The Arka Teks

When the nominees for this year's East Coast Music Awards were announced in January, Tyler Lombard and Nick Fowler were disappointed their names were not among them.

The musicians, who make up electro pop duo The Arka Teks, were preparing to play in Antigonish that weekend. Before they hit the road, they started receiving text messages congratulating them on their ECMA nomination in the pop recording of the year category.

A call to Music New Brunswick confirmed The Arka Teks were accidentally left off of the first press release.

"It was actually quite a shock (to be nominated)," Lombard said.

"It was a great day ... that was pretty good news to head out on the road with." The Arka Teks has been trying to carve a niche in Fredericton since releasing its first single in April 2009. Lombard, whose roots are in folk music, met Fowler at a party through mutual friends. Fowler's background is in what Lombard describes as "glitchy, house, intelligent dance music."

"We both had different things going on. He was working on his glitchy dance music and he was planning on forging ahead with just that. I had just gotten back from Nashville and was planning on going back.

"When we met, it just kind of seemed to click. There's a chemistry there that really works," Lombard said.

The Arka Teks released its first full-length album, Night Life, last July. Lombard says the album is like a story, with songs about living the party life in different stages of your life.

The disc got the duo noticed in Singapore and Malaysia, where EQ Music distributes Night Life in box stores. The band received YouTube buzz in Southeast Asia thanks to Lombard's friend Davin Tong.

"(Tong) moved to Vancouver a few years ago and started a YouTube character called Peter Chao. He would use our songs at the end of all his videos. To think that because of the Internet, a band from Fredericton was able to reach all the way over there and draw enough attention that a company wanted to pick (Night Life) up and distribute it was mind blowing."

The Arka Teks perform three times during ECMA week, which kicks off Wednesday in Charlottetown. Lombard hopes the performances will lead to tour dates ahead of the duo's next album release this summer. Once promoters see that Lombard and Fowler's live show is more than just an iPod plugged in, Lombard thinks they will have a shot at playing in bigger cities.

"As people become more familiar with what it is that we do, we're finding more and more that the fan base is broadening in terms of the demographic.

"We're planning to try and get to places like Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver. We do have a lot of online success there right now."

Lombard and Fowler, from Fredericton and Hampton respectively, hope to stick around the east coast for as long as possible, but they know there's a better scene for house and electronic music in bigger cities.

"We realize we're a fish out of water with what we're doing, especially in Fredericton and on the east coast in general. Just with the brand that we have, the mix of mainstream pop and rock with more underground house elements, it's kind of hard to find a niche out here right now.

"We'd love to be able to stay but (in) places like Toronto ... there is so much going on in terms of the industry there that it's a lot easier to find a place."

The ECMAs run Wednesday through to Sunday in Charlottetown. The full list of nominees and showcase schedule can be found at www.ecma.ca. - Telegraph Journal

Technology is forever changing the music industry and few local bands are more aware of that fact than The Arka Teks.

Not only are computers incorporated into the music they create, but thanks to YouTube, Tyler Lombard and Nick Fowler have developed an impressive fan base around the world.

Mind you, they still have a hard time getting recognized in their hometown.

"I talk to a lot of people on the Internet from all over the world and they're always like, 'Oh my God, it's Nick Fowler.' Then I can be walking down the street (in Fredericton) and nobody knows me," he says, laughing.

For those who aren't familiar with this band, The Arka Teks are two guys from Fredericton who make electronic/club music.

"We come from different backgrounds and meet somewhere in the middle. It's unique music which you can't find very much around here," says Fowler.

His background is mainly underground electronic music, what he describes as glitchy intelligent dance music and house music.

"I took electronic engineering technology in school, so that influences a lot of how I make my music, it's very technically made," says Fowler.

Lombard is a singer-songwriter, a pop radio influenced performer.

"I travelled to Nashville a couple of times before I met Nick and had my heart set on maybe going there," he says. "After we met and started this unique thing we've got going now, I decided to stay home and forge ahead with this."

What makes this pairing interesting is that Fowler doesn't really like pop music and Lombard doesn't really like underground music.

They met through a mutual friend. Knowing Lombard was a fellow musician, Fowler invited him to see his set up and showed him a song.

"We just started working on it and eventually that turned into this," says Fowler.

"We were both on very different paths and had intended to stick with them and make them work," says Lombard.

"This is one of those inexplicable relationships that just click and there is something there that works."

Quite a bit of the music they create is "in the box," says Fowler, "meaning there are software synthesizers and stuff that are completely computer generated, but you still play it through controllers. ... There's lots of guitar, there's lots of synths and keyboards."

When they're doing a live performance, all the tracks are played through his computer, but Fowler will also play the guitar part live, says Lombard.

"We build the songs up live, with the help of technology and the computer, then we play our own parts and Tyler sings and we now have a drummer," says Fowler.

Through some of their local shows, they discovered it worked to bring a drummer in, so they've added that.

