Ensemble-led album Black Noise arrives June 6 from Quinton Barnes

Quinton Barnes recorded Black Noise at Hotel2Tango in Montreal in November 2024. The sessions followed a shift in method: instead of handling all elements himself—as on earlier releases—Barnes worked with an ensemble assembled by Michael Cloud Duguay, a composer and producer from Ontario. The album is released by Watch That Ends.

Title: Black Noise
Artist: Quinton Barnes
Release Date: 2025-06-06
Genres: Avant-garde, Experimental Music, Hip-hop, Jazz
Label: Watch That Ends The Night Records
Description: Quinton Barnes releases Black Noise on June 6 via Watch That Ends The Night Records, featuring ensemble work and improvised sessions in Montreal.

The project began after a 2022 post by Barnes expressing interest in collaborating with noise and improvisational musicians. Duguay contacted him shortly after and initiated the structure for the album, sourcing musicians from Montreal’s experimental circuit. Participants included members of Egyptian Cotton Arkestra (James Goddard, Markus Lake, Ari Swan, Lucas Huang), Matt LeGroulx, Naomi McCarroll-Butler, and Ky Brooks.

Initial recordings consisted of solo piano compositions written by Edward Enman. These were recorded, edited, and used as the base layer for later sessions. The resulting album includes elements of gospel, free jazz, noise, and hip-hop, but avoids settling into any of them. Track titles reference external figures (What Would Eastman Do?), concepts (Black Noise), and categories (Sober for the Weekend, Art of Survival, Movement 7), though no uniform narrative is imposed.

Sessions took place days after the 2024 US election. The group worked in daily sessions over one week, developing material through improvisation and revision. The structure was built from layered input rather than a central composition.

Quinton Barnes is based in Montreal. Originally from Kitchener, Ontario, he has released music independently since 2018. Previous works include As a Motherfucker and For the Love of Drugs. His catalogue spans vocal performance, production, and engineering, with no outside personnel involved until this album.

Black Noise will be available on June 6, 2025. Performances are scheduled for multiple Canadian festivals during the summer.

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