Photo by Jessica Arseneault
Arguably one of Metro Moncton’s busiest musicians and artists, Jonah Haché is getting set to celebrate the release of his second solo album, Botsford, at the Laundromat Espresso Bar this coming Tuesday evening. The album is entirely instrumental and is comprised of songs that Hache had written that were included in a locally produced documentary.
As if Haché isn’t quite busy enough with his solo work while also being the newest member of long-running, acclaimed acid-jazz group Les Paiens, he performed this past summer at FollyFest and Messtival 5 and is also a founding member of the TBA Collective, a group comprised of local artists and musicians.
Haché can be forgiven for the more than five-year lapse between solo albums.
“My solo work was the first project that I focused on making something out of,” Hache says. “It was approximately a year after that first record that I started the TBA Collective which in turn became my life in a lot of ways.”
Written over the course of the past few years, Haché says that because his job had him often away from home, many of the songs featured on Botsford were written in hotel rooms. As such, the music that Haché was composing took on a distinctly electronic form.
It might have taken Haché half a decade to record and release his sophomore record, however his down time has been productive. He shares that he has another completed record (Exhausted Autopilot) ready to be released this coming February and also anticipates putting together a live off-the-floor record of the loop-based dance music that he has been composing as of late.
While the show at the Laundromat on Tuesday evening is to celebrate the release of his new record, Haché says that the evening will serve as more of a listening party as opposed to featuring a live performance. While there will be DJs playing a mix of music for those in attendance on Tuesday night, Haché will not be on stage performing songs featured on his new record.
“Being electronic-based, my new record will be played outright,” he says. “I wanted to celebrate the release of Botsford this way as I consider it to be well suited to a ‘chilled’ type of environment. I like the concept of people being able to talk with one another while listening to my music. I prefer the concept of not being the focus but rather something for others to use to connect to one other.”
Article published in the December 7, 2012 edition of the Times & Transcript