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Daniel Guimond at Ultimatum Festival 1985-05-01
The following is a transcription of Daniel Guimond’s performance at the Ultimatum Festival I, Wednesday, May 1st, 1985 at the Foufounes Électriques bar and performance space in Montréal, Quebec, Canada. Guimond performs poetry with underlying electric music, recorded sounds, and vocals in English and French. Guimond is a writer and multidisciplinary artist from Montréal. Some of his publications include the novel Pourquoi cela n'arrive qu'a moi ? (1999) and four poetry collections (1997, 1991, 1989, 1978). In his memoir High Friends in Low Places (2022), Alan Lord mentions Guimond’s punk zine SCRAP and his poetry which he performed while “being whipped” (p.52).
Annotations
00:00 - 00:00
Alan Lord Commentary
Montreal poet Daniel Guimond was very provocative. In the late 70’s he gave performances dressed in S&M gear, reading his texts while being whipped. He also produced one of the first punk poezines, called SCRAP.
Biographical Context
00:00 - 00:33
Audio Description
High pitched ringing and background percussion.
Music
Recorded Sound
00:33 - 00:44
Audio Description
Silence [cuts out].
Recording
00:44 - 01:10
Audio Description
Performs piece [recites English poem atop recorded overlapping French and English vocals, feedback hum present throughout].
Daniel Guimond
Recorded Sound
01:10 - 01:20
Audio Description
Continues piece with low percussive sound in background.
Daniel Guimond
Recorded Sound
Music
01:20 - 02:14
Audio Description
Cuts out, static [possible tape change].
Recording
02:14 - 02:23
Audio Description
Static and electrical hum.
Tech
02:23 - 02:30
Audio Description
Continues piece.
Daniel Guimond
Recorded Sound
02:30 - 04:38
Audio Description
Continues piece with low percussive sound in background.
Daniel Guimond
Music
Recorded Sound
04:38 - 04:42
Audio Description
Continues piece with musical underscore [electronic music].
Daniel Guimond
Music
Recorded Sound
04:42 - 05:07
Audio Description
Continues piece.
Daniel Guimond
Recorded Sound
05:07 - 05:19
Audio Description
Continues piece with musical underscore [electronic music].
Daniel Guimond
Music
Recorded Sound
05:19 - 06:19
Audio Description
Continues piece.
Daniel Guimond
Recorded Sound
06:19 - 06:22
Audio Description
Microphone feedback and shuffling.
Tech
06:22 - 06:29
Audio Description
Silence.
Foufounes Electriques
06:29 - 07:25
Audio Description
Melodic beat [rhythmic sounds, vocals overlap].
Music
07:25 - 07:56
Audio Description
Beat continues, pre-recorded speaker recites poetry [English].
Music
Recorded Sound
07:56 - 07:59
Audio Description
Microphone taps.
Tech
07:59 - 10:46
Audio Description
Performs piece [recites French poem atop music and recorded poetry].
Daniel Guimond
Music
Recorded Sound
10:46 - 10:47
Audio Description
Abrupt cut.
Recording
10:47 - 10:56
Audio Description
Room noise.
Foufounes Electriques
10:53 - 10:56
Audio Description
Static buzz transforms into electronic beat.
Music
10:56 - 12:34
Audio Description
Continues piece atop electronic beat.
Daniel Guimond
Recorded Sound
Music
12:34 - 13:37
Audio Description
Recorded English vocals become more prominent atop recorded French vocals and electronic beat.
Music
Recorded Sound
13:37 - 13:40
Audio Description
Recorded English and French vocals continue, electronic beat drops out.
Recorded Sound
13:40 - 14:56
Audio Description
Electronic beat resumes, recorded English and French vocals continue.
Music
Recorded Sound
14:36 - 14:56
Audio Description
Continues piece.
Daniel Guimond
Music
Recorded Sound
14:56 - 15:01
Audio Description
Continues piece, electronic beat and recorded vocals fade out.
Daniel Guimond
Music
Recorded Sound
15:01 - 15:02
Audio Description
Room noise.
Foufounes Electriques
15:02 - 15:13
Audio Description
Continues piece.
Daniel Guimond
15:13 - 15:20
Audio Description
Cacophonous electronic sounds [water, scrubbing, dog yapping].
Recorded Sound
15:20 - 15:38
Audio Description
Continues piece.
Daniel Guimond
15:38 - 15:54
Audio Description
Continues piece, barely audible atop recorded water sounds [violent bubbling and gushing, possibly man drowning].
Recorded Sound
Daniel Guimond
15:54 - 15:58
Audio Description
Continues piece.
Daniel Guimond
15:58 - 16:05
Audio Description
Water sounds resume.
Recorded Sound
16:05 - 16:09
Audio Description
Continues piece.
Daniel Guimond
16:09 - 16:13
Audio Description
Water sounds resume.
Recorded Sound
16:13 - 16:16
Audio Description
Cuts out, silence.
Recording
16:16 - 16:21
Audio Description
High pitched ringing sound and electronic beat.
Recorded Sound
Music
16:21 - 18:27
Audio Description
Performs piece [French].
Daniel Guimond
16:31 - 18:27
Audio Description
Continues piece atop sporadic pre-recorded French vocals [occasional feedback].
Daniel Guimond
Recorded Sound
Tech
18:27 - 18:29
Audio Description
On recommence d’ici un peu.
Daniel Guimond
18:29 - 20:03
Audio Description
Resumes piece atop sporadic pre-recorded French vocals.
Daniel Guimond
Recorded Sound
20:03 - 20:11
Audio Description
J’ai pas [unintelligible], c’est correct. Incor–j’ai meme pas eu le temps de le tapper. [Starts to resume performance] Incontenable. Non. Ouais.
Daniel Guimond
20:11 - 20:18
Audio Description
Resumes piece.
Daniel Guimond
20:18 - 21:40
Audio Description
Continues piece atop electronic music and pre-recorded English vocals.
Daniel Guimond
Music
Recorded Sound
21:40 - 22:50
Audio Description
Electronic music and pre-recorded vocals [music gets progressively louder, vocals are unintelligible].
Music
Recorded Sound
22:50 - 24:05
Audio Description
Distorted electric guitar, synth, and other electronic sounds [blown out synth, cut up tracks, lasers].
Music
24:05 - 26:56
Audio Description
Music continues with barely intelligible recorded vocals.
Music
Recorded Sound
26:56 - 26:56
Audio Description
Cuts out, silence.
Recording
26:56 - 30:44
Audio Description
Ominous synth track, various electronic sounds, overlapping pre-recorded vocals [French and English].
Music
Recorded Sound
30:44 - 31:02
Audio Description
Pre-recorded vocals continue interrupted sporadically by various electronic sounds.
Recorded Sound
31:02 - 32:23
Audio Description
Electronic beat enters, pre-recorded vocals and sporadic interruptions continue.
Recorded Sound
Music
32:23 - 32:29
Audio Description
Cuts out, silence [possibly stopped recording].
Recording
32:29 - 32:29
Audio Description
[End of recording].
END