crashride - crashride
crashride are an emerging Montreal-based electronic
music duo consisting of composer and sound designer Jean-Sébastien Côté (Robert
Lepage, Wajdi Mouawad, Daniel Brooks) and composer and guitarist François
Therriault (Indiscipline, Pole Volt, Chapeaumelon). Together they blend textural
electronic music with wide-scoping elements of Tangerine Dream-style New Age,
nuanced dream-pop and prog-rock and jazz-inspired guitar for a progressively
experimental sound that recalls Massive Attack, Air and Yes. Their self-titled debut album was recently released
digitally via their Bandcamp page and physically via Note Musik. The album’s icy textures and cool cinematic
soundscapes are the perfect chilled out soundtrack to your winter blues, no matter
what climate you call home.
The album opens with a short ambient introduction
titled, “Two To Three” complete with a bubbling synth pattern and an ascending
melody that helps set the tone for the rest of the songs to come. “Father” quickly follows with a slow,
waltz-like rhythm and washes of cosmic synths that evoke desolate images of
being stranded on an icy, planet. The
standout track boasts guest spots from guitarist Gerry Leonard (David Bowie) and
legendary bassist Tony Levin, who has recorded and toured with Peter Gabriel,
King Crimson and John Lennon. Of course
the duo’s music lends itself well to cinematic endeavors and the video for
standout track, “Half Duplex” with its towering skyscrapers and fast-paced city
scenes stands out with a clicking, Motorik rhythm and several extended
prog-rock inspired guitar solos. Led by
pretty piano, standout track “Maniguruma” shimmers with iridescent synths and
soaring EBow guitar as guest vocalist Frédérike Bédard (Robert
Lepage, La La La Human Steps, TNM/Moby Dick) and violinist Jean-Philippe Goulet
(Swing, Indiscipline) imbue a pretty, cinematic haze to the track that rivals only
Sigur Ros in the beauty department. The oceanic
ebb and flow of “Venice” is highlighted by jazzy guitar runs, strange synth
sounds and a head-nodding beat. “Ostankino”
opens with a dreamy interlude of stormy stair-stepping piano and guest guitarist
Dave Randall’s (Slovo, Faithless, Dido) acoustic guitars before giving way to a
stuttering rhythm and highly melodic guitar lines that contrast nicely with the
brooding bass-led undercurrent.
Next, the duo puts their own spin on Alain
Morisod’s “Neige” and their version stands out with beautifully sung French
lyrics from Bédard backed by a propulsive beat, cascading guitars and glassy
synths for an 80’s-inspired synth-pop and trip-hop hybrid. With three MacBooks and the blinking lights
of their keyboards as the only light source, a live performance video was
filmed - and can be viewed via the band’s Youtube page - for the song,
“Different 8”, which meshes perfectly with the glimmering atmosphere and
swaying melodies created by EBow and the Chapman stick on the track. Sung in English, “Art Of Choice” combines
soaring strings and a glitchy beat with an extended piano outro for a
passionate 80’s prog-pop ballad reminiscent of Peter Gabriel. The haunting yet beautiful “Ohne Worte” builds
tension before releasing with squealing keyboard freakouts and features a silky
string arrangement ready-made for a movie soundtrack. On the other hand, the more pop-leaning track
“Hold Me Tight” offers up lush layers of psychedelic vocal melodies that swirl and
swoon skyward, recalling the classic rock-indebted indie rockers and fellow
Canadians, The Besnard Lakes. The twelve-track
album closes out with the blooming kaleidoscope of synths and guitars of the
aptly-titled “Feel”.
With their promising self-titled debut album, Canadian
electronic music duo crashride have crafted an innovative brand of electronica
that feels both freshly modern and warmly nostalgic for a time when electronic
music was first being born; capturing the wide-eyed wonder and sense of
experimental freedom of that era. Honestly,
it would be enough if crashride was just a studio project but the duo plans to
tour and that is just icing on the cake.
Stream crashride
here:
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