TDA

Montreal’s Samuel Gougoux recently released his debut solo album as TDA, a collection of dark, industrial no wave inspired compositions called Ascète. The multi-instrumentalist, who’s known for his contributions to great Francophone acts like Corridor and Victime, really took the opportunity to experiment with some very different sounding music, and he definitely excels at capturing the spirit of something quite sinister. He makes use of thudding beats and gloomy rhythmic undercurrents across Ascète’s nine tracks, and even works in some unconventional analog sounds that he captured with field recorders while wandering through the forests of his rural Quebec hometown at night. The songs are not for the faint of heart, and without a doubt, his eerie minimalist compositions will leave an impression on anyone who listens. I highly recommend that you do, especially if the events last year have left you feeling disillusioned.

We recently caught up with Gougoux to chat about the album, his inspirational adventures in the woods, and more:

I read in another interview that your writing style for this project is very hermetic. Do you think you would have made this record if the pandemic hadn’t happened? 

Prior to this year, I worked with groups of people every time I would be involved in a release. For this one, I wanted to see where it could lead me to work on an album all by myself. The pandemic allowed me to take my time for this process. Doing most of the recording and mixing alone is quite long, but a big part of my life was on hold. I got a chance to leave Montreal to go work in my hometown. It did help in that sense, too. 

What was the writing process for this album like? It’s really a devastatingly dark and eerie-sounding record. Were the songs reflective of the setting/mindset you were in when you wrote them? 

Well, I was in a place of reflection and introspection for sure at the time I recorded this album. I think I’d say that half of this mood is influenced by my appreciation for somber work in general. Some aspects of the album come strictly from aesthetic ideas and explorations. The other half of these ambiances comes from a more personal place that I rarely get to exploit in the other projects I’m involved with.

Tell us a little bit about the inspiration behind these songs. How’d they come together and what sound were you going for? Who are some of your inspirations sonically?

The inspirations for this record come from many places. At first, being isolated in a rural area made me think about these places with a new eye. It was very inspiring for me to think about human life outside big cities, mainly from a historic point of view. I was interested in the sounds of nature, but I was also interested in the sounds the of manual work. From a music perspective, I have to admit that I had been listening to a lot of This Heat at the time of recording this album. I feel like this band was truly visionary and there is much to learn from their work.

I know you had mentioned that some of the very early inspirations came to you while on tour with Corridor. What in particular captured your attention while you were on the road?

I think that playing shows with another project can be stimulating in the sense of wondering what it would be like to tour your own music. It’s interesting to have access to some great shows and audiences, and it allows you to learn a lot. Touring with Corridor has been inspiring in that sense. Also, the long drives allowed me free time to dig into some music / films that I hadn’t listened to before.

Both Victime and Corridor, the other bands that you’re in, sound very different from this project. When did you first become interested in exploring this kind of dark, industrial sound?

With Victime, we’ve always been experimenting with harsher sounds, even if it’s not totally on the industrial side. We’re definitely flirting with no wave references, as well as post-punk and noise rock, so this rougher side of music is something that I am familiar with from that band. I think that my interest for industrial music specifically appeared a bit later and on my own. But I’ve always known that I was interested in art that proposed ambiances and reflections that could be a bit unsettling at times.

You also explored the woodlands of your hometown of Bas-St-Laurent, Quebec at night to draw inspiration for these songs, and you also documented it aurally and visually. What made you want to explore these settings and how do you think it translated into your music? 

My interest for exploring nature at night came from wanting to revisit old fears from my childhood, specifically in the woods surrounding my family’s house. Also, at the time I was recording the album, I spent a bit of time renovating a hunting cottage with my uncle. I would spend some nights sleeping in a small cabin in the woods since it was closer to the camp. This was definitely a great way to get in contact with these old thoughts. In the end, I found more calm and quietness in these places. But still, the duality between calm and fear is interesting, I think it’s something we can hear on the album.

I know you had also mentioned that these were places that you explored as a child. What memories do you have of that and how did it compare to revisiting it now? 

Childhood is such a period of hypersensitivity in the sense that everything is always new for us at this time. I think that coming back to a place does bring back some feelings and perceptions that we left there before. Being there again revived some sensibilities to my surroundings. It was interesting to be in touch with these as an adult and with the possibility to put my perceptions to music.

How were you able to translate these settings into your music?

I used a lot of field recordings in my work. I was inspired by some specific elements from my surroundings. I tried to translate them to music through the sound equivalent that represented them. For example, I got very interested in the sculptural aspect of branches, moving and seeming to entangle themselves in the wind. I tried to capture these movements in some aspects of my rhythmic approach. I think that we can perceive this intention in the song “Au Puits.” 

“Presence” is a really powerful track. You described it as “the portrait of a well-presented table” and “[a] reminder of the effort that evaporates into pleasure.” What’d you mean by that and what message were you trying to convey through the song?

Thank you! I’d say that this song depicts newness coming to life. The idea of accepting to lose something before finding something else, as well as the patience related to this idea. To me, “Présence” is more of an illustration than a message, but it’s a song to remind of fragility and adaptation.

I love the cover of the record. Who took the photo and why’d you decide to make it the cover? Is there a story behind it?

The cover art is a photo made by Dylan Hausthor. It was very important for me to find a cover that would represent what I wanted to express with the music. One of the reasons why Dylan’s work interests me is that I feel like we have a similar approach in our artistic practice. It looks like he involves himself deeply in his work and the places he is documenting. His main subject revolves around rural life. He is documenting it through a somewhat eerie approach, which I do as well with my music. So, it felt like a good fit for the cover art :-)

For those of us who don’t speak French, tell us a little bit about some of the lyrical themes that you explore on this album?

I’d say that mainly the lyrics revolve around themes of intuition, personal mystics and restriction. The way these themes are worded in the music is consciously vague. I think it gives space for freedom of interpretation. Even if it’s a very personal album, I’d love people who listen to it to be able to appropriate the music in a way that is proper to themselves. The lyrics are accessible on the Bandcamp page of the album, so there are no secrets about it. But speaking in images allows me to share the subjects in a way that allow more space for personal reflections.

What’d next for TDA? Do you envision playing these songs in the live setting?

So far, we played one show last summer as a band. It was in a very interesting settings: an outside show under a concrete structure near the Saint-Laurent River. So, there is a live version already existing. I’d say it feels louder and more energetic than the record. For this live performances, I am accompanied by Simon Provencher (VICTIME), Mathieu Arsenault (Seulement) and Élise Paradis. 

Who are some Montreal/Quebec-based bands that you’d recommend to our readers?

FET.NAT, Kee Avil, Simon Provencher, Chabanel, CRABE, Seulement, N NAO, Lune Très Belle, Punctï.

Ascète is out now via Michel Records. You can purchase a copy on vinyl via Bandcamp. The album is also available on all streaming platforms. Keep up with TDA by following them on Instagram.