1) The majority of your music seems to
have been released on records. Are there ever any plans for a cassette
release?
There was actually a cassette called
'Phantom Limbs' that was released last year on Land of Decay (Locrian's label -
limited edition of 100 now sold out) but the music was a few years older because
it was an album that got shelved since I was working on better recordings at the
time. It was appropriate to release it on cassette since it's kind of a
low-profile format. I really do like the cassette format, but I am fortunate to
have labels that want to release my music on a larger scale and that believe in
it enough to invest in more expensive format such as vinyls and CDs, which are
more appropriate for that. I would release more cassettes as limited tour items
or such in the future, since it's a cheap & nice object to produce.
2) Follow up question: Will there ever be a thisquietarmy vinyl
boxed set that includes all the albums, something bonus and then has a giant
price tag? (Because I’m kind of holding off on buying the individual records to
wait for the boxed set)
There is no plan for a vinyl boxed set
because I feel that a boxset would only be appropriate to encompass a complete
discography. Since thisquietarmy is my main project and my main creative vessel,
I probably won't stop making music any time soon. Also, it would be incredibly
expensive and i can guarantee that there is no label crazy enough to do it at
this point. Perhaps after my death.
3) What does the term “ambient” mean to
you, as it relates to music?
Quickly - to me, ambient music is about
moods and atmospheres, the journey and the introspection, the substance and the
richness as opposed to a fast beat, a catchy melody, a quick fix.
4) Who would you say are some prime examples of ambient music,
musicians that people who didn’t know what ambient music was should look into
first and foremost?
There are tons. But from my experience,
here's a bit how I got into it. Brian Eno is considered as one of the founders
of ambient music and I've started to get into it with Music for Airports. Also
related to the ambient music movement is German Kosmische music, German
synthesizer music such as Klaus Schulze and derived from Krautrock. I later
bumped into the ambient term but related to the IDM electronic music such as
Aphex Twin, Boards of Canada and Autechre and since I was also listening to a
lot of guitar-based music such as post-rock, shoegaze and gothic ethereal, I was
more interested in guitar-based ambient such as Stars of the Lid and
lovesliescrushing, and then later darker metal-influenced drone such as Sunn
O))) and Earth. That's more or less my path of influences. I also always liked
movie soundtracks and the role of music for ambiance.
5) If ambient music is boring, then are
they doing it wrong?
Maybe it's not a question of right or
wrong, but simply of taste and attitude. Pure ambient music should, in theory,
be completely passive and be made as so to be lost in the background. But
personally, I think ambient music should be listened to as loud as possible or
with headphones as the real pleasure of ambient music is the fine details that
usually get lost if you aren't able to pay attention to because you are easily
distracted. Depending on the listener, one must be a more active listener than
the other to be able to enjoy it. But with the fusion and the evolution of
various musical elements and styles within ambient music, some type of ambient
music tend to be more active than others by itself, which in turn helps the more
ADHD type of listener to be more focused. But in the end, it's a matter of taste
and a matter of what you want to feel or how open-minded you are to a less
immediate type of music.
6) What is the music scene
like in your part of Canada these days?
I honestly don't really know anymore... I
used, but the last two years I've been a bit out of touch because I am out of
town touring a lot in Europe and recently in South America. Montreal is a very
active city, the scene changes so fast, a lot great stuff come and go without
further out from its scene and it's sometimes a shame. Aside from the usual
focus of hyped indie pop bands looking to be the next Arcade Fire that don't
really hold my interest, there are some neat stuff happening with heavy
psychedelic bands and also in thiis resurgence of cold-wave post-punk analog
synth-based bands.
7) Final thoughts, shout outs, references
to Canadian Bacon, etc…??
Currently,
the Labirinto/thisquietarmy split is out on ConSouling Sound on CD & Pirate
Ship Records/Dissenso Records on LP. Next up, a new album called Hex Mountains
(with surprise guests on vocals, bass and drums) will be released on Denovali
Records in CD/LP along with a re-issue of Blackhaunter on vinyl - this will be
in October. Collaboration albums with Noveller and Syndrome in the works as
well. thisquietarmy will playing a one-off show in Austin, TX on Aug. 25th and
will be touring in Europe this fall, hitting up the Amplifest in Porto, Portugal
on Oct. 19-20 and Moving Noises Festival in Bochum, Germany on Nov. 16 - expect
more dates in between in Spain, France, Italy & more... I've also
re-arranged my Bandcamp for the newbies: http://thisquietarmy.bandcamp.com/ (albums / collabs / eps +
misc).
And oh yes, Canadian bacon is definitely
something I miss on the road, but the real shoutout goes to the Foie Gras
poutine from the Pied de Cochon food truck currently running everywhere in
Montreal this summer! Yummy.
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