Quebec Antique - The Abbey Tapes (2009)

You could say Quebec Antique is artistic dualism. First of all, there are 2 members, a new duo hailing from Austin, TX, though one of it's members is Canadian, and the other is British. Secondly, there is an undeniable musical experiment playing out here in the form of 'Old meets New' or 'Organic vs. Electronic.' Michael Blake (vocalist, piano, guitar) and Andy Dollerson (vocals, synths, beats) have been busy for the last year making 'The Abbey Tapes' just released in January 2009, and the sound they create is really an amalgamation. Blending organic acoustic instruments like piano, guitar, banjo, uke, toy instruments, etc., with a strictly synthetic element of synths and electronic drum programming, Quebec Antique strike a unique balance between ambient -almost drum n' bass style beats with a more palatable pop approach. While recently interviewing himself, Blake had this to say about Quebec Antique's new endeavors: 'It's like there's this void right now in electronic music, you know? You've got the conventional electronica genre over here, which tends to isolate some listeners with it's tendency towards extreme, manipulated sounds and less melodic structure, and total pop over there, with it's completely predictable formula and creative restraint boring you to death. I feel like we kind of met in the middle, taking the best of both worlds.'