Chris d'Eon (born 1985), mononymously known as d'Eon, is a Canadian electronic musician, singer-songwriter, producer, and composer based in

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

. He is known for his musical eclectism, which encompasses various elements of

electronica Electronica is both a broad group of electronic-based music styles intended for listening rather than strictly for dancing and a music scene that came to prominence in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom. In the United States, the term is mos ...

, pop,

avant-garde music Avant-garde music is music that is considered to be at the forefront of innovation in its field, with the term "avant-garde" implying a critique of existing aesthetic conventions, rejection of the status quo in favor of unique or original elem ...

, and

world music "World music" is an English phrase for styles of music from non-English speaking countries, including quasi-traditional, Cross-cultural communication, intercultural, and traditional music. World music's broad nature and elasticity as a musical ...

Early life

Chris d'Eon began making music at four years old after receiving synthesizers and a sequencer from his parents. He took professional music courses as a teenager before dropping out of his studies entirely. In 2008, d'Eon travelled to the

Himalayas The Himalayas, or Himalaya ( ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the Earth's highest peaks, including the highest, Mount Everest. More than list of h ...

and was taught how to play the dramyin by a Tibetan musician. During this trip, he moved to the Dip Tse Chok Ling monastery and didn't speak for months. This trip greatly influenced his musical eclecticism, as upon returning to Canada, d'Eon began incorporating dramyin and other elements of Eastern music into his music.

Career

2009-2010: ''Wa Al-'Asr'', ''Æon'', and ''Palinopsia''

d'Eon's first music released was the second half of a

split album A split album (or split) is a music album that includes tracks by two or more separate artists. There are also singles and EPs of the same variety, which are often called "split singles" and "split EPs" respectively. Split albums differ from "v ...

with Omon Ra, released in 2009. This would be the first in a series of five cassettes produced and distributed between 2009 and 2010 with d'Eon as a performer, three featuring him as a solo artist. Among these is d'Eon's debut album, ''Wa Al-'Asr'', which was released in late 2009 through Numbers Station Recordings. The song "Tear Down the Wall" from ''Wa Al-'Asr'' received a music video directed by Matthew Wilson, who later joined d'Eon in psychedelic rock band Omon Ra II. Subsequent cassette tapes released during 2010 through Numbers Station included d'Eon's second album ''Æon'', a second split album with Canadian musician Dirty Beaches and d'Eon as a part of Omon Ra II as the group's first and only project, and a four-track EP titled ''Swan Covers'' near the end of the year, which was composed of d'Eon's own interpolations of songs by experimental rock band Swans. ''Palinopsia'', d'Eon's third album, was also released later in the year through

Hippos in Tanks Hippos in Tanks was a record label founded in 2010 by Barron Machat and Travis Woolsey. The label specialized in electronic music. It was named the best label of 2011 by ''FACT (United Kingdom magazine), FACT''. Following the death of Machat in 2 ...

to commercial success.

2011-2012: ''Darkbloom'', ''Music for Keyboards'', and ''LP''

His subsequent release, '' Darkbloom'' was a split EP featuring fellow Canadian musician

Grimes Claire Elise Boucher (; born March 17, 1988), known professionally as Grimes, is a Canadian musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. Her lyrics often touch on science fiction and feminist themes. The visuals in her videos are elabora ...

and gained attention from various music publications, including

Spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spin (physics) or particle spin, a fundamental property of elementary particles * Spin quantum number, a number which defines the value of a particle's spin * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thr ...

Pitchfork A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...

, and

Exclaim! ''Exclaim!'' is a Canadian music and entertainment publisher based in Toronto, which features coverage of new music across all genres with a special focus on Canadian and emerging artists. The monthly ''Exclaim!'' print magazine publishes seven ...

. On June 23, 2011, d'Eon also released an EP of instrumental outtakes from the production of ''Darkbloom'' entitled ''Darkbloom Sessions'' through

SoundCloud SoundCloud is a German audio streaming service owned and operated by SoundCloud Global Limited & Co. KG. The service enables its users to upload, promote, and share audio. Founded in 2007 by Alexander Ljung and Eric Wahlforss, SoundCloud is ...

. In 2012, d'Eon released a free mixtape titled ''Music for Keyboards Vol. I'', which was described as a "prelude" to his next upcoming album and compiled miscellaneous, mostly unreleased instrumentals spanning back to 2003. The mixtape was soon followed by ''Music for Keyboards Vol. II: "What's My Age Again" Variants'' and several further installments in the series were released in later years. d'Eon's highly anticipated fourth album, ''LP'', was released in 2012 to significant praise.

2013-2018: ''Foxconn / Trios'' and side projects

d'Eon began working on music under the side project Kallisti in 2013. Between working on the Kallisti project and his ''Music for Keyboards'' series, d'Eon released his fifth album ''Foxconn / Trios'' on November 27, 2015. Similar to ''Darkbloom Sessions'', d'Eon released a companion EP to ''Foxconn / Trios'' entitled ''Foxconn / Trios Sessions''. In 2016, d'Eon released an album entitled ''Patriot'' as Eva Weishaupt, a more political side project. He also contributed the track "WHAT'S IN YOUR CLOSET?" to the political compilation album ''World War 2020 - Episode Four (2016 Version): WikiLeaks vs. DNC'' under the Eva Weishaupt alias.

