BATABEAT

Batabeat biography
BATABEAT is a Québécois Art Rock ensemble masterminded by multi-instrumentalist Guillaume SOUCY, a graduate in classical music and veteran of the Montreal music scene. The band is really a loose collective of musicians that varies from project to project although it usually involves a core group comprising native American shredder Conrad SIMON, world music drummer Evelyne LANGE, and arts graduate Marc COUTURIER, who provides computer-assisted sound atmospheres. Under the direction of SOUCY they proffer mainly instrumental sonic landscapes of free improvised live music grounded in SOUCY's prepared soundscape pieces.

2012 witnessed the release of both of their existing albums. The first of these ''Le Projet Senécal'' was inspired by the work of writer Patrick Senécal and each of the eleven tracks on the album took its inspiration from one of his horror novels (plus one web series). The music is largely beyond description, although its dark, demonic and at times violent mood matches Senécal's themes of revenge, torture, self-destruction and insanity. The second album ''Projet Richard Desjardins'' is a tribute to the folk singer, film director and environmental activist of the title. It's a much shorter work involving a larger group of personnel, with additional wind and string musicians steering the sound towards an avant-garde Neo-classical chamber music style. Sombre, reflective and impulsive by turns, the album speaks of the issues of deforestation and social injustice also addressed by Desjardins.

The official BATABEAT site includes a gallery of paintings that complement the music, and both albums are available to download/stream from the group's bandcamp. Highly recommended to fans of dark Eclectic Prog.

- seventhsojourn