A Cloud of Music

Montreal band tries to make its way to the top of the indie scenes. 

It’s 3:30 p.m. in Montreal. Boris Mijovic and Marc-André Brasseur are in their small rehearsal room in a house basement situated in Ahuntsic. Simon Drouin just left for work. Four years ago, their alternative music band, Arcus Cloud, started to get involved in Montreal’s music scene. Considering themselves as a mix between Arctic Monkeys, Radiohead and Franz Ferdinand, the music group is trying to make its way on the indie scenes of Montreal.

The group wasn’t at first called Arcus Cloud. “At the beginning, we were looking for a band’s name and the first idea that seemed… acceptable was Les Méchants Boris,” Marc-André Brasseur, drummer, said. “But the name changed really quickly for The Smirky Blokes,” Boris Mijovic, vocalist and guitarist, added. 

Arcus Cloud  //  Photo Credit: Guillaume Pelletier

They performed as The Smirky Blokes from 2008 to 2010. In January 2009, they won the Supernova contest. Later in 2009, The Smirky Blokes performed with We Are Wolves, an electro-pop band from Montreal.

 In 2010, when Simon Drouin, bass, came along, they decided to change it for Arcus Cloud. “An arcus cloud is a type of cloud, that doesn’t appear often,” Mijovic explained. “In front of the cloud, nothing’s happening, but behind it, there’s a big storm. We liked the idea that our songs are like this cloud.”

From 2007 to 2011, a lot of changes were made in terms of group members. Mijovic explained these changes by explaining that the ex-members didn’t have the determination that Brasseur and he had. “The hardest part with the changes was the impact on our morale,” the drummer said. “For example, when the bassist quitted, one of the band’s biggest piece was gone. Our willpower was affected. We worked very hard to create this band.” “Today, we have musicians who help us by playing during our shows, even though they are not part of the band,” Mijovic added.

Both of the band’s co-founders were playing music when they were little. “We didn’t want to get really involved in music first. It was more of a hobby” Mijovic said. “But through time, our will was growing and we were considering creating a band.” Mijovic took singing lessons, and since he’s 16, he has always loved to sing. As for Brasseur, he started to take drum lessons when he was 15.

“Kiss the Inspiration”, “Lessons for Sophia” and “Clowns” are examples of songs played during their concerts. As they create their own songs, Mijovic explained that the group needs a lot of inspiration and ideas from every group members. “First, someone comes up with an idea,” Brasseur explained. “For example, Boris will come up with a melody and the rhythm, and from that, we create the lyrics.” 

In 2010, Arcus Cloud filmed their first music video with the help of Youth Music Movement, which records songs for unknown bands (free of charge). They first asked Arcus Cloud if they wanted to do a music video for their most popular song “Kiss the Inspiration”. “We didn’t know if it was worth it, but finally, we decided to go for it,” Mijovic said. “But it wasn’t a music video where the singer performs lip-sync. There were no lip-synced or pre-recorded sounds”. Both of the co-founders agreed that this experience brought more confidence to the group, and it increased their determination to go further.

For the future, they are hoping to release an album and they want to do more shows for their fans. They are also on releasing an EP (extended play). “It’s a way to bring something more concrete to other audiences aside from our friends,” ­­­­Mijovic said.

 Brasseur wanted to add that they are really hoping that their determination will stay and grow stronger so they can be someday known on the music scenes of Montreal. “Where there is will, there’s power,” Brasseur said... and they want it to happen.

Myspace page: myspace.com/arcuscloudmusic

Bandcamp page : arcuscloud.bandcamp.com

Their EP will be available on their Bandcamp page for free in a couple of weeks.