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Foe jams
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“We went to high school together and did high school variety show-type music, but we both hated that shit,” says Jeffrey Addison, who with Gavin Rough makes up TMDP, one of Toronto’s most hotly tipped electronic acts. “We were like 14 or 15 when we started playing music. I was in a metal band and I didn’t like Gavin when I first met him, and I don’t think he liked me either.” “We were enemies,” Rough confirms. “We still are, kind of, but we put that aside for the music,” Addison says. It’s been almost a decade since they started working together on art-based projects (“We don’t like to tell anyone this but we both studied art in college,” says Rough), but they only began playing and making music for the clubs in the last few years. “When we realized we were both producing electronic music on the side,” says Addison, “we started planning for the day when we could afford to do what we’re doing now.” Their self-titled album, which was released last November, is an exquisite mix of disco-infused dance beats and slow jams with an almost otherworldly soulfulness. “We both have talents that complement each other,” says Addison. “I’m a horrible musician and I don’t try to cover it. Gavin, on the other hand, does all the guitar work and comes up with really brilliant things, and we try to fit that in with our love of editing.” It’s this type of collaboration, the mixing of organic instrumentation and classic electro beats, that makes TMDP such a tight, well-paced album, but don’t expect the songs on the album to be recreated in the live show. “Some people see our shows and they’re like, ‘That’s so different,’ but that’s what we want. We remix the songs live so it’s almost like a brand new tune. We really try to push the live experience.” Their last show in Montreal saw them getting down with the crowd at Blue Dog. “We played on a dancefloor—they thought we were DJs,” Addison says. “There was only room for one of us to play, so I danced,” Rough laughs. LIVE AT LE SOCIAL TONIGHT, THURSDAY, |
