Jim Demos und Eric Quach, zwei bekannte Größen der Experimental-Szene im kanadischen Montreal, bringen Mitte April ihr erstes gemeinsames Album heraus. “House of Worship”, das nach einer gemeinsamen Europatour ihrer Projekte Hellenica und Thisquietarmy entstand, ist eine Hommage an einen alten lokalen Veranstaltungsort und eine im Untergang oder zumindest stark im Wandel begriffenen Musikkultur. Filigrane, fast kosmische Ambientstrukturen, raue Dröhnung, wabernde Harmoniumklänge und metallenes Rattern sorgen für ein vielschichtiges und oft unvorhersehbares Klangbild, das im stimmungsvollen Rahmen einer kraftvollen Schwermut zusammengehalten wird. “House of Worship” erscheint als CD und Download bei Somewherecold Records.

“Jim Demos grew up in the west-end’s industrial part of Winnipeg among rusted train yards and crumbling storage facilities. He now lives and works in Montreal, and performs under the Hellenica moniker since 2012. It was only a matter of time until he’d run into Eric Quach of Thisquietarmy, an active pillar of the local experimental scene, through its numerous avant-garde gigs. They’d share the stage several times at world-renown Casa Del Popolo and it’s now-defunct sister-venue La Vitrola, and meet up in Berlin during their respective European tours, as a regular seasonal escape from the ever-changing love/hate Montreal scene and the overly conservative Canadian musical landscape in general. As the pandemic loomed upon on March 12th 2020, they both crossed paths in the middle of the urban renewal of the retro-kitsch St-Hubert strip to attend one last local gig before the lockdown of the province of Quebec, then patiently waited out for the first wave to pass by. After a few summer hangs in parks and with no end to the social restrictions in sight, it was the perfect time to set up an improvised jam session at Migration, a space at the mighty 6545 Durocher, known for its underground parties and loft gigs – the last building of its kind still standing, located at a dead-end street, in front of the Hebrew school and across the infamous F#A#infinity train tracks. In the face of gentrification, surrounded by construction sites, old buildings got torn down and shiny brand new ones erected one after the next. This jam is an ode to this dying building and its neighbourhood. A symbol of a time past where an underground culture of creativity was welcomed and nurtured – a House of Worship so to speak. Let this recording serve as a sonic document to the feelings surrounding its undeniable future demise and the final nail being pounded in the coffin.” (Somewherecold)