| Plaster | |
| Background: | group_or_band |
| Origin: | Montreal, Quebec, Canada |
| Genre: | Electronica, acid jazz, trip hop, electronic rock, minimal techno, nu jazz |
| Years Active: | –present |
| Associated Acts: | Afrodizz, Beast, Deweare, Le Golden |
| Current Members: | Jean-Philippe Goncalves Alex McMahon François Plante |
Plaster is a Canadian electro-jazz/electro-rock band formed in 2001 in Montreal. Their sound has been compared to such artists as Amon Tobin, Kruder & Dorfmeister and Medeski Martin & Wood.[1] [2] The trio's debut album, First Aid Kit, was released on Nov 10, 2005 and won the ADISQ award for Best Electronic or Techno Album in 2006.[3]
Keyboardist Alex McMahon and percussionist Jean-Philippe Goncalves (also of Afrodizz and Beast) met while attending the Cégep de Drummondville.[4] The pair formed Plaster in 2001 and were joined by bassist François Plante (also of Afrodizz) a year later.[1] [2] [5]
The trio's name is derived from a slang term in Québécois for an adhesive bandage[2] and its sound has been described as a mixture of electro-jazz, funk, and drum and bass[1] [2] [6] (however Goncalves has stated in an interview that he finds the term "electro-jazz" to be somewhat pejorative and described their sound as "electro-chunky-jam".)[4] Their sound is at times atmospheric, much like movie soundtracks; in a 2005 interview with the Montreal Gazette, McMahon stated that Plaster was interested in composing a movie score, but the band was still waiting on proposal.[1] [2] [6] Their live performances are improvisational and have been described as having the energy of a rock show.[1] [2] As per Plaster's biography from its official press kit, the band's sound is inspired by the music of Amon Tobin, The Herbaliser, Jazzanova, The Cinematic Orchestra, and Medeski Martin & Wood.[5]
Plaster's debut album First Aid Kit was released on November 10, 2005.[1] The album was originally to be released on the London label Ninja Tune, but due to frustration with the label's push-back of the release date they decided instead to sign with local label La Tribu.[7] The First Aid Kit release party, held at Montreal nightclub La Tulipe, was a great success; much to their own surprise the band opened to a capacity crowd and sold all the CDs they had on hand that night.[2] In 2006 First Aid Kit went on to win the ADISQ award for Best Electronic or Techo Album.[3]
In 2005, the band also collaborated with Lauryn Hill; Hill was in Montreal looking for collaborators for a new project she was developing. Goncalves was invited to audition for her and to demonstrate his programming expertise. He returned the next day for another session when a producer in attendance mentioned that Goncalves also played drums. Goncalves advised Hill that he was a member of a band and an hour later he was joined by his Plaster bandmates.[2] During an interview with the Montreal Gazette Goncalves said of the experience: "We recorded until 6 in the morning, and then she left for New York City." "It was 12 intense hours with la reine de R&B soul (the queen of R&B soul)," said McMahon. The pair were however would not elaborate much more on the collaboration. "We had a lot of fun with her, but it's a delicate topic. I don't know what to say. It was nice," said Goncalves.[2]
In 2011, the band returned to the studio to work on their second album.[8] In an interview with La Presse Goncalves stated that whereas Plaster's first album could be described as electro-jazz, their second album could be described as electro-rock.[8] Titled Let It All Out, the album was released on May 15, 2012 and debuted at number 43 in Canada.[9] [10]