Listen to the sounds of silence — pop-electronic maestro Montag hears music everywhere

“As for the route of my record,” muses Antoine Bedard, the man behind the sounds of Montag, “I think it was all very instinctive. I wanted a record that was more pop just because it felt right at the time. I was happier than ever, and because my music is quite personal, I knew I would end up transposing my happiness in the music. And I really did, I think.”

Musical happiness describes Montag’s gorgeous and saccharine pop record perfectly. Last fall’s Going Places is filled with songs that twist and turn through different pop panoramas, trading sweltering, intense ’60s psychedelia with all things pleasant and twee in jubilant unison. This combination of ethereality and intensity creates a record that is, pardon the overdone cliché, a real trip. Organic samples meander through lean keyboard lines that flirt with whimsical melodies, aided by Bedard’s sweet, high-pitched voice. This is beautiful stuff, akin to The Russian Futurists or Caribou, if a little bit sweeter. “This message, the one I approach with my music, is so simple,” explains Bedard. “Be yourself and enjoy what you do. That is how I write and look at life, and consequently, everything comes off in a personal way that is sometimes a bit hermetic.”

Going Places is arguably Montag’s best and certainly most acclaimed record, and Bedard has travelled extensively in support of it, taking his keyboards and samples on a musical trip spanning Japan, Europe and North America. This, according to Bedard, is his greatest triumph, as he did it all alone, mixing, looping and overdubbing pre-recorded samples while playing guitar and keyboards overtop. “It has been amazing to present my music and reach people who are geographically so distant from one another,” says Bedard. “To me, playing a show in Kyoto is the equivalent of winning a million dollars on the lottery. The trips that I have gotten to do is, far and wide, the best reward I could have expected for making this or any other record for that matter. I hope that it continues that way.”

If anything will keep it going, it’s Bedard’s enthusiasm for live performance. As his music’s grown more upbeat, so have the concerts.

“Onstage, it's a one-man show and I'm pretty busy. I have learned to enjoy the busyness of playing live a lot more than I used to,” he says. “I used to play more ambient stuff live, but now that some of the songs are a bit bouncy and fun, I actually get into it with a lot more enthusiasm. Otherwise, I feel like we could just press play on the CD and all have a drink instead.”