UPCOMING SHOWS : > NONE FOR NOW... UPCOMING RELEASES : > FULL-LENGTH TBA, 2011 BOOKING + INQUIRIES : > MAINSDEGIVRE AT GMAIL NEWS + TOUR DATES + INFO : BUY MERCH + ALBUMS : > BANDCAMP
SELECTED REVIEWS: > ESTHER MARIE The Milk Factory > INSOMNIE À L'AIL Textura PERFORMANCE HISTORY : 20.05.10 28.11.09 |
21.05.10
Casa Del Popolo, Montreal
(vs. Hoefizer) w/ Eluvium, Julianna Barwick
08.06.10
Casa Del Popolo, Montreal
w/ Grouper, Grimes
++ PAST ++
13.03.10
Casa Del Popolo, Montreal
(as Ghidrah) w/ Zaimph, Tom Carter
12.03.10
Argyle Fine Arts, Halifax
for Yassine Ouhilal's art opening "Thawscapes"
11.03.10
1313 Hollis St, Halifax
w/ D/A A/D
27.02.10
Galerie Nota Bene, Montreal
(as Hi, my quiet tsar) w/ TMO+J.Vane, Cloudscapes, Valley of the Shadow of Death, Les Beyond, .cut
19.02.10
L'app'art, Trois-Rivières
(vs. Hoefizer) w/ 1-speed bike
13.02.10
L'envers, Montreal
w/ K.Lemieux/ D.Bryant/ J.Parant/ A.S-Onge/ JF. Truchy/R.Tellier-Craig + RM Seventh Order of Chaos (Red Mass)
28.11.09
Casa Del Popolo, Montreal (as part of GHIDRAH feat. TQA/Aun/Maggot Breeder) w/ Animal Hospital, Aidan Baker, Le Chat Blanc Orchestra
27.11.09
443 Kent, Ottawa
w/
Aidan Baker, Animal Hospital, We Fled Cairo
26.11.09
L'App'art, Trois-Rivières
w/ Aidan Baker, Animal Hospital, Korvette
25.11.09
L'Agité, Quebec
w/ Aidan Baker, Animal Hospital, Millimetrik
14.11.09
Casa Del Popolo, Montreal
w/ Sianspheric, My Dad vs. Yours, Electroluminescent
30.10.09
Loft From Hell, Montreal
(improv w/ Shane Whitbread) w/ Home Drone & François Pedneault
10.10.09
La Sala Rossa, Montreal
w/ Om, Lichens
01.10.09
Espace Réunion, Montreal
(as part of CATALOGUE synth-improv)
16.09.09
Casa Del Popolo, Montreal
w/ Aun, Nadja
27.08.09
Green Room, Montreal (improv collab/Ghidrah) w/ Cloudscapes
26.07.09
P572 Haus, Quebec City, QC (improv collab w/ Electroluminescent + Millimetrik) w/ Electroluminescent
12.07.2009
Piknic Electronik, Montreal
w/ Aun, de.i.te, Ben Steiner-Fleury
11.07.2009
Katacombes, Montreal
as part of GHIDRAH (with Aun + Maggot Breeder) w/ Lights of Shipwreck, Squalor, Reirea
01.06.2009
IVI, Frankfurt, DE
w/ Nadja
02.06.2009
Villa Markel, Esslingen, DE
w/ Nadja
03.06.2009
Enosteria, Brescia, IT
w/ Nadja
04.06.2009
Burida, Genoa, IT
w/ Nadja
06.06.2009
Sonic, Lyon, IT
w/ Nadja
08.06.2009
Les Instants Chavirés, Paris, FR
w/ Nadja
09.06.2009
KAW, Leverkusen, DE
w/ Nadja
10.06.2009
DB's, Utrecht, NL
w/ Nadja
11.06.2009
TAC, Eindhoven, NL
w/ Nadja
12.06.2009
Markhalle, Hamburg, DE
w/ Nadja
13.06.2009
Schokoladen, Berlin, DE
w/ Nadja
16.06.2009
XT3, Prague, CZ
w/ Nadja
17.06.2009
Klub Re, Krakow, PL
w/ Nadja
18.06.2009
Pod Minoga, Poznan, PL
w/ Nadja
19.06.2009
UFA, Warsaw, PL
w/ Nadja
20.06.2009
Ucho, Gdynia, PL
w/ Nadja
21.06.2009
Alter Ego, Szczecin, PL
w/ Nadja
{ PAST SHOWS }
24.05.2009
Zoobizarre
w/ Lineland, Animal Hospital, Mark Templeton
03.05.2009
Friendship Cove
Sunday Punk Matinée, Vol.3
02.05.2009
Loft From Hell
w/ Junius, Squalor, Bridges To Dream, Maggot Breeder
12.04.2009
Phog Lounge, Windsor
w/ Electroluminescent, What Seas What Shores
11.04.2009
EVAC, London (ON)
w/ Electroluminescent, Exit 2012
05.04.2009
Cagibi
Sunday Afternoon Drones
w/ Aun, The Montreal Nintendo Orkestar, Maggot Breeder, de.i.te, Hoefizer, Cloudscapes, Electroluminescent, Shane Whitbread, Anti-School Year
27.03.2009
L'envers
w/ Romance of Young Tigers, Dora Bleu, Please Don't Put Charles On The Money
12.03.2009
Casa Del Popolo
w/ Caspian
31.01.2009
Casa Del Popolo
w/ Arms and Sleepers, The Baltic Sea , Depost Through The
