deadbeat

Like most things in life, this story is not a straight-forward one-but it's all the more interesting for it.



Born in 1978 in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada ("a small, dull town supposedly great for retirement or raising children, but hell on earth to be a teenager in"), Scott Frederick Monteith aka Deadbeat can look back on a wildly varied musical history.



The son of a Reiki therapist and a United Church minister, Scott's first active musical experience was, aptly enough, singing in a church choir. After an excursion into some ill-advised acid rock basement jamming in his early teens, he soon discovered the industrial delights of Throbbing Gristle, Skinny Puppy, and Front 242. He also frequently snuck off to Toronto to go to weekend raves, where he eventually met (future collaborators and long time friends) Mike Shannon and Jeff Milligan. Following a "musical awakening during a DJ set around '94 or '95 made up almost entirely of Basic Channel and Maurizio records", Scott began to DJ himself, focusing mostly on ambient tracks and dubby techno. Shortly after turning 18, Scott moved to Montreal in search of a "fresh start."



One of Scott's first roommates turned out to hate electronic music. In an effort to stop the constant deluge of drum'n'bass and techno thumping from Scott's room, the reggae fan took it upon himself to introduce Scott to the classic roots, ska, and dub that he's been obsessed with ever since. Always one to adapt to his surroundings, Scott soon became an integral part of Montreal's burgeoning music scene, which included Akufen and Tim Hecker. Scott organized a string of parties with another of his roommates, Steve Beaupre (now his collaborator in Crackhaus) under the name Covert Ops, which attracted the originators of the soon-to-be-realized Mutek Festival (notably, Alain Mongeau, Eric Mattson, and Vincent Lemieux).



Between 1999 and 2003 Scott also worked for Montreal-based music software company Applied Acoustics Systems (AAS), and there deepened his technical understanding of synthesis and sound design.



Although he spends time building new instruments (using AAS' Tassman as well as Native Instruments' Reaktor), Scott's work is by no means determined by technical process alone: "A sound can be interesting and exciting on its own from a technical or aesthetic perspective but if that's all there is, it quickly becomes boring to listen to. As time goes on, I'm increasingly concerned with creating sound that is really mine rather than just something new." He is also a strong advocate of computer-based production. " I don't use any hardware other than MIDI controllers and I don't think I ever will."



A prolific composer and sought-after performer, Scott's tracks (as Deadbeat and as Crackhaus) have appeared on a huge range of labels and compilations. After his debut album on Intr_version (an "investigation of dub on the cellular level") and a string of 12-inches, the 2002 long-player "Wildlife Documentaries" on ~scape reinvented the aural trademarks of dub in an almost cinematic framework.



"Because so much of my music is heavily influenced by black musical traditions, I often struggle with finding the right line between expressing a genuine love and respect through reinterpretation, and falling into a trap of empty nostalgic reference (and cultural appropriation)." With his 2003 album "Something Borrowed, Something Blue", a soundtrack to the months preceding his wedding, Scott has proven that this is not a trap he is likely to fall into.



A master of blurred boundaries, Scott's internationally-lauded, irreverent approach to deconstructing genres and mixing musical metaphors continues to shimmer with subtle ingenuity. Allowing his stories to unravel with teasing languor, he urges us to accompany his inimitable set of characters on their mesmeric quest through an ever thickening plot - a story to be continued.



Discography



July 2000 - Hautec (CA) - Cesium Beam -12"
October 2000 - Revolver(CA)- Untitled -12"
November 2000 - Intr_version(CA)- Comp. - With Naïve Assurance...- track - Op.ticks - CD
April 2001 - Background Records(DE)- Tinkertronix - 12"
June 2001 - Intr_version(CA) - Primordia - CD January 2002 - Force Inc(DE) - Montreal Smoked Meat - Comp. - Pocket Dwellers - CD + 2x12"
February 2002 - Oral(CA) - Volt AA 2 - Comp. - Grid - CD
May 2002 - Scape(DE) - staedtizism 3 -Comp. - Right as Rain - CD + 2x12"
May 2002 - Mutek(CA) - Mutek 2002 - Comp - Farewell Queen Mum (Mutek Edit) -CD
September 2002 - Revolver(CA) - Miso - 12"
December 2002 - Scape(DE) - Wild Life Documentaries - CD + 2X12"
January 2003 - Cynosure(CA) - Saying Nothing - 12"
February 2003 - Klitekture(ES) - Disaster in the Dancehall - 12"
July 2003 - Scape(DE) - staedtizism 4 - Comp. - Fun..k? - CD +2X12"
September 2003 - BSI Records(US) - Systemwide Remixes - Deadbeat remixes Reclame - CD
March 2004 - Scape(DE) - something borrowed, something blue - CD + 2X12"



As Crackhaus (with S. Beaupre)



January 2002 - Force Inc(DE)- Montreal Smoked Meat - Comp. - track - 40 Oz Funk - CD + 2x12"
April 2002 - Force Inc(DE)- Akufen 's Deck the House - Crack Haus Remix-12"
October 2003 - Onitour(DE) - Crackhaus - It's a Crackhaus thing - CD+2x12"
November 2003 - Musique Risquée(CA) - Crackhaus - Blame Canada - 12"




Film / DVD / Web




January 2002 - Shadow Riders - Gaspargo Productions(CA) - selected works, soundtrack
July 2002 - Epsilon Lab DVD - w/ visuals by Cinetek
November 2002 - FCMM website (CA) - main page soundtrack