\u201cSo, this is where the magic happens,\u201d says a clean-bearded man opening up some warehouse doors. He is David Palumbo, bassist\/vocalist for Montreal\u2019s experimental post-rock group, Atsuko Chiba. We walk down a short hallway with Karim Lakhdar (the lead vocalist\/ and a guitar\/synth player of Atsuko Chiba) and Mothland label co-founder, Philippe Larocque, towards another set of doors. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
As they open, a vast studio space comes into our vision\u2014filled with guitars, amps, mixers, microphones, a drum set, notebooks (probably full of song ideas), and a rack with two newer band t-shirt designs. This is Room 11, the second home of Atsuko Chiba members, where they rehearse, experiment, and create some of the most thought-provoking music to come out of Eastern Canada. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Their latest album, Water, It Feels Like It\u2019s Growing <\/em>has been making waves on North American radio, including landing a spot on the NACC Top 5 College Radio charts. It feels like this twisting experimental rock chimera of a band is finally getting the recognition they deserve. Though, they never got into this to grab recognition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI agree that Water<\/em> is our most accessible album,\u201d says guitarist Kevin McDonald, at a Mothland party weeks prior. \u201cBut we definitely know that we are a niche band.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n There are a few tour posters and a pile of road cases shaped like an \u201cL\u201d on the floor of Room 11 and I count close to 25 cases of gear. You see, in a few minutes we will be piling into the band tour van, on our way to Atsuko Chiba\u2019s next gig in Quebec City, for the Le Phoque Off festival. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt\u2019s pretty insane that we are taking this much gear for a 25 minute set, but hey, that\u2019s part of the Atusko lifestyle,\u201d says drummer and projectionist, Anthony Piazza, who the band commonly refers to as \u201cPia.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The drive is a quick one and I hear a few tour stories from their time hopping between the States, like the one about Atsuko members meeting two \u201creally high guys\u201d and being invited into their apartment to make dinner. As we listen to The Rolling Stones, I also learn about \u201cThe Room,\u201d an inside joke when the band members metaphorically make characters they\u2019ve met on tour meet. It\u2019s surreal and satirical, but an excellent way to kill a few hours on the road. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Atsuko Chiba uses projections when they play live, like many psychedelic music groups, but the difference is they program and sequence them live as well. Pia, Palumbo, and guitar\/synth player, Eric Schafhauser all trigger the visuals and lights. It\u2019s really a wonder to see live. Each member has to be so in tune with one another as there\u2019s about a million different sounds consuming the room during a song like \u201cLink.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n At one point during the Le Phoque Off show, McDonald\u2019s guitar cuts out during a transitory interlude. I think to myself, \u201cThis is it, they have to restart,\u201d and interrupt the soundscape. But no. They all motion to one another to extend a certain noisy instrumental, making the transition seamless. Of course, this band has been around for a decade at least. And with this much gear to set up and play with, they\u2019ve run into about every problem in the book and know how to keep the intensity going.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n