12.12.2008
Cagibi
w/ S.Cibo, .cut & Friends, Stochastique
01.11.2008
(((Collaboration with AUN + Maggot Breeder)))
Loft From Hell
w/ Holoscene
23.10.2008
Casa Del Popolo
w/ Nadja, .cut & Maggot Breeder, Whilst
18.10.2008
(((SYNTH-SET as hi_my_quiet_tsar)))
Cagibi
w/ Le Chat Blanc Orchestra, Electroluminescent & Kolumkilli
14.09.2008
Petit Campus
w/ AUN, Maggot Breeder, Thierry Gauthier
13.09.2008
Zoobizarre
w/ Lymbyc Systym, This Will Destroy You
25.08.2008
Sneaky Dee's, Toronto
w/ Elika, Holoscene
24.08.2008
P572 Haus, Quebec City
w/ Elika
23.08.2008
Casa Del Popolo
w/ Arms and Sleepers, Elika, Apillow
16.07.2008
La Sala Rossa
w/ Olafur Arnalds, Saccidananda
21.06.2008
Friendship Cove
w/ Place Hands, Saccidananda
15.06.2008
Divan Orange
w/ Apillow
12.04.2008
Pepperjack's Cafe, Hamilton
w/ Aidan Baker, Millimetrik, Electroluminescent
11.04.2008
Trepid House , Waterloo
w/ Mahogany Frog, Millimetrik, Gregory Pepper
10.04.2008
Mitzi's Sister, Toronto
w/ Whisper Room, Millimetrik, Electroluminescent
29.03.2008
Textures Series @ Cagibi
w/ Des Cailloux et du Carbone, Turner of Wheels, saibotuk
27.03.2008
Ninkasi du Faubourg, Quebec City
w/ Electroluminescent
26.03.2008
CD LAUNCH @ Zoobizarre
w/ Millimetrik, Electroluminescent
15.02.2008
Wasted City Studios, Burlington VT
w/ Arms and Sleepers, Vitals
16.02.2008
Casa Del Popolo
w/ Arms and Sleepers, .cut & Maggot Breeder, The Fade-out
01.03.2008
Tapageur, Sherbrooke
w/ Millimetrik
06.03.2008
Casa Del Popolo
w/ Nadja, Aidan Baker, Dog Bless You
18.11.2007
Cagibi
w/ Aidan Baker, The Pacific Theater
03.11.2007
Twin Peaks, Boston/Jamaica Plain (MA)
w/ Elika, Arms and Sleepers, Motionless
02.11.2007
The Underscore , NYC (NY)
w/ Elika, Arms and Sleepers, Projekt Skyward
31.10.2007
Casa Del Popolo
w/ Armless Ensemble, Shane Whitbread
04.10.2007
L'Agite, Quebec City
w/ Voila & Le Chat Blanc Orchestra
25.09.2007
La Sala Rossa
w/ Ulrich Schnauss, Millimetrik
16.08.2007
Casa Del Popolo
w/ Kimika, Proeliis Fere
15.07.2007
L'Absynthe
w/ Darcin, GoldSword
25.07.2007
Zoobizarre
w/ Caspian, Junius
05.04.2007
ZooBizarre
w/ AUN
27.01.2007
Casa Del Popolo
w/ Elika, Millimetrik
18.11.2006
Casa Del Popolo
w/ Troum, Tim Hecker, Aidan Baker
15.10.2006
Main Hall
w/ People for Audio, Small Sails
19.09.2006
Avant Garde Bar, Ottawa
w/ Elika, Electroluminescent, Shane Whitbread
14.07.2006
CB's Gallery, NYC (NY)
w/ Elika, Dead Leaf Echo
22.06.2006
Zoobizarre
w/ Armless Ensemble
ALL SHOWS IN MONTREAL UNLESS NOTED OTHERWISE
BIOGRAPHY |
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Mains de Givre is a violin-centered soundscaping project involving self-taught experimentalist Eric Quach and classically trained musician Émilie Livernois-Desroches, both of whom call Montreal home. Quach is widely known for the experimental ambient work he's produced under his thisquietarmy alias and also is the founder of the instrumental-shoegazer band Destroyalldreamers. Livernois-Desroches has played violin since she was seven years old and been teaching since 2003. She has been a part of various chamber music and symphonic orchestras, and performs with a wide variety of bands in styles ranging from pop to medieval to metal. While her previous best-known project was the melodic folk-black metal band Blackguard (formerly known as Profugus Mortis), Mains de Givre is her most experimental project to date. Quach and Livernois-Desroches first crossed paths in 2003 while playing with their respective bands Destroyalldreamers and Sugarshack as