Hotel2Tango
Encyclopedia
The Hotel2Tango is a 24-track analogue
recording studio
situated in the Mile End district
of Montreal
, Quebec
. The current facility is the second to bear the name, and was preceded by a similar operation in the same neighborhood until 2007 when the studio changed locations. The majority of recording projects undertaken at the studio are helmed by one of the facility's four partner-engineers: Efrim Menuck
and Thierry Amar
, both members of Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra & Tra-La-La Band and Godspeed You! Black Emperor
; Radwan Ghazi Moumneh, member of Jerusalem In My Heart; and Howard Bilerman
. The Hotel2Tango is often closely associated with Constellation Records
, a Montreal-based record label.
Before becoming a dedicated studio, the original Hotel2Tango acted first as a living space and later as a live performance venue.
member Mauro Pezzente
and his partner Kiva Stimac first moved into the space that later became the Hotel2Tango in 1995. The loft doubled as a performance space and was dubbed Gallery Quiva, hosting approximately one show per month. However, after less than a year exhaust fumes and odor from the mechanic's garage directly below the loft forced Pezzente and Stimac to vacate the building. Shortly thereafter the lease was taken over by Efrim Menuck
, who took the first three letters of the area's postal code
, H2T, and used the NATO phonetic alphabet
to create the space's new name: Hotel2Tango. Pezzente and Stimac later opened three highly-influential performance spaces on Saint Laurent Boulevard
in Montreal: Casa del Popolo
, La Sala Rossa, and the now defunct El Salon.
By 1998, the Hotel2Tango had become one of the most popular alternative music venues in the city of Montreal and acted as a hub for a number of projects by members of the local artistic community. At one point the loft acted as a work space for Montreal silk-screeners
the Bloodsisters, and as a workshop for a local carpenter. Godspeed You! Black Emperor
performed at the Hotel2Tango frequently and used the loft as a practice space along with other groups such as Fly Pan Am
and Molasses. Godspeed also recorded the bulk of their first album, F♯A♯∞
in the loft's large main room the previous year. As the band's popularity grew over the next several years, so too did the mystery surrounding its secretive members. Many rumours developed about the group and its de-facto home base. At one point it was commonly believed by outsiders that all of the band members were squatting
illegally in the loft. Eventually word spread about the shows taking place at the Hotel2Tango and the crowds arriving each evening came to be greater than the facility could handle. Amid numerous thefts by show attendees and a generally out-of-control crowd, shows at the Hotel2Tango became less frequent and eventually stopped completely, effectively passing the torch to a handful of newly-opened dedicated concert venues within the city. At that time at least two people still lived within the walls of the Hotel2Tango, including Godspeed bassist Thierry Amar, though he later moved out.
In 2000 Howard Bilerman
, then-owner of Mom and Pop Sounds, a small Montreal recording studio in the city's Chinatown, approached Amar and Menuck, who were interested in focusing on establishing a studio in the Hotel2Tango, about combining the trio's equipment to use in a central space. Finding the offer favourable, the group began consolidating their two facilities; building a number of walls within the Hotel2Tango, effectively separating the space into three areas: a control room, a live room and a large common area. Soon after, the three purchased a professional 24-track analogue tape machine, which became the centerpiece of the new Hotel2Tango studio. The studio had a built-in clientele, quickly becoming the studio of choice for most of the Montreal-based artists on the Constellation Records
label. For a number of years the studio remained closed to most outsiders, its operators choosing to concentrate mostly on the projects of friends and those groups directly related to Constellation and another Montreal record label, Fancy Recordings, a now-defunct subsidiary of Alien8 Recordings. In recent years, however, the Hotel2Tango has opened its doors to many other bands from Montreal and abroad, launching a promotional website in September 2004.
and the Hotel2Tango purchased an industrial building two blocks from the site of the original studio. The building had reportedly been abandoned for about a decade and was nearly to be developed into condominiums at the time of the purchase. The building was renovated over the course of a year in order to house a new Hotel2Tango along with Harris Newman
's Grey Market Mastering and the Constellation Records
headquarters. The transition between the two locations officially took place in early 2007, with operations in the original building ceasing on February 4th.
