In a version of the well known indie fairytale Pat Jordache, in the summer of 201, self-released Future Songs on cassette and simply posted it on his Bandcamp. The record, stripped free of collaborations and creative compromises, which draws from influences as divergent as Graceland period Paul Simon to David-Baker-era Mercury Rev, Joy Division, Scott Walker and Can, soon got rave reviews, attracted the attention of CONSTELLATION records and is poised to make Pat a certain kind of an indie rock star. The music he makes, if we were to sum it up in an awkward sentence, would be: both joyous and moody, a glorious construction of lo-fi noise with sparkling songwriting wit on top. But my description does not matter-what matters is that you for sure check it out. He is playing tonight @ Black Cat and to prepare you for the show, he sent us some notes on some of the songs, while on the road. ENJOY:
phantom limb – not like it’s the most obscure reference or anything, but in case you’ve never heard of it, this song is named after the phenomenon by which amputees can feel pain or sensations from a missing body part moving around. so yeah, i guess the song’s a slightly heavy-handed metaphor having to do with loss of a person. musically it’s a bit of a rhythmic send-out to being a kid growing up in toronto and all the drum and bass music that was going on there because were a lot of jamaican people there and their music got all mixed up in the rave music going on and that’s what came out.
gold bound - i was visiting my parents in toronto a few years back and it was a couple days after christmas and i ended up having this pretty crazy night on the town where i wound up hanging out with this famous hockey player’s girlfriend. she was sort of a social vampire and i guess i was a little lonely and busted up and vulnerable to that and somehow wound up at this after hours club owned by the chinese mafia. i guess it was pretty terrible experience, or at least an intense one. anyway, so she wouldn’t worry, i called my mom at 9 am when i walked out into the bright sunlit street, and suddenly it was quiet, and i was alone and it was just her voice on the other end of the phone, and i was telling her not to worry about me, that i had just slept over at a friend’s house. i guess i felt like such a piece of trash but then so overwhelmed by the love of this person and the deep reciprocity of that connection that i ended up writing this song about mutual care from birth until death and the beauty of that thing.
radio generation – this song was also inspired by toronto and being a kid there growing up. punk and ska music would be on the radio every monday night and it was before the days of the internet (or at least it was only compuserve back then) so the only place you could hear independent music was on shows like this one called mods and rockers run by an old punk named JC who would rant to his listenership about the politics of anti-racism, anti-sexism, anarchy and just the general ethics of that older generation. i was really impressionable and that stuff made a big impact on me, taught me about the power of music and how it could not only be this rallying point around which change could happen. i guess it sounds a little corny now, but i don’t care, i think that stuff is important and powerful and i think people need to be less embarassed about the subtle interweaving between art and politics, less embarassed to admit to or commit to believing in anything.
Catch PAT live tonight with DIAMONDS AHEAD & INSECT FACTORY @ BLACK CAT.
