Known for their ‘massive minimalism’, Montreal’s BIG|BRAVE have announced their most naked and austere record to date. As the title suggests, the concept behind OST was to make a film score for a film that had yet to be created. Last year’s A Chaos Of Flowers, “a visceral, moving, complex and gloriously heavy piece of work”, was reviewed by KLOF’s Thomas Blake:
“Listening to A Chaos Of Flowers for the first time is like stumbling across an artefact and not being sure if it’s from the past or the future or even if it was created by human hand or by some occult design. But the more attention you give it, the more human elements start to emerge. Tobin Wattie’s songwriting, for example, is heavily inspired by her reading of various female poets, and this deep understanding of the link between creativity and womanhood comes across more with every listen.”
He also noted that “for a band built on the idea of enormity, they are paradoxically prone to change”, a view that’s upheld by OST on which the band not only forgo their usual instruments of choice, guitarist Mathieu Ball built a new one, simply called “The Instrument”.
Talking about “The Instrument”, guitarist/vocalist Robin Wattie says: “The strings Mathieu used for his instrument came from a discarded piano thatch that had been laying around in the hallway of my tattoo studio for ages. It took a lot of work to get the strings off but then he made the instrument in only a few days. It blew my mind.”
The Instrument’s presence is felt throughout the record as a conductive element amplifying the album’s earthly nature, grounded nature. OST was fully written and recorded in the studio. The band was free to enter the live room and record a take with whatever instrument was at hand. The record features Wattie, Ball, drummer/percussionist Tasy Hudson, engineer/producer Seth Manchester and MJ Guider’s Melissa Guion.
Listen to their first single, innominate Nº ii, which brings the ensemble’s exploration into minimalism and textural composition into stunning focus.
Pre-Order: https://thrilljockey.com/products/ost
Leading up to and around the album’s release, BIG|BRAVE will be touring throughout Europe and the UK, including sets at FIAS Festival, Roadburn Festival, and a special “sonic faceoff set” with The Bug in London.
BIG|BRAVE tour dates
Mar. 27 – Leuven, BE – STUK ‡
Mar. 29 – Paris, FR – Main D’oeuvres ‡
Mar. 30 – Pau, FR – La Ferronnerie ‡
Mar. 31 – San Sebastian, ES – Dabadaba ‡
Apr. 2 – Barcelona, ES – Sala Vol ‡
Apr. 3 – Valencia, ES – 16 Toneladas ‡
Apr. 4 – Madrid, ES – FIAS Festival/Teatros del Canal
Apr. 5 – Braga, PT – Gnration
Apr. 6 – Lisbon, PT – ZDB ‡
Apr. 8 – Montpellier, FR – L’antirouille ‡
Apr. 9 – Grenoble, FR – Le Ciel ‡
Apr. 10 – Fribourg, CH – Fri-Son ‡
Apr. 11 – Piacenza, IT – Warmup Desert Fox Fest ‡
Apr. 12 – Innsbruck, AT – pmk ‡
Apr. 13 – Zagreb, HR – Mocvara ‡
Apr. 15 – Prague, CZ – Bike Jesus ‡
Apr. 16 – Berlin, DE – Neue Zukunft ‡
Apr. 17 – Braunschweig, DE – B58 ‡
Apr. 19 – Luxembourg, LU – OOTC Festival
Apr. 20 – Tilburg, NL – Roadburn
Apr. 22 – Cambridge, UK – The Portland Arms ‡
Apr. 23 – London, UK – The Garage – A sonic face off with The Bug
‡ w/ MJ Guider