Nadja - Thaumoradiance / Desire in Uneasiness / The Bungled & the Botched [2008]

Canadian band Nadja played at the well-known Roadburn festival recently. I was not able to see them there, but fortunately founder Aidan Baker found some time to answer a few questions, while on the road between shows in eastern Canada. We were curious what it was like to work with a real drummer instead of a drumcomputer, and how to describe Nadja’s music the best.

You recently released a new album, ‘Desire In Uneasiness’, the first to be recorded with a live drummer. Is this a unique project, or will Nadja be a trio from now on?
This was a unique project, yes, but that doesn’t mean we might not be a trio at some point…

What made you decide to work with a drummer for this record?
We wanted to try something different, something with a more organic feel that’s difficult to capture with electronic drums.

You worked with Jakob Thiesen on this record. I read that the two of you have collaborated before in Whisper Room. Still, I think not many people will know who he is, can you tell us a bit about him?
I have performed with Jakob many times, both as a duo and with our trio Whisper Room – we have a collaborative record recently released on Waterscape Records called ‘A Bout de Souffle’. He has played drums with a few other groups, as well as recording more electronic/techno-based music under his own name. (Aidan at this point refers to Jakob's page from Discogs, which may give some more info on his work.

Does this mean that you will now do Nadja-shows with him?
Probably not, but it’s always a possibility.

It seems that using a drum computer has not prevented you from making music that has a very improvised feel. It does make it a bit harder to just try things in the studio. Can you tell us how a Nadja recording session used to be, and if it was different with a real drummer?
When we recorded with Jakob, we improvised/jammed and then took the recordings and edited and re-worked them, essentially building the songs that ended up on the album from the improvised raw material. Other albums have been recorded similarly, although we generally start with a very basic drumtrack and chord progression and then improvise over top of that, adding layers and textures until the song is ‘finished’.

source

The Bungled & the Botched [2008]

Desire in Uneasiness [2008] (part1/part2)

Thaumoradiance [2008]

nadja - roadburn 2008

Aidan Baker & Tim Hecker - Fantasma Parastasie [2008]

Fantasma Parastasie sees the pairing of Aidan Baker, of the Ambient Doom band Nadja, and Tim Hecker, two of Canada’s brightest musicians in the world of abstract electronic music.

Tim Hecker has been enjoying the rewards of a stellar career and discography, devoid of filler, due to his incredibly high quality control. His most recent full-length, Harmony in Ultra Violet, was viewed as a major release in the genre of experimental electronic music. Aidan Baker, on the other hand, works under very different circumstances, releasing material both as a solo artist and as a member of the duo Nadja. His prolificacy is on par with that of Merzbow and the late Muslimgauze. Thankfully, Aidan Baker is one of those musicians with the ability to record and write new music quickly and without sacrificing the quality of his art. Anyone familiar with both Aidan Baker and Tim Hecker is more than likely familiar with Alien8 Recordings as the two musicians have collectively released seven records for our label thus far. While Baker has collaborated with the likes of John Duncan, Black Boned Angel and Fear Falls Burning, among others, this marks the first collaboration to be released by Hecker.

This release, divided in eight movements, blends together to form a fluid example of a collaboration that works. Unlike those collaborations where artists throw some sound files back and forth via the internet, this release is the fruit of various real-time recording and mixing sessions the two artists worked on at Tim Hecker’s Montreal studio. The pieces on the record blend seamlessly into one another creating a deeper listening experience, as is the case on a number of Tim Hecker’s solo outings. While Baker and Hecker share a penchant for creating a powerful blend of ambient noise, “Fantasma Parastasie” finds the more dissonant elements tempered by an emphasis on ambience and even occasional melody.

This release is available on CD in a digipak packaging. A 500 copy, limited edition on white vinyl is also available. Both items can be pre-ordered in order to reserve copies.

Release date: October 14, 2008

Label: Alien8 Recordings

Fantasma Parastasie [2008]

aidan baker - june 13th 2008