Music Night with Thisquietarmy + Sound Awakener + Glitter Troff

Thu 26 Mar 2015, 8 pm
ATK

From Moon Gramophone:

Moon Gramophone & ATK present

A live music-gathering featuring:

THISQUIETARMY
SOUND AWAKENER
GLITTER TROFF

MOON GRAMOPHONE is chuffed to bits to present this evening of out-there music from some wonderful artists – who all happen to share a tie with Vietnam, in one way or another, and – who, more importantly, all truly operate within the eye-shaped intersection of ‘boundary-pushing’ and ‘unpretentiousness’. Wow.

The event sees the first ever Vietnam-appearance (literally) from world-renowned Montreal-based Vietnamese Canadian guitar-artist THISQUIETARMY (Eric Quach). Continuing to abuse The Onion Cellar’s / Moon Gramophone’s creepy knack for talent-scouting and giving unknown names and underdogs much-needed platforms for showcasing what they are capable of, we’ll also bring you the first ever SOUND AWAKENER live set from Hanoian youngster Nhung Nguyễn. Opening the proceedings will be the new duo of Eliza Lomas and Brett Zweiman: dreamy vocals and splattered synths and mean massive tribal beats – a cyber-round of applause to welcome GLITTER TROFF, por favor.

TICKETS

30,000 VND (early bird, strictly limited to 20 tickets, via ticketbox)
60,000 VND (advance tickets via ticketbox)
100,000 VND (on the door)

THISQUIETARMY

“This album is kinda doomy with a poppy element. It’s completely draped in sludge and fuzz but beneath the walls of filth are melodies crawling into your ears… Dark shimmery drone stuff with a hint of evil but you can always see the light at the end of the tunnel.”

(Norman Records, on THISQUIETARMY’s Vessels)

THISQUIETARMY (TQA) is the solo project of Canadian Eric Quach (formerly member of the instrumental post rock outfit DESTROYALLDREAMERS).

“TQA has, depending on the critic’s personal background, been described as post-rock, krautrock, atmospheric metal, drone, ambient, sound art, experimental improvisation, shoegaze and, although to a lesser extent, gothic. The frankness with which these influences are laid bare indicates that not only are they are vital in terms of providing each work in question a unique and recognisable sound design, but that their point is neither post-modernist pastiche nor mere imitation.

Not only has Quach built up an impressive international infrastructure for his oeuvre, establishing his TQA-imprint as a respected outlet for his own material and that of a wide range of befriended artists [legendary ambient / dream-pop project lovesliescrushing, or husband/wife drone duo Nadja]; not merely has he made it from the anonymity of yet-another-guitar-and-looping-pedal-artist to the covers of leading printzines.

Most remarkably, he has created, just five entries into his album-discography, a catalogue that feels more adventurous and explorative than a lifetime’s work of others… The album for Quach, one could say, constitutes a framework within which seemingly disparate elements can be bound together and juxtaposed to fantastical effect.”

(Tobias Fischer for Tokafi)

[youtube width=”700″ height=”357″]http://youtu.be/bMTkDJPF1_s [/youtube]

SOUND AWAKENER

“The work of this young sound artist — released under the name Sound Awakener — has been slowly spreading across the planet since she started releasing her work online in 2014. A member of a growing experimental music scene in Vietnam, Nhung’s music has evolved rapidly in a few short years. Her first release, Shape of Illusion, was made up of short piano and MIDI-programmed pieces recorded in 2011 and very much informed by her upbringing learning classical fare…

Contrast that with her most recent effort, September Traveler. Recorded just a year after Shape of Illusion, the album (available digitally and on CD accompanying a book of photos [and an exhibition] by Spanish artist Irene Cruz) sounds ghostly and beautiful, with her piano playing often hidden under layers of effects and complemented by swirling drones and melodies. It’s a huge leap forward. And she’s showing evidence of moving even further beyond it if the music on her Soundcloud page is any indication.

..One of the more confounding descriptors that have accompanied Nhung’s work so far is the word “dark.” While I can hear underpinnings of that when her noisy side comes out, her compositions feel much more ethereal and weightless to me. The dreamlike quality that would work well soundtracking a film by Stan Brakhage or Harry Smith.”

[Robert Ham for Consequence of Sound]

GLITTER TROFF

Dreamy vocals and splattered synths and mean massive tribal beats. GLITTER TROFF is what happens when CAMA co-proprietor Eliza Lomas, infatuated by her love for enchanting songstresses the likes of Colleen and Grouper, decides to sing, backed by multi-instrumentalist Brett Zweiman (the artist behind the Night of Clutter strand dedicated to improv-music and all manners of crazy experiments). If all this is making you think of a certain Canadian singer with a penchant for weird hair colours, let us assure you that our Hanoi-based duo is potentially even more out-there, and all the more refreshing for that.