What inspired you to start a label?

It was conceived as a vanity label in 2008 with a partner I was collaborating with at the time, who actually titled the label. It was suggested by a peer that we began documenting our releases to enhance professionalism. We had no intentions of channeling anything other than our own material. As our group was disbanding a personal desire to continue the archive still existed. My friends are all making extremely good music and I can’t suppress supporting it materialize.

Since Pig split, you’ve devoted much of your attention to Electric Voice. Are you taking a break from music or do you prefer running label?

I wasn’t really interested in performing or releasing my own music at the time, but I wanted to keep contributing to the physical production of it. I hold a strong value in the aesthetic of sound and its presentation, and the idea of being able to manipulate it is appealing to me. About a year ago I started receiving funding from the Government of Nova Scotia via the Emerging Business Music Program on behalf of Electric Voice. That defiantly provided me with a lot of motivation to get the label off the ground and start working outside the current community in Halifax and Montreal. Though I am becoming passionate about the label, I am a musician first and still focus on writing and recording with aspirations of touring the material. Putting a lot of energy into the label in turn benefits my musical endeavors.

Transfixed is quite a departure from your previous musical adventures. How is it related/un-related to other projects?

The formation of Transfixed was completely organic. It is a collaborative project between myself, Ian Phillips and a number of rotating musicians. We had no intentions of forming a group when we first started playing together, but when we discovered that the house we had been jamming in was previously owned by Ian’s grandparents in the early ’60s, and that his grandfather grew up in the house, we decided to channel our time spent there with Transfixed. It has become an interesting and rapidly progressing project that there’s no reason to stop. Our ideas are constantly abstracting themselves and moving faster than we create the music. It’s exciting and with the lack of expectation we have become more prolific than any other project I’ve been involved with.

With my other projects/collaborations there has been a lot more premeditation on the sounds and how they should be presented. It becomes tough when a collective of people share the same visions without matching the logistics. The extrasensory parts of music can be difficult to communicate. I also work with Troy Richter and the Friendly Dimension in molding his sounds.

Synthesizers or guitars?

Guitars that sound like synthesizers. I think the combination can be a masterful force when properly conducted. I am ultimately a guitar player, but I’ve been spending a lot of time learning the keyboard. For the last few months I’ve hardly touched my guitar.

You hitchhike between Truro and Halifax. It seems like hitchhiking is a fading activity. Do you enjoy it, and do you have any good stories? Have you met some interesting people? Where is the farthest you’ve hitched?

It’s never really been something I enjoyed, but it’s done out of necessity. When I cannot afford to be bussing back and forth, it’s usually my only means to get to practices/gatherings, as all of the bands I play in are based in Halifax. I live back and forth from Halifax and Truro, which are about an hour’s drive apart. Truro is very isolated and is a great environment to work in, though can be compromising with my schedule.

I’ve only been hitching through Nova Scotia and Newfoundland for the last five years. I’ve been consistently traveling this way and have never encountered any trouble. Dress nice with a clean appearance. A lot of mothers have picked me up, also on- and off-duty police officers. The only questionable encounter was a lady who spoke in a thick rural Nova Scotian tongue. She picked my friend and I up in the dark and was drinking Faxe 10 (strong beer). She had what looked like 3-4 empty cans on the floor of her side of the car. It was a little unsetting but she was considerably collected and coherent. She had a bizarre way of twisting her words together that was oddly poetic.

You seem like an ambitious young man. What are your dreams for the Electric Voice Label?

I don’t class my visions with the label as dreams, because I don’t think they are anything we can’t achieve. The people I surround myself with are individually gifted at what they do. Thankfully all of the resources are presented, making it simple to have a pragmatic sense of work. I certainly am young; therefore I am not looking to execute the foundation process in short time. I will keep experimenting with formats and presentation, and try not to exhaust our resources. In time I will spend time refining the label and as expected with any small business or hobby, sustainability is key.

What other labels do you find inspiring and/or really dig and why?

To those who know me this may sound biased because Brett is a good friend, but I really like what he has done with Campaign For Infinity. He has released some of my favourite cassettes in the last few years (notable: Teenage Panzerkorps, Horrid Red, Grand Trine, Rape Faction). I also have a lot of respect for Darcy Spidle and Divorce Records, as it was a prominent influence of my origins in the community of Halifax. He is really passionate about what he does and it shows in his work. OBEY Convention is a festival he puts on every year or so and is the highlight of the year in Halifax, in my opinion. I am happy to be helping him with the festival in 2012.