Analog recording
Analog recording is a technique used for the recording of analog signals which among many possibilities include audio frequency, analog audio and analog video information for later playback.Analog recording methods store signals as a continual wave in or on the media...
recording studio
Recording studio
A recording studio is a facility for sound recording and mixing. Ideally both the recording and monitoring spaces are specially designed by an acoustician to achieve optimum acoustic properties...
situated in the Mile End district
Mile End (Montreal)
Mile End is a neighbourhood and municipal electoral district in the city of Montreal, Quebec, Canada.Mile End is part of the Plateau-Mont-Royal borough in terms of Montreal's municipal politics...
of Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
. The current facility is the second to bear the name, and was preceded by a similar operation in the same neighborhood until 2007 when the studio changed locations. The majority of recording projects undertaken at the studio are helmed by one of the facility's four partner-engineers: Efrim Menuck
Efrim Menuck
Efrim Manuel Menuck is a Canadian musician involved with a number of Montreal-based bands, most notably Godspeed You! Black Emperor and Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra...
and Thierry Amar
Thierry Amar
Thierry Amar is a Canadian musician. He is most notable for participating in Godspeed You! Black Emperor, as well as being co-founder of Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra & Tra-La-La Band with Efrim Menuck and Sophie Trudeau. Amar also participates with Black Ox Orkestar, a Yiddish folk...
, both members of Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra & Tra-La-La Band and Godspeed You! Black Emperor
Godspeed You! Black Emperor
Godspeed You! Black Emperor is a Canadian post-rock band which originated from Montreal, Quebec in 1994...
; Radwan Ghazi Moumneh, member of Jerusalem In My Heart; and Howard Bilerman
Howard Bilerman
Howard Bilerman is a Canadian recording engineer, producer, and Grammy nominated musician. He is a former member of the band Arcade Fire, having recorded & drummed on their debut album, Funeral, as well as records by Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra & Tra-La-La Band, Vic Chesnutt, Basia...
. The Hotel2Tango is often closely associated with Constellation Records
Constellation Records
Constellation Records is an influential Montreal, Quebec independent record label known for its contributions to experimental genres of music. It is most famous for releasing the albums of Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra & Tra-La-La Band, and Do Make Say...
, a Montreal-based record label.
Before becoming a dedicated studio, the original Hotel2Tango acted first as a living space and later as a live performance venue.
Original location (1995–2007)
Future Godspeed You! Black EmperorGodspeed You! Black Emperor
Godspeed You! Black Emperor is a Canadian post-rock band which originated from Montreal, Quebec in 1994...
member Mauro Pezzente
Mauro Pezzente
Mauro Pezzente is a Canadian musician. He is best known as being co-founder of Godspeed You! Black Emperor.Pezzente, along with Efrim Menuck and Mike Moya, founded Godspeed You! Black Emperor in 1994. Along with Thierry Amar, Pezzente plays the bass guitar for the band.Pezzente was the first to...
and his partner Kiva Stimac first moved into the space that later became the Hotel2Tango in 1995. The loft doubled as a performance space and was dubbed Gallery Quiva, hosting approximately one show per month. However, after less than a year exhaust fumes and odor from the mechanic's garage directly below the loft forced Pezzente and Stimac to vacate the building. Shortly thereafter the lease was taken over by Efrim Menuck
Efrim Menuck
Efrim Manuel Menuck is a Canadian musician involved with a number of Montreal-based bands, most notably Godspeed You! Black Emperor and Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra...
, who took the first three letters of the area's postal code
Postal code
A postal code is a series of letters and/or digits appended to a postal address for the purpose of sorting mail. Once postal codes were introduced, other applications became possible.In February 2005, 117 of the 190 member countries of the Universal Postal Union had postal code systems...
, H2T, and used the NATO phonetic alphabet
NATO phonetic alphabet
The NATO phonetic alphabet, more accurately known as the NATO spelling alphabet and also called the ICAO phonetic or spelling alphabet, the ITU phonetic alphabet, and the international radiotelephony spelling alphabet, is the most widely used spelling alphabet...
to create the space's new name: Hotel2Tango. Pezzente and Stimac later opened three highly-influential performance spaces on Saint Laurent Boulevard
Saint Lawrence Boulevard
For the Ottawa road, see St. Laurent Boulevard. For the Gatineau road called "Boulevard Saint-Laurent", see Boulevard des Allumettières.Saint Lawrence Boulevard or boulevard Saint-Laurent is a major street in Montreal, Quebec, Canada...
in Montreal: Casa del Popolo
Casa del Popolo
Casa del Popolo is a notable bar, bistro, and music venue in Montreal, on Saint Laurent Boulevard. Its name is Italian for "House of the People".It was established in September 2000 by Mauro Pezzente and his partner Kiva Stemic...
, La Sala Rossa, and the now defunct El Salon.
