artist Montag

Not hibernating after all

Montag is back after what could seem like a long absence. But in fact there’s not been one minute of silence for Antoine Bédard since his 2007 Carpark release, Going Places. There were in fact a few self-released mini-albums, including Hibernation (2008) coinciding with his return to cold Montréal and Des cassettes et un walkman jaune (2009) a covers EP, not to mention a dozen remixes for the likes of M83, Au Revoir Simone, I'm From Barcelona and Stars. But it was his work as a sound designer that took most of his time: in the last five years, he wrote the scores to twenty theatre works presented throughout Canada, as well as the original music for five contemporary dance pieces. Alongside this, Antoine created sound designs for twenty theatre works presented throughout Canada, wrote the music for five contemporary dance pieces, narrated and edited two audioguides and curated two soundwalks about the relationship between music and architecture. In 2008, Bédard also co-founded, with two of his friends, an immensely succesful bi-monthly electropop club night in Montréal called Mec Plus Ultra, hosting guest live bands like Miami Horror and Diamond Rings and The XX and Two Door Cinema Club doing exclusive DJ sets. Not just the host, Montag was one of the resident DJs of the night, allowing him to share his favorite pop gems, including some tunes by current labelmates like Class Actress and Toro y Moi.

Phases

After four years of making music on a variety of different projects, it is time for Bédard to get back to his own creation. But making an album seems too restrictive, so Antoine comes up with Phases, opting for a singularly different approach: releasing one single a month over the course of the whole year, with each song creating its own sonic world, meant to be enjoyed one at a time. To add to the challenge, Montag will assign himself style restrictions to every month, keeping each single distinct and allowing him to explore new musical territory in the process.

Phases will have Montag following a few basic rules: each single must be created within a month and be accompanied by a b-side (either an original song, a cover or a remix) and a video. He will blog about the creative process in detail on his website, with extra information on how the tracks were recorded, their origins, the type of instruments used, etc. Each single will also have its own cover designed by Guadaljara-based graphic artist Curious Flux. As Going Places proved, Bédard enjoys collaborations and Phases should be no exception: most singles will be recorded with the help of special guests. Discover who each month on Spotify (http://www.spotify.com/montag) and Montag's website (http://www.montag.ca/). Each release will be accompanied by an audio documentary produced and narrated by Montag, explaining how the songs were written and produced.