Future Imperfect
The long, uncertain slog to Pat Jordache’s debut was worth the pain / by Brian Baker
P
at Jordache’s debut album, Future Songs, was
home-recorded on outmoded computers, so it fits the lo-fi definition while displaying great sonic complexity. Jordache doesn’t dispute the categorization… to a point. Future Songs
April 26 [ Constellation ]
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cowbell
“It’s lo-fi in terms of implements, but not in terms of casualness or quickness of approach,” Jordache clarifies. “I’m super meticu-
lous, anal retentive in the studio. I’ll do so many takes and mix the shit out of stuff and fuss on the EQ for a half hour on the high-hat microphone.” The Montréal resident, whose given name is Patrick Gregoire, mixes contemporized elements of ’70s art wave on Future Songs, a sprightly extrapolation of Brian Eno producing Joy Division in a world where love keeps Ian Curtis together rather than tearing him apart. “I watched Control, and it really struck a chord with me; I listened to a lot of Joy Division after that,” says Jordache. “Vocally, he’s an awesome model. He stepped up to the mic and it would sound how it sounded. That’s liberating. A lot of the punk I grew up on was pretty conservative, where bands replicated this formula. When I came across Joy Division, Talking Heads and Television, I loved the spirit and ethos behind it, but it goes hand in hand with this effort to do something different.” Future Songs’ circuitous path to its official release on Constellation Records began with Jordache’s self-re-
leased version last year, recorded on sub-par hardware. “I had this crappy laptop I inherited from my uncle; you had to put books under it so the fan would ventilate it,” says Jordache. “It was pretty patient and constant work.” A new laptop improved the sonics, but Jordache lost the better version when he left said laptop in a sandwich shop, where it was stolen. When Constellation expressed interest, Jordache only had files he’d uploaded to a Mediafire account. An engineer attempted to salvage Jordache’s mixing experiments when a folder of unmixed files appeared. “It sounded like crap and nothing he did could help,” says Jordache. “Then I dug around these unmastered files I completely forgot about. He was like, ‘Why didn’t you tell me about these hours ago?’ It sounds so much better now. It’s awesome and amazing.” As Future Songs began three years ago, when Jordache was still a member of Sister Suvi (with Merrill Garbus, now working as tUnE-yArDs), the album represents his creative mindset back then. Backed now by an actual band, he’ll update his sonic profile soon. “There’s three or four songs in the can,” says Jordache. “It sounds better. It still has a homemade feel, because that’s important to us, but some of the rough edges are smoothed out. It has a sexier feel.”