By 1998, the Hotel2Tango had become one of the most popular alternative music venues in the city of Montreal and acted as a hub for a number of projects by members of the local artistic community. At one point the loft acted as a work space for Montreal silk-screeners
Screen-printing
Screen printing is a printing technique that uses a woven mesh to support an ink-blocking stencil. The attached stencil forms open areas of mesh that transfer ink or other printable materials which can be pressed through the mesh as a sharp-edged image onto a substrate...
the Bloodsisters, and as a workshop for a local carpenter. Godspeed You! Black Emperor
Godspeed You! Black Emperor
Godspeed You! Black Emperor is a Canadian post-rock band which originated from Montreal, Quebec in 1994...
performed at the Hotel2Tango frequently and used the loft as a practice space along with other groups such as Fly Pan Am
Fly Pan Am
Fly Pan Am, or Le Fly Pan Am, are a Canadian experimental rock band formed in Montreal in 1996. They release their albums through the Montreal-based Constellation Records, producing and collaborating on works with Godspeed You! Black Emperor and Shalabi Effect.-About the band:The band was formed in...
and Molasses. Godspeed also recorded the bulk of their first album, F♯A♯∞
F♯A♯∞
F♯ A♯ ∞ is the debut album of the Canadian post-rock band Godspeed You! Black Emperor. It was released twice, first in 1997 by Constellation Records and then again on 8 June 1998, by Kranky as an expanded edition that ran for 63:27...
in the loft's large main room the previous year. As the band's popularity grew over the next several years, so too did the mystery surrounding its secretive members. Many rumours developed about the group and its de-facto home base. At one point it was commonly believed by outsiders that all of the band members were squatting
Squatting
Squatting consists of occupying an abandoned or unoccupied space or building, usually residential, that the squatter does not own, rent or otherwise have permission to use....
illegally in the loft. Eventually word spread about the shows taking place at the Hotel2Tango and the crowds arriving each evening came to be greater than the facility could handle. Amid numerous thefts by show attendees and a generally out-of-control crowd, shows at the Hotel2Tango became less frequent and eventually stopped completely, effectively passing the torch to a handful of newly-opened dedicated concert venues within the city. At that time at least two people still lived within the walls of the Hotel2Tango, including Godspeed bassist Thierry Amar, though he later moved out.
In 2000 Howard Bilerman
Howard Bilerman
Howard Bilerman is a Canadian recording engineer, producer, and Grammy nominated musician. He is a former member of the band Arcade Fire, having recorded & drummed on their debut album, Funeral, as well as records by Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra & Tra-La-La Band, Vic Chesnutt, Basia...
, then-owner of Mom and Pop Sounds, a small Montreal recording studio in the city's Chinatown, approached Amar and Menuck, who were interested in focusing on establishing a studio in the Hotel2Tango, about combining the trio's equipment to use in a central space. Finding the offer favourable, the group began consolidating their two facilities; building a number of walls within the Hotel2Tango, effectively separating the space into three areas: a control room, a live room and a large common area. Soon after, the three purchased a professional 24-track analogue tape machine, which became the centerpiece of the new Hotel2Tango studio. The studio had a built-in clientele, quickly becoming the studio of choice for most of the Montreal-based artists on the Constellation Records
Constellation Records
Constellation Records is an influential Montreal, Quebec independent record label known for its contributions to experimental genres of music. It is most famous for releasing the albums of Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra & Tra-La-La Band, and Do Make Say...
label. For a number of years the studio remained closed to most outsiders, its operators choosing to concentrate mostly on the projects of friends and those groups directly related to Constellation and another Montreal record label, Fancy Recordings, a now-defunct subsidiary of Alien8 Recordings. In recent years, however, the Hotel2Tango has opened its doors to many other bands from Montreal and abroad, launching a promotional website in September 2004.
Relocation
In early 2006 several people involved with Constellation RecordsConstellation Records
Constellation Records is an influential Montreal, Quebec independent record label known for its contributions to experimental genres of music. It is most famous for releasing the albums of Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra & Tra-La-La Band, and Do Make Say...
and the Hotel2Tango purchased an industrial building two blocks from the site of the original studio. The building had reportedly been abandoned for about a decade and was nearly to be developed into condominiums at the time of the purchase. The building was renovated over the course of a year in order to house a new Hotel2Tango along with Harris Newman
Harris Newman
Harris Newman is a mastering engineer working out of Grey Market Mastering in Montreal, Canada. His studio shares a building with the Hotel2Tango recording studio, as well as Constellation Records. Newman has mastered hundreds of albums since 1998, for artists including Wolf Parade, Frog Eyes, A...
's Grey Market Mastering and the Constellation Records
Constellation Records
Constellation Records is an influential Montreal, Quebec independent record label known for its contributions to experimental genres of music. It is most famous for releasing the albums of Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra & Tra-La-La Band, and Do Make Say...
headquarters. The transition between the two locations officially took place in early 2007, with operations in the original building ceasing on February 4th.
Clientele
Many groups and musicians have recorded at the Hotel2Tango, including Arcade Fire,The Chains,Wolf Parade, Puff and the Pillpoppers, to name a few.- For more details on this topic, see the Hotel2Tango bandlist.