2019-present: ''Rhododendron'' and ''Leviathan''

On March 6, 2019, d'Eon returned from a musical hiatus with his sixth studio album ''Six Trios''. Earlier that year and under the new side project D. Jung, d'Eon had released an album titled ''Griffintown Swing'', inspired by the neighborhood of

Griffintown Griffintown is a historic neighbourhood of Montreal, Quebec, southwest of downtown. The area existed as a functional neighbourhood from the 1820s until the 1960s and was mainly populated by Irish immigrants and their descendants. Mostly depopulate ...

where he once lived. d'Eon also returned to music in his Kallisti project, releasing the album ''The Rave is Not a Sacred Place'' on April 13, 2019 through B&R Records, his new record label for his projects as Kallisti and D. Jung. d'Eon released his seventh album ''From the Root of Jesse Sprouts a Splendid Flower'' on February 13, 2020, the album based around religion and

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...

. In 2021, he released three studio albums, including his eighth album ''Four Trios'', which continued in the musical direction of his album ''Six Trios'', and his ninth album ''Bijoux'', both released in February of that year. On August 13, 2021, d'Eon released his tenth studio album ''Rhododendron'' through Hausu Mountain Records, marking his first release in six years to be released in physical format. ''Rhododendron'' gained attention from various music publications upon its release and was praised for its musical diversity. The song "Rhododendron pt. I" also received a music video directed by the Stiner Brothers. On June 21, 2024, d'Eon released his eleventh studio album ''Leviathan'', also through Hausu Mountain. Like its preceding album, it also received a release on cassette tape and CD respectively.

Sound and image

d'Eon's music has been met with critical acclaim. Andy Kellman of

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

compared his musical style to "vintage

new age New Age is a range of Spirituality, spiritual or Religion, religious practices and beliefs that rapidly grew in Western world, Western society during the early 1970s. Its highly eclecticism, eclectic and unsystematic structure makes a precise d ...

and contemporary experimental electronic artists, '80s mainstream pop, throwback

house A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air c ...

, and left-of-center R&B" and noted "

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

Iranian Iranian () may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Iran ** Iranian diaspora, Iranians living outside Iran ** Iranian architecture, architecture of Iran and parts of the rest of West Asia ** Iranian cuisine, cooking traditions and practic ...

, and Turkish" influences. He was also compared to

Oneohtrix Point Never Daniel Lopatin (born July 25, 1982), best known as Oneohtrix Point Never or OPN, is an American Experimental music, experimental electronic music producer, composer, singer, and songwriter. His music has utilized wikt:trope, tropes from various ...

and DJ Deeon. Alex Hudson of

describes d'Eon's music as a juxtaposition of genres such as " Chicago footwork,

new jack swing New jack swing, new jack, or swingbeat is a fusion genre of the rhythms and production techniques of hip hop and dance-pop, and the urban contemporary sound of R&B. Spearheaded by producers Teddy Riley, Bernard Belle, Jimmy Jam and Te ...

, UK drum & bass and

trip hop Trip hop is a musical genre that has been described as a psychedelic music, psychedelic fusion of hip hop music, hip hop and electronica with slow tempos and an atmospheric sound. The style emerged as a more experimental music, experimental var ...

". Ambient and

Tibetan music The music of Tibet ( zh, 藏族音乐) reflects the cultural heritage of the trans-Himalayan region centered in Tibet, but also known wherever ethnic Tibetan groups are found in Nepal, Bhutan, India and further abroad. The religious music of ...

elements in his music have also been noted.

Personal life

d'Eon is a

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

Discography

Studio albums

Mixtapes

Extended plays

Mixes

*''FACT Mix 338'' (2012, ''FACT'' magazine) *''The Lord Himself Is the Farm, Himself He Grows and Grinds'' (2012,

DIS Dis, DIS or variants may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Dis (album), ''Dis'' (album), by Jan Garbarek, 1976 * ''Dís'', a soundtrack album by Jóhann Jóhannsson, 2004 * "Dis", a song by The Gazette from the 2003 album ''Hankou Seimeib ...

) *''D'Eon Live Set Boiler Room Montreal'' *''Extracts from the Erisian Front 1'' *''NTS Session: 26-9-16''

Music videos

*"Tear Down the Wall" (2009, directed by Matthew Wilson) *"Kill a Man with a Joystick in Your Hand" (2010, directed by Todd Ledford) *"Transparency" (2011, directed by

) *"Arc of Fire" (2013, directed by Lorenzo Senni) *"Rhododendron Pt. I" (2021, directed by Stiner Brothers)

Notes

References

External links

d'Eon on Bandcampd'Eon on Hippos in Tanks
* {{DEFAULTSORT:D'Eon Living people Canadian ambient musicians Canadian experimental musicians Canadian keyboardists Canadian male singers Canadian rhythm and blues musicians Canadian world music musicians Musicians from Halifax, Nova Scotia People from Dartmouth, Nova Scotia Singers from Montreal New-age musicians Synth-pop musicians Converts to Roman Catholicism Canadian traditionalist Catholics 1985 births Singers from Nova Scotia