I have some collaborative release coming out with Danish label Skrot Up as well as works with Montreal’s Hobo Cult. Some other notable active labels: Bruised Tongue, Captured Tracks, Dark Entries Records, FLA Tapes & Records and Arbutus Records. I also really dig the consistency in the aesthetic of labels like Sacred Bones and Night People.

Electric Voice Discography (to date)

• EV001
• ::
• Albino Slug II
• –
• EP
• (Cassette, 2008)

• EV002
• ::
• Pig
• –
• Everything Isn’t EP
• (CD-R, 2009)

• EV003
• ::
• Vacuum
• –
• Tormented Bear EP
• (Cassette, 2009)

• EV004
• ::
• Pig
• –
• Elbow Witch
• (Cassette, 2009)

• EV005
• ::
• Church Hammer
• –
• Vol. I
• (Cassette, 2010)

• EV006
• ::
• Church Hammer
• –
• Vol. II
• (Cassette, 2010)

• EV007
• ::
• Church Hammer/Vacuum
• –
• Split
• (Cassette, 2010)

• EV008
• ::
• Pig
• –
• I’ve seen the future and it’s no place for me Compilation
• (Cassette, 2010)

• EV009
• ::
• Various Artists
• Electric Voice Compilation Vol I
• (Cassette, 2010)

• EV010
• ::
• Milksnake
• –
• EP
• (Cassette, 2010)

• EV011
• ::
• Friendly Dimension
• –
• Live: In the Pleasant Horrors of Space EP
• (Cass., 2010)

• EV012
• ::
• Lantern
• –
• Deliver me from Nowhere
• (Cassette, 2010)

• EV013
• ::
• Gigas
• –
• Tied Down to the Ones You Love LP
• (Cassette, 2010)

• EV014
• ::
• Friendly Dimension
• –
• Bath Tub EP
• (Cassette, 2011)

• EV015
• ::
• Duzheknew
• –
• LOL HELL EP
• (Cancelled)

• EV016
• ::
• Wicked Crafts
• –
• “No Cure” EP
• (Cass. (split w/ Campaign for Infinity, 2011)

• EV017
• ::
• U.S. Girls
• –
• EP
• (7″, 2011)

• EV018
• ::
• The Friendly Dimension // 30 Year Old City Hex
• –
• “Poltergeist City”
• (Cass., 2011)

• EV019
• ::
• Babysitter
• –
• “Paul’s Cab” Single
• (Cassette, 2011)

• EV020
• ::
• Monroeville Music Center
• –
• Les Defauts des Fabrication EP
• (Cassette, 2011)

• EV021
• ::
• Milksnake
• –
• Lenny Bruce EP
• (Cassette, 2011)

• EV022
• ::
• Membrain
• –
• EP
• (Cassette, 2011)

• EV023
• ::
• Lantern // The Ether
• –
• Split
• (Cassette, 2011)

• EV024
• ::
• Play Guitar
• –
• Single
• (Cassette, split release w/ Craft Singles, 2011)

• EV025
• ::
• Grand Trine
• –
• Single
• (Cassette, split release w/ Craft Singles, 2011)

• EV026
• ::
• Bad Vibrations
• –
• Single
• (Cassette, split release w/ Craft Singles, 2011)

• EV027
• ::
• Transfixed
• –
• Single
• (Cassette, split release w/ Craft Singles, 2011)

• EV028
• ::
• Crosss
• –
• Single
• (Cassette, split release w/ Craft Singles, 2011)

• EV029
• ::
• Bloodhouse
• –
• Single
• (Cassette, split release w/ Craft Singles, 2011)

• EV030
• ::
• Hand Cream // Crosss
• –
• Split
• (Cassette, 2011)

• EV031
• ::
• Passion Party
• –
• EP
• (Cassette, 2011)

• EV032
• ::
• Cat Bag // Transfixed
• –
• Bunker // Body Language
• (12″ w/ Claire Dragon, 2011)

• EV033
• ::
• Rape Faction // Chevalier Avant Garde
• –
• Split
• (Cassette, 2011)

• EV034
• ::
• Various Artists
• Electric Voice Compilation Vol. II
• (12″ Cassette, 2011)

• EV035
• ::
• Jeff & Jane Hudson
• –
• In My Car // Computer Jungle (+ Club mixes)
• (12″, 2011)

• EV036
• ::
• Visual works by Jacqueline Lachance
• (VHS, 2012)