Mas Ysa
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Mas Ysa is the stage name of Thomas Arsenault, an artist. A native of
Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...
, Mas Ysa began writing electronic music in high school while living in São Paulo, Brazil and later attended the Oberlin Conservatory of Music where he studied Modern Composition. Mas Ysa is managed by Rich Zerbo, founder of the NYC-based record label The Social Registry.


Background and history

In 2012, Arsenault began working with
Merce Cunningham Dance Company Mercier Philip "Merce" Cunningham (April 16, 1919 – July 26, 2009) was an American dancer and choreographer who was at the forefront of American modern dance for more than 50 years. He frequently collaborated with artists of other discipl ...
alumnus Rashaun Mitchell on a score for his modern dance piece Interface. Mas Ysa performed the score with the Rashaun Mitchell Dance Company at the Concord Academy in July 2012 and at the Baryshnikov Arts Center in New York in March 2013. His studio, which he was forced to vacate in the Spring of 2013, was closely associated Brooklyn's "Kent avenue music scene" as it was housed in the same building as 285 Kent, Glasslands and
Death By Audio Death By Audio was a warehouse space on the first floor of an industrial building in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York. The warehouse took its name from the boutique effects pedal company, Death By Audio, based in the space. Th ...
, and was used to make records by
Teengirl Fantasy Teengirl Fantasy is an American electronic music duo. It consists of Logan Takahashi and Nick Weiss. It is best known for the track called "Cheaters". Career Teengirl Fantasy was formed by Logan Takahashi and Nick Weiss while they were studying at ...
, Laurel Halo, EMA and
Light Asylum Light Asylum is a Brooklyn-based electronic music duo consisting of Shannon Funchess and Bruno Coviello. The band released their first EP ''In Tension'' in 2010. The four track EP was re-released in 2011 through indie label Mexican Summer. Their ...
. As a video artist, Arsenault's work has been featured at exhibitions at the
Brooklyn Academy of Music The Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) is a performing arts venue in Brooklyn, New York City, known as a center for progressive and avant-garde performance. It presented its first performance in 1861 and began operations in its present location in ...
. and at the 2012 Art Basel festival in
Miami, Florida Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...
.


2013 - 2014: Formation & Worth EP

Adopting the Mas Ysa name, Arsenault began playing show in Brooklyn in 2012 and, in April 2013, Mas Ysa toured the southern United States with
Deerhunter Deerhunter is an American indie rock band from Atlanta, Georgia, formed in 2001. The band currently consists of Bradford Cox (vocals, guitar, keyboards), Moses Archuleta (drums, electronics, sound treatments), Lotus Plaza, Lockett Pundt (guitar, ...
. In May 2013, he supported
Purity Ring Purity rings (also known as promise rings, abstinence rings, or chastity rings) are rings worn as a sign of chastity. Since the 1990s, in the United States, Christian organizations, especially Catholic and evangelical Christian groups, promoting ...
as part of the Downtown Music Festival. On September 16, 2013,
Pitchfork Media ''Pitchfork'' (formerly ''Pitchfork Media'') is an American online music publication (currently owned by Condé Nast) that was launched in 1995 by writer Ryan Schreiber as an independent music blog. Schreiber started Pitchfork while working ...
debuted the first publicly released Mas Ysa track "Why" and announced his signing to Downtown Records. On September 18, Pitchfork designated the song one of their "Best New Tracks". On December 18, Pitchfork Media debuted the self-directed video for "Why" and released the details of Mas Ysa's debut EP, ''Worth''. Mas Ysa remixed the track "Unhold" by Delorean in January 2014 and supported the band on their appearances in the North East. Mas Ysa's nine track debut EP ''Worth'' was released on February 4 by MapleMusic Recordings in Canada & Downtown Records in the rest of the world; it was met with positive reviews and holds a weighted score of 72 on
Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
. Two tracks from the EP were remixed: a remix of "Years" by Dutch E. Germ of Gang Gang Dance premiered on
Stereogum ''Stereogum'' is a daily Internet publication that focuses on music news, reviews, interviews, and commentary. The site was created in January 2002 by Scott Lapatine. ''Stereogum'' was one of the first MP3 blogs and has received several award ...
and a remix of the track "Why" by Chicago Juke producer Traxman was released. On February 6, 2014, Pitchfork Media posted the track "Shame" from the ''Worth'' EP and again gave it the designation of "Best New Track". Mas Ysa performed his first on-air radio broadcast on February 19, 2014, on KEXP while touring the
West Coast West Coast or west coast may refer to: Geography Australia * Western Australia *Regions of South Australia#Weather forecasting, West Coast of South Australia * West Coast, Tasmania **West Coast Range, mountain range in the region Canada * Britis ...
with
Lawrence Rothman Lawrence Rothman (born June 19, 1982) is an American singer-songwriter based in Los Angeles. Their debut album '' The Book of Law'' was released on October 13, 2017 via Downtown Records/Interscope. The album was produced by Rothman and Justin R ...
. In May 2014, Mas Ysa played his first two shows in Europe making appearances at Primavera Sound in
Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
,
Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...
and NOS Primavera Sound in
Porto Porto or Oporto () is the second-largest city in Portugal, the capital of the Porto District, and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto city proper, which is the entire municipality of Porto, is small compared to its metropol ...
,
Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
. Pitchfork Media chronicled the NOS Primavera appearance in a Documentary which aired on their site. Following tours supporting the band EMA on the West Coast and
Hundred Waters Hundred Waters is an American band formed in Gainesville, Florida in October 2011, composed of Nicole Miglis (vocals, piano, flute), Trayer Tryon (production, electronics, bass) and Zach Tetreault (drums, percussion, trumpet). The group came to p ...
on the East Coast, Mas Ysa performed at the Pitchfork Music Festival on July 19, 2014.


Discography

;Extended plays * ''Worth'' EP ( Downtown Records /
Maple Music Recordings Cadence Recordings, formerly MapleMusic, is a Canadian independent record label founded by Andy Maize, Jeff Maize, Mike Alkier, Evan Hu, Lorique Mindel and Grant Dexter in 1999 and based in Toronto, Ontario. Other investors include Gary Slaight ...
) (2014) * ''Seraph'' (Downtown Records) (2015)


References


External links

* * {{Authority control Canadian electronic musicians Musicians from Montreal Synth-pop musicians 1983 births Living people MapleMusic Recordings artists Downtown Records artists