Unsung Canadian dub/techno experimentalist Deadbeat a.k.a. Scott Monteith has just started a crowdfunding campaign to reissue three of his most lauded albums on vinyl. Last month he announced an Indiegogo campaign to put out a box set including remastered versions of his long-out-of-print LPs Wild Life Documentaries (2002), Something Borrowed, Something Blue (2004), and New World Observer (2005). Monteith is aiming for the reissues to arrive in time for the 10th-anniversary celebration of his third album with ~scape, and you can help him raise the necessary funds until August 26. He has decided to compile these three albums as the box set since they’re all out of print, were released through ~scape, and constitute a trilogy of sorts, having been recorded during Monteith’s fertile Montreal residence (he’s currently based in Berlin).
Monteith’s usual collaborator Stefan Betke will remaster the albums, which will be presented as a trio of double LPs, pressed on vinyl and including a handful of previously-CD-only tracks. Although the campaign is pretty much a glorified pre-sale, as is customary for these affairs, there are some sweet rewards in store if you decide to contribute. So, if you’re generous enough, Deadbeat may come to your own house, hand-deliver the box set, and even play a private gig. The three albums are streaming at Deadbeat’s SoundCloud page (embedded below), in case you haven’t heard them before or want to carefully consider the decision.
Aside from bringing some very interesting albums back to the spotlight, this is Monteith’s chance to claim his rightful place in electronic music’s recent history. These three albums are worthy experiments on melding techno, dub, and postmodern ambient music. It’s true that Deadbeat’s always had one foot firmly planted on Detroit techno classicism. But just when his music seems ready to soar into deep-techno realms, the Canadian reins it back in, making that struggle the vibrant center of most of these three albums’ tracks. Deadbeat’s also quite a bit more explicitly linked to traditional dub music than the dub-influenced post-grime-boom UK DJs, who often deny trying to make dub music “on purpose,” despite the ample evidence thereof; so expect to hear plenty of spectral echoes and deep-vacuum drops here. Monteith rounds everything out with an elegant minimalism that was quite in fashion back in the early-to-mid-2000s, but has fortunately aged quite well.
The crowdfunding campaign is open now, until August 26. The exact date for the box set’s release is, naturally, yet to come. You can chip in here.
• Deadbeat: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Deadbeat-Music/130901630273506
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