Artists>>Deadbeat
Born in 1978 in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada, Scott Frederick Monteith aka Deadbeat can look back on a wildly varied musical history. After an excursion into some ill-advised acid rock basement jamming in his early teens, he soon discovered the industrial delights of Throbbing Gristle, Skinny Puppy, and Front 242. Following a "musical awakening during a DJ set around '94 or '95 made up almost entirely of Basic Channel and Maurizio records", Scott began to DJ himself, focusing mostly on ambient tracks and dubby techno. Shortly after turning 18, Scott moved to Montreal in search of a "fresh start." One of Scott's first roommates turned out to hate electronic music. In an effort to stop the constant deluge of drum'n'bass and techno thumping from Scott's room, the reggae fan took it upon himself to introduce Scott to the classic roots, ska, and dub that he's been obsessed with ever since. Always one to adapt to his surroundings, Scott soon became an integral part of Montreal's burgeoning music scene, which included Akufen and Tim Hecker.
A prolific composer and sought-after performer, Scott's tracks (as Deadbeat and as Crackhaus) have appeared on a huge range of labels and compilations. After his debut album on Intr_version (an "investigation of dub on the cellular level") and a string of 12-inches, the 2002 long-player "Wildlife Documentaries" on ~scape reinvented the aural trademarks of dub in an almost cinematic framework. "Because so much of my music is heavily influenced by black musical traditions, I often struggle with finding the right line between expressing a genuine love and respect through reinterpretation, and falling into a trap of empty nostalgic reference (and cultural appropriation)." With his 2003 album "Something Borrowed, Something Blue", a soundtrack to the months preceding his wedding, Scott has proven that this is not a trap he is likely to fall into. A master of blurred boundaries, Scott's internationally-lauded, irreverent approach to deconstructing genres and mixing musical metaphors continues to shimmer with subtle ingenuity. Allowing his stories to unravel with teasing languor, he urges us to accompany his inimitable set of characters on their mesmeric quest through an ever thickening plot - a story to be continued.