Deadbeat's Latest Album "Walls & Dimensions" is Spurred by Personal Loss

The birthing process of Deadbeat's latest album, Walls & Dimensions, has been an extremely somber one. "The album began at the end of last year. My wife is from Chile, and since my daughter has been old enough to fly, we've done our best to go down and spend several of the summer months there," he says. "Last year, we decided to lengthen that for as long as we possibly could. I had been touring quite extensively and came to the conclusion that it didn't make financial sense for me to be paying for my studio when I was going to be away so much. I let the studio go and decided to return to my roots as somebody who started making music on the computer," he says.

Using headphones and a tape recorder, Deadbeat, aka Scott Monteith, began spending an hour at the beginning of each day working on music, a routine that his wife and family affectionately refer to as "The Daily Drone". "This constitution took on an entirely more serious role for me emotionally just before Christmas, when my wife's father was hit by a car on his bike and died quite suddenly," Monteith recounts. His entire musical focus was altered by the tragedy. "What began as a nerdy exercise became the sole moment of the day when I was totally alone and able to process feelings. That was the root of where the album came from. Shortly afterwards, the booking agency I'd been working with for the past couple of years terminated our relationship under very vague circumstances. This lead to a questioning of not only myself but the industry I was involved in," he says.

is a testament to Deadbeat's will through this trying time. With eight tracks of minimal, dub-laden electronica and guest vocal contributions from Elif Bicer, Fink, and Delhia de France, as well as cello performances by Maarten Vos, the Canadian producer's latest release has an alluring depth to it. Monteith will release it through his own label, BLKRTZ, on November 20. "I started BLKRTZ because the label I had been working with for album releases went out of business. As I tend to want to work with friends, there wasn't really anywhere that I saw that fit with the music I wanted to release. Thankfully, I had some good connections with the guys at Kompakt, who along with being a label are also a distribution company. They gave me the opportunity to start my own imprint," he says.

A veteran of the business, Monteith is vocal about the challenges faced by independent electronic artists. "One thing that's bothered me recently is the amount of snake oil salesmen approaching young artists who they assume don't know the time of day. They say 'Hey, I run this record label. I'd really like to do a twelve inch with you, but we can only do three-hundred copies and we won't be making any money.' That's complete bullshit. They profit. They're benefitting not only in terms of cash in their pockets but by building careers on the backs of young musicians who don't know any better. I think that's really criminal," he says.

Despite recent obstacles, Monteith is grateful for his success. "To a large extent, I've been very fortunate. I've managed to pay for myself and my family and live a fairly happy life making music and doing the things that I want to do. At the end of the day, I'm not the least bit jaded by what I've gone through. It's an important process. Moving forward, I'll definitely make some decisions and organize things a bit differently than I may have in the past. I think that's something that anybody in a creative field has to deal with."

Monteith's agenda for the next several months is a busy one. ""For the most part, it's going to be some touring. I've also got some interesting material from some very good friends which I'm excited to release. It will be great to take a back seat and see how the label develops on its own for awhile. I'll also do my best to develop a live show for both night club settings and more experimental situations. I'll just keep doing what I do."

Walls & Dimensions will be available on vinyl, CD, and digital formats on November 20th via BLKRTZ, with worldwide distribution via Kompakt.

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