Taking You On His Travels
Now on his third album, French Canadian Antoine Bedard, a.k.a Montag is setting his sights on a new direction, one that if his latest album’s title is anything to go by is ‘Going Places’. Venturing in a new direction the Montreal resident has even broken with his solo tradition, roping in the help of some friends to give the album a truly international vibe and one that sees virtually every track featuring some form of collaboration. But forget any notion of this being anything but Montag’s work, still very much in charge ‘Going Places’ oozes his distinctive electro pop enthusiasm with the added bonus of guest spots to give the feeling that this album is truly travelling in its own direction. Add to this Montag’s new appreciation of vintage instruments that give a classical touch to his electro beats and suddenly this is an album for electro fans to get enthralled by.
Bold, brave and original, title track ‘Going Places’ opens proceedings with ‘I Have Sound’ featuring Anthony Gonzales of M83, a track that skips merrily around in way of introduction before ‘Best Boy Electric’ makes its exciting entrance. From tracks that fizz and fuzz fancifully with the funk of 60s French pop to those that weave a multi-layered texture of landscapes for your ears to wander through, Montag’s latest effort inspires and entertains relentlessly. With his lyrical input kept to a minimum, Montag has managed to simply twirl harmonies around his work allowing the vocals of his guests to bring the track to life but forever retaining a firm grip of dominance throughout each track with perhaps the firmest grip being on the closing number. With perhaps the greatest number of collaborators to ever grace an electro track, ‘Going Places’ boasts a grand total of 70 featured artists all from 15 different countries, making this a track that really is going places. With the desire to capture new sounds and the essence of travel and internationalism, Montag firstly posted an open call for clips online titled “We Have Sound Cyber Collaboration Project” resulting in this opening track and although the clips may have been condensed somewhat there is still the feeling of travel residing throughout and fittingly closing his third album.
Radiating an upbeat optimism than seems lacking from artists like Air but without the sometimes over played lyrical content of Belle and Sebastian, Montag has created a collection of songs that charmingly take you on a voyage oozing a simplicity and grace that is both refreshing and beautiful. With harmonies sweeping Montag’s straightforward poetic lyrics up snugly, ‘Going Places’ is an album that takes the pressure and chore out of electro, allowing it to simply wash over gently and in time. A treat for all electro fans throughout the world.