part of the emerging post-rock scene in Montreal. Following each other's musical achievements over the years, their mutual respect for each other grew until they found themselves six years later embarking on a studio collaboration initially intended to be part of a thisquietarmy release. As their personal and musical chemistry grew, their newfound closeness turned the collaboration into an official long-term project they christened Mains de Givre (frost hands) after a nickname that had been given to Émilie (émilie-aux-mains-de-givre) by her bandmates. Mains de Givre's debut album, Esther Marie, originates from material recorded at the duo's first jam session in the spring of 2009. The recording opens with the very first notes the two played together, notes that evoke an eerie sadness that permeates the album and characterizes the mood of their collaboration. With the violin as the lead instrument, Quach's guitar playing is restrained yet also tense, as he generates dark, slowly evolving drone atmospheres alongside subtle, looped-based patterns that swirl within the lower end of the sound spectrum. |
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ALBUMS |
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ESTHER MARIE
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TRACKLIST 1. UN CHOEUR D'ÂMES EN DÉTRESSE RECORDED AND MIXED BY ERIC QUACH AT TQA.HQ, MONTREAL. ARTWORK BY MERYEM YILDIZ. |
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EPS |
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INSOMNIE À L'AIL RELEASED: APRIL 6TH, 2010
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TRACKLIST |
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COMPILATION TRACKS |
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GOLDEN CLASSICS Featuring the exclusive track: |
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KITO SOUNDS #3 Featuring the exclusive track: |
Contact : thisquietarmy at gmail
Myspace : http://www.myspace.com/thisquietarmy
VIRB : http://www.virb.com/thisquietarmy
Last FM : http://www.last.fm/music/thisquietarmy
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Eric Quach is a guitarist and sound engineer who performs under the name Thisquietarmy. He is also the guitarist and founding member of the Montreal-based instrumental rock band Destroyalldreamers. With two internationally acclaimed albums, “À Cœur Léger Sommeil Sanglant » in 2004 and « Wish I Was All Flames » in 2007 on Where Are My Records, a Montreal record label, as well as a 12” vinyl EP « Glare/Halo » in 2006 on Claire's Echo, an American record label, Destroyalldreamers has gained a notorious cult band status amongst their peers.
As Thisquietarmy, a one-man solo drone/ambient project, Quach composes visual guitar-based soundscapes and experimental music that goes beyond the typical song structure. By exploring his guitar as a tone generator, he furthers the boundaries of his instrument with the use of multiple effect processors & real-time loop-samplers, alternating the guitar signal’s shape and tone, blending textures over textures, merging a wide combination of sounds together and developing the melodies hidden in these walls of sound. Concrete musical ideas are often generated by the re-interpretation, the decomposition and the reconstruction of its own improvisations. Thisquietarmy performs live regularly throughout Canada and the USA, and has played with Ulrich Schnauss, Olafur Arnalds, Tim Hecker, Troum, Nadja & Caspian just to name a few.
