Montag New Found Land

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About

Ambient, uplifting, open, these were the guidelines Antoine set himself for month 5 of his phases project, and he does not disappoint! NEW FOUND LAND opens with subtle synth strings, a hypnotic kick drum and Pet Shop Boys atmospherics building to a cathartic harmonized chorus. Bédard worked with close collaborator Dominic Vanchestein (who he’s worked with on previous phases) and drafted in Emmnuelle Bourassa Beaudoin to sing backup vocals “I had heard her sing during rehearsals of a dance show that she choreographed (I was working on the music for her show) and thought her voice was really beautiful. She accepted the offer so here we are, singing together on NEW FOUND LAND”. The resulting collaboration paints a perfect picture of discovering a new, untouched land free from human contact and preconception. In Antoine’s own words “NEW FOUND LAND is about finding a place where anything is possible”.

On the flip side we hear Harmonie 2 (Demo), a track originally created for performing arts collective ‘Système Kangourou’ to accompany a performance done in the hall of Place des arts, Montreal’s biggest art complex. The soothing drone mixed with some signature samples and rhythm brings the track firmly into Montag territory and out of the performance theatre.

Artist Bio

Montreal’s Montag, otherwise known as DJ Antoine Bédard, launched his first record, Are You a Friend?, in 2002. The record was released on electronic music record label, Gooom Disques, which is also home to M83. Are You a Friend?’s dreamy and minimalistic sounds were soon noticed by France’s Les Inrocks. His extensive discography, which consists of two EPs and five records, demonstrates his composing abilities.  Bédard’s talent has sent him on major tours across the world.

The 2005 release of Alone, Not Alone (his first release on Carpark Records), received international praise, including a 7.8/10 rating from Pitchfork. His third release, Going Places (2007), was well-received in Japan where he toured with Au Revoir Simone and YACHT.

Through the years, Montag has performed live at a number of music festivals such as Mutek (Montréal), SXSW (Austin, TX), Sonorama (Guadalajara), Canadian Music Week (Toronto) and CMJ (New York).  He has shared the stage with Caribou, Broadcast, Feist, The Junior Boys, Lali Puna, Xiu Xiu and Stars among others. Montag regularly collaborates on visual art installations, theatre plays, art videos and other audio art projects.

In 2012, he conceived Audiosphere, an award-winning iPhone application that allows transit users to discover local artists with use of geolocalisation. In early 2013, he worked on the original score and sound design for Pascal Grandmaison’s Le jour des 8 soleils, presented as part of the event Luminothérapie in Montreal.

In parallel to his work in musical composition, Bédard has been producing various soundwalks that explore the relationship among sound, urban environment and history. He also co-hosts and spins at some of Montreal’s highly attended gay nights, Mec Plus Ultra and Audioporn Club.