, a concert hall, and a beer garden in front of the hotel by the canal. In this beer garden, there's this neon sculpture of a swan raping a woman:
Illuminated, at night (stolen from the web) - bright red womb:
A wiki-search later, and this sculpture is also known as Leda and the Swan. So yeah, this is what Neukolln is about... There's so much culture-clash, Berlin is awesome!
Back to the gig. Bei Roy is also known for its all-night parties it seems, it's the new hipster hotspot. Apparently gigs don't usually start before 11pm and best of all, there is no volume restrictions! The PA consisted of two chain-hung vintage speaker cabinets, fueled by a vintage mixer. Needless to say, that made my set sounded really loud and dirty!! The room quickly filled up during the course of my set, but people were pretty attentive the whole thing and their reactions at the end of my set was pretty furious! Berlin wins in the best crowd of the tour category. Here are some witness accounts found online shortly after the gig:
"saw thisquietarmy and Nadja tonight... no volume restrictions so they ripped the venue apart!" / "Heavy and loud as promised. Great performance!" / "Earth shaking Drone madness." / "Saw him in Berlin tonight. Absolutely huge performance." / "thisquietarmy walked between drony soundscapes & punishing industrial beats, a really talented artist that deserves way more attention!" / "sounded like a shoegazing army not like a one-man-show"
Here's a proper review in German: http://kotzboy.com/?p=7357
The monday evening in-store gig at Bis Auf's Messer - best record store located in Friedrichshain was somewhat very different. The PA was pretty shitty and it kept distorting, even for the improvised ambient set that I was doing and I wasn't feeling it at all... Aidan joined me about half an hour into my set, and it was a tiny bit better... However in the middle of it, I got really distracted by one of my pedal's power supply crapping out, out of the blue. It was really strange. It just... died, while I was playing.
(Photo by Meryem Yildiz)
I was also pretty exhausted from climbling Teufelsberg (literally the Devil's Mountain) right before performing the gig. On the top of the mountain lies an abandoned US spy station, a relic from the Cold War, which was built over a Nazi college. To my surprise, the site was pretty easy to access, so it made for a pretty nice expedition.
Inside the top sphere, the natural acoustics and reverberation were phenomenal... there were people singing and playing guitar, or clapping.
Great 360 degrees city view throughout the whole site...
Band looking for credibility, shooting a video...
Expedition crew...
You can read more about it on this spy station here: http://www.abandonedberlin.com/2010/06/teufelsberg-abandoned-spy-station.html
On one of my other day off, I borrowed Leah's bike to check out the defunct Tempelhof airport, an iconic airport during WWII. It is now opened as a city park, with various events happening throughout the year. This space is huge! And biking on a runway is awesome.
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