Thisquietarmy has released two albums « Unconquered » and « Blackhaunter » in 2008, respectively on Poland’s Foreshadow Productions and USA’s Elevation Recordings. He has also released several EPs including: « Wintersleeper » (2005) and « Orange » (2006), both on his own imprint This Quiet Army Records, « Echotone » (2007) on Canada’s Chat Blanc Records. A collaborative album with Aidan Baker (Nadja) will be released in 2009 on USA’s Killer Pimp Records and Thisquietarmy is currently working on a few short-film scores and soundtracks. With already such a large body of work in which is revealed a large range of guitar-based sonic styles, from minimal drone to electro-ambient to psychedelic shoegaze/post-rock, Thisquietarmy is a forward contender as a pioneer of the experimental ambient Canadian music scene.
Live performance
Thisquietarmy has been performing live since 2006, especially in Montreal and Quebec City, but also in Ontario and in the USA. The live performances are always presented as a multimedia installation, based on an impromptu score to a prepared film. The usual themes revolve around dark ethereal ambiences and ghostly abstract, prepared by Thisquietarmy himself.
Except for the occasional propulsive beat, no other sound is pre-recorded on stage as everything is done live on the fly. Armed with no less than three loop-samplers, a dozen of pedals, dual-mono signals, as well as dark & ghostly visual projections, Thisquietarmy’s live material can be as structured as it can be improvised on the spot, depending on the moment’s vibe, and drowns the audience in a dream-like hypnotic state of introspection that can sometimes turn into a nightmare.
Since 2006, parallel works in sonic exploration and visual montage have been in constant evolution with each performance. In 2009, Thisquietarmy intends to present brand new works with new images and new live pieces to be performed.
A European tour is scheduled for late spring 2009, with Nadja & Aidan Baker.
| STREAM AND DOWNLOAD |
FREE OOP ALBUMS | MP3 FORMAT |
| SELECTED REVIEWS |
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A PICTURE OF A PICTURE (w/ Aidan Baker) |
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TRANSMISSIONS |
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BLACKHAUNTER |
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UNCONQUERED |
www.montrealmirror.com |
ECHOTONE |
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ORANGE (w/ Aidan Baker) |
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WINTERSLEEPER |
www.somewherecold.com |
INTERVIEWS |
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HAMMER SMASHED JAZZ |
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AUTRES DIRECTIONS (french only) |
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7KETTLES (polish only) |
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PROMPT NEWS UPDATES CAN BE FOUND: |
{2010.03.23} Listen, buy & download via Bandcamp: http://thisquietarmy.bandcamp.com Almost everything is there. All OOP EPs are free/pay what you want. Albums are 5$ downloadable, with option to purchase 10$ + shipping & comes with an immediate download. The best part is the choice of quality audio format: 320 kbps MP3s, FLAC, lossless, etc. |
{2010.02.05} 2010 upcoming releases / finished records; - Aftermath (CD) EPs: - Drifting/Falling (3" CDR) Side-projects: - Insomnie à l'ail EP- Mains de Givre (3" CDR) |
{2009.11.14} New release called "Meanwhile", a limited sampler EP of edited versions of new tracks, untitled as of yet, to be released on separate work-in-progress albums, by different labels in 2010. For those who can't wait for the new records, which will unfold throughout 2010... some of these songs won't see the day for maybe another year, even. So grab it if you're impatient! here. Also, an exclusive tqa track appears on the Chat Blanc/P572 Records book-cd, also available through the distro, here.
