Admittedly, Torngat is an odd name for this odd band. But, just like their music, their moniker—a reference to the Torngat Mountains that link eastern Quebec to Labrador—begins to make sense after only a brief listen.
The trio’s choice of instrumentation— mainly drums, old synths, and French horn—seems like it would present a challenge to the listener, but it doesn’t really. Torngat’s sound is definitely unique, but it’s also pleasantly accessible.
So how does a band decide to make music with such a weird combination of instruments? According to synth player Mathieu Charbonneau, it all happened naturally.
“Before, it wasn’t that weird because we had a bass player so it was more like a quartet with French horn, which you still don’t see around too much, but it was still straight-forward in terms of formation. But when the bass player left and we decided to just stay as a trio, that’s when the instrumentation became interesting. We each started to play more instruments, to keep the sound as big as possible. We try to sound like we are still four people.”
To date, the band has two independent releases under their belt—including their acclaimed 2005 EP, La Rouge—and are excited to have just dropped their first LP with label Alien8 Recordings (Think About Life, Les Georges Leningrad) earlier this week.
“We’re pretty happy [to have signed with Alien8] because our first two records were released independently. We were doing everything ourselves, which was a lot of work, and not necessarily the kind of work that we wanted to do,” says Charbonneau, on the phone from this home in Montreal.
Their brand new full-length, You Could Be, was recorded back in August in a renovated barn in the Eastern Townships outside of Montreal.
“We lived there for a month with a sound engineer, just focusing on the music,” Charbonneau remembers, “It’s a renovated barn with electricity, so it’s not like we had hay and cows in there while we recorded.”
That being said, the location was still remote, which had it’s advantages: “We could go there and record, and not disturb anyone, and play at anytime of the night…we hardly left the barn for the whole month, only to buy groceries.”
“That’s why the record has a vibe to it. It’s definitely the vibe of four people being isolated for a month and not coming back home everyday and thinking about it—you’re in a bubble.”
To promote the record, Torngat are hitting the road. This Friday finds them in town at the Music Gallery— which is inside St. George the Martyr Church—for their Toronto CD release show. The guys in Torngat have played this venue before, opening for Final Fantasy there back in 2005, and are no strangers to playing in churches.
“We’ve played in many churches, and I don’t know why. I guess churches are just starting to be venues for different kinds of music. We’ve played churches in Toronto, Montreal, we played a church in Ottawa with Bell Orchestre, and we’re actually playing a church in New York this fall, opening for Mum.”
The date with Mum is the first show for Torngat south of the border, and like many independent musicians, they’re aware and wary of the unfair shit that sometimes goes down while trying to cross into the USA.
“It’s hard to play in the States because if you don’t have anyone in the band who is American it’s really a bitch to go there. Either you go illegally— and if you get busted you can’t go anymore, which is not a good idea—or you have to pay for a permit and that’s really expensive.”
“It’s not fun and at the same time we’re letting Americans come here and play for almost nothing. It’s an unbalanced relationship.”
While Torngat should have no problems at the border (they’ve wisely opted to do everything above the table and have gotten visas), crossing them is something they should get used to. After their fall jaunt through Quebec, Ontario, and New York is complete, the band is looking to tour the west coast in late November before heading out to play the Maritimes after Christmas. If all goes well, 2008 could see Torngat on a full-fledged US tour, and hitting up dates in Europe too. Just don’t miss your chance to see them here first!
Torngat play their CD release show for You Could Be Friday, September 21 at The Music Gallery (197 John Street) with Timber Timbre and Double Suicide. Doors are at 8 p.m. and tickets are $10 at Soundscapes or $12 at the door.
