Evolving technology and greater awareness of the underground scene have changed the way music is made. This shift has been especially visible for electronica.
“When I started going to shows and playing in bands in the ‘80s, there were only a handful of bands using synths and drum machines as their main instruments,” said Concordia alumnus Jon Asencio, 59.
Asencio’s brother was a DJ who brought him to a lot of raves in the 1990s.
“Back then, in the early days of techno, people in Montreal were not quite wrapping their brains around the music,” he said. “The raves were very underground, and the music was so intense.”
Eric Quach, a 46-year-old musician who goes by the alias thisquietarmy, hosted a drone show on Jan. 18 at Casa del Popolo. Quach has been playing and making music full-time for 15 years, primarily in the drone scene.
“A lot of experimental or avant-garde type of music is consumed in lesser quantities than other types of music,” said Quach. “For most people, I think it will always be more of a curiosity/intellectual/niche type of show.”
A mostly middle-aged crowd gathered in the small room that is Casa del Popolo’s music venue to listen to Quach’s music. The room, which is accessed through the back, features its own bar and a small merch table.
“The most important venues these days are Casa del Popolo and Sala Rosa and all their affiliated venues — they really have created spaces for the new thriving music scene,” said Asencio.
That same night, third-year studio arts major at Concordia Ral Parr, who DJs under the pseudonym Esme, played at the Society for Arts and Technology as a part of the Homegrown Harvest raves. These organizations promote new artists and exemplify the continuous innovation of Montreal’s music culture.
Both shows featured a series of duos. Quach’s show opened with the ambient metal act Northumbria before moving on to his collaboration set with Hellenica and finishing with the psych drone artists of Psychic Maggot, and Parr’s set was a joint effort with fellow DJ Esther Côté.
Different genres, such as drone and techno, are enhanced by good speakers that let the web audience feel the sound in their bodies. They attempt to draw the listener in by vacillating beats and dissonant sounds.
Waves of Music
Quach doesn’t identify too closely with any scene, noting the shifting nature of these social groups.
“Eventually, every existence within a scene ceases; it’s never the same as before,” he said. “It doesn’t necessarily mean better or worse in general.”
By the 2000s, making electronic music had become much more accessible thanks to computers. Parr mentioned that when DJs used to spin on vinyl, they spent a lot more time with the tracks. 90
“It’s just changed the way that music is played,” they said. “I notice, at least for crowds, just playing a lot faster seems to keep their attention more, even though it’s not always what I want to do.”
Delta Jacobs is a first-year studio art major at Concordia. She has been writing music for two years and recently released a single under the pseudonym She Takes After. Jacobs has been attending shows in Montreal for eight years. She typically goes to big arena shows but also engages with the underground scene.
“I think the people of Montreal are so creative and hungry to make an impact with their music. I’ve met so many people, at Concordia especially, with a gift for music-making,” she said.
Many musicians named social media as one of the most significant changes to the industry.
“Social media has changed a lot of things in the way music is consumed and distributed,” said Quach. “But I don’t think it changed the way it’s made, per se — at least for myself. I’m still making music for myself, first and foremost.”
Quach said that while much is different regarding evolving technology, there isn’t a massive shift in terms of the audience. Asencio echoed this sentiment.
“Montreal audiences have always been very open-minded and ready to embrace new sounds and ideas. Actually, it is kind of weird how little the audience here seems to have changed over the years,” Asencio said.