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{2009.05.05} 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! |
{2009.04.24} THISQUIETARMY EUROPEAN TOUR w/ NADJA: 01.06.09 - IVI, Frankfurt, Germany |
{2009.02.17} Aidan Baker & Thisquietarmy's collaborative album, A Picture of a Picture, will be out on Killer Pimp Records, March 31st 2009. Available for pre-order on Brainwashed.com --- soon available on TQA Records. Also, thisquietarmy will be playing with Caspian in Montreal, March 12th 2009, part of the Under The Snow festival. |
{2008.12.07} Aidan Baker & Thisquietarmy's collaborative album, A Picture of a Picture, will be out on Killer Pimp Records, "early" 2009. Killer Pimp is run by Brainwashed.org & also released the debut of A Place To Bury Strangers, one of the most exciting
bands out there. |
{2008.10.27} Thisquietarmy's Blackhaunter (Elevation Recordings) is now available through the TQA distro! |
{2008.10.16} 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 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. For this conceptual soundtrack to Christy's breathtaking photographs, Thisquietarmy recreates the transmissions received through the various hybrid configurations (BnA, CnB, DnC) of the Very Large Array dishes in New Mexico located at 3774379 258421 13S on the grid-based UTM (Universal Transverse Mercator) coordinate system of the Earth's surface. Different sounds from outer space are captured through the different configurations such as the first televised transmission returning from space, signals from lost spacecrafts and random outer space phenomenons. |
{2008.10.05} Thisquietarmy remixes Radiohead's Reckoner! Please take a listen and vote if you like it. We are trying to bump down Diplo's remix as well as all those dancey ones with Thisquietarmy's ambient-post rock take. |
{2008.08.10} New releases coming Soon (before 2009): * Blackhaunter (Elevation Recordings), a 41-minutes limited release. * Transmission to 3774379 258421 13S (Space 30a), a soundtrack to a photo-book by Christy Romanick. * An exclusive track 'Summer Isolation' on Fugues Unreleased Tracks 2008 (Fugues) compilation. |
{2008.03.21} Thisquietarmy's debut album will be available on April 1st 2008 - Order it via TQA Records: here! You can also order it via the polish label Foreshadow, as well as other distributors worldwide. |
{2007.12.04} Thisquietarmy signs to Foreshadow to release its debut album titled 'Unconquered', that will see the light in March 2008. Foreshadow is fairly new and upcoming record label from Krakow, Poland who has released Nadja's Corrasion album. A free internet MP3 single release called "Battlefield Arkestrah & Dronewars" is already available to stream and download. It features the single "Battlefield Arkestrah" which clocks at more than 8 minutes and its b-side "Dronewars" which clocks at more than 16 minutes for a total of 24 minutes! Exclusively released on Foreshadow. Cover art by thisquietarmy. Go listen or download here: thisquietarmy.foreshadow.pl |
{2007.11.19} Thisquietarmy is back from a 4-day mini-weekend tour in the U.S. after droving for 20 hours through 6 states, to performed in 2 cities (New York City & Boston) to a handful of people - and it was worth it!! Thank you to Brian, Eva, Elayne, Christy, Lee, Caleb, Mirza and everyone else I'm forgetting (sorry!). |
{2007.10.23} thisquietarmy has yet another new song out, this time on Silber Records (Lycia, Alan Sparkhawk, Plumerai, etc.), part of the Silber Sounds of Halloween compilation, along with 30+ other artists from all around the world. The best part of it is that it's an entirely downloadable and FREE MP3 compilation. Spin it at your upcoming Halloween party! More info on : http://www.silbermedia.com/comps/halloween/ |
{2007.09.26} The Echotone EP was gracefullyreviewed by the Silent Ballet, read it here. Also, the String Theory double-CD compilation by Australia's Dreamland Recordings is now available. It features the exclusive track titled 'The Golden Record' which was recorded earlier this year. The compilation also features a track from my personal guitar hero, Scott Cortez of loveliescrushing/Astrobrite/STAR. You can listen to clips on this page and you can order it directly from Dreamland Recordings. |
{2007.07.11} The Echotone EP will be released July 17th, on Chat Blanc Records. It will be limited to 133 copies, don't wait up. Two local Montreal CD launches are planned for the release. PART 1 will be July 15th at L'absynthe, with Ghettonuns and Goldsword. PART 2 will be July 25th at Zoobizarre with Caspian & Junius, both hailing from Boston. |
{2007.06.09} I've made a list of Thisquietarmy songs I'm hoping to get recorded and mixed by the end of the summer. Estimating about 80 minutes of music, not including outtakes - - - most of the known released material were born from outtakes and improvisation. But in-between all that, there are real compositions that have occured, but either never recorded, or at least never well enough recorded. There are also pieces that I've created in the context of my live shows, which I have been prioritizing for the last year - - after a few not so memorable ones, I can now say that I've reached a certain satisfaction playing live, which wasn't the case for the first half of shows I've played. No plans as to how I'll be releasing it yet. Ideally some cool enough label would be putting out a full-length. I guess I should also start to knock on some doors. |