"Technology is amazing nowadays, what you can do with it. Not quite so much around here, but around bigger cities, like Toronto, there are a lot of electronic acts that perform, with a mini keyboard or a trigger or something, and the computer, and they're able to create music using that," says Fowler.

You don't need to have a full band anymore because you're able to do all of it yourself, he says.

"That's been kind of a problem sometimes, with certain places we might be playing or want to play, there is a misconception that you play it on the iPod," says Lombard. "It's not faking it, it's a full live performance, as Nick said, with the incorporation of technology."

Someone obviously understands what The Arka Teks are up to, as their first album, Night Life, is up for Pop Recording of the Year at the East Coast Music Awards, taking place in Charlottetown, P.E.I. from April 13-17.

"We're definitely excited. It's always great to be nominated for awards," says Lombard.

During the event, they'll have a showcase stage at The Globe in Charlottetown on Friday, April 15.

Their debut CD, released in July 2010, has already taken home two MusicNB awards, Urban/Electronic Album of the Year and Fans Choice.

While Fowler and Lombard would like to be able to stay in Fredericton, they're aware they might have to move to a larger centre like Toronto, as they want to take their music as far as they can.

Politics is still a big part of the music industry, no matter where you go, but they note that social media has completely changed how this industry works.

"It is the music industry now. If you're not on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, then you're not trying very hard," says Fowler.

"You're hindered a huge amount because you need to be up in people's faces in every single way possible, and because they rely on their Facebook feed to get any sort of information about anything, you need to be in their Facebook feed and you need to be there with relevant information once a day, or more or less."

It's a balance between being annoying and being relevant, he says, but you always have to be there, because if you're not somebody else is going to step in and take your place.

A good example of how computers have changed the industry is where The Arka Teks have found success.

"Through YouTube we landed a distribution deal in Singapore and Malaysia last year," says Lombard, a deal based on the YouTube success that they found.

He credits their friend Davin Tong, who created videos about a character named Peter Chao and included one of their songs at the end. Chao is a YouTube star in his own right, and gave the song massive exposure.

Thanks to that, Night Life was distributed to chain stores in Singapore and Malaysia. When The Arka Teks second album comes out this summer, it will be distributed there as well.

The duo got an idea of how far-reaching their fan base is when they sent out a call, asking fans to take pictures with signs saying "I'm an Arka Tek." The photos have been pouring in from all over the globe, including Fredericton, Calgary, California, Vancouver, Malaysia, Australia, Germany and Texas.

"It's surreal," says Lombard. "We've been able to acquire this fan base that is worldwide."

Neither of them ever imagined that happening.

While they might be big in Singapore, they're aware that lots of people in Fredericton still haven't heard of them.

"We realize we're kind of fish out of water in terms of the market that we're in, and that's OK," says Lombard. "We're just hoping to broaden people's horizons."

The Arka Teks will be playing at The Capital on Thursday, April 7. To learn more about the band and any upcoming dates, visit www.thearkateks.com or look them up on Facebook. - The Daily Gleaner

Recently, I was trawling through YouTube, looking for new music to listen to. For weeks now, I have been listening to music by this 2-person band, The Arka Teks. Created by Producer/Songwriter Nick Fowler and Singer/Songwriter Tyler Lombard, this band is one you will want to check out; they will stun you!

Man. They are good. I will not lie, I haven’t touched much else outside of the songs they’ve put out there. The Arka Teks focus on precise club and dance music (dance, club, pop, and electro music), with some heavy bass, great vocals and lyrics, and some insane beats. With their own recording studio, they have created some great songs.

From the first song posted on YouTube, “Showstoppa”, to the recent postings of “I Know You Know” and “Night Life,” these guys keep putting up new material to listen to. The playlist includes “Can’t Stop The Rock” (incomplete), “Hypnotize”, “Ayo”, and “Under The City Lights.” They are also working on a cover of “Days Go By,” a 2001 song by Dirty Vegas. You might know it from its Grammy in 2002 (when it was a radio hit) or from the commercial for the 2003 Mitsubishi Eclipse. The remix that I’ve heard so far is undoubtedly one of the best versions (if not the best) out there.

And what about the 2 men behind it all? Fowler and Lombard hail from Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada. As Nick tells me, he and Tyler came from opposite ends of the music world. Nick worked with electro-house music, glitchy intelligent dance music, and electronic dance music while Tyler used acoustic guitars and sang. This combination really shows; excellent lyrics are combined with unique beats which really move the music.

Currently, the Arka Teks are 5th most viewed on YouTube under Musicians; they are really moving up in the ranks and with all the songs they are pushing out, I wouldn’t be surprised to see a record label soon.

Check them out!
- Welcome to The Underground

The debut album by local electronic/club duo The Arka Teks is filled with driving beats, solid vocal performances and fun stories about partying with friends.

Local electronic duo The Arka Teks are set to release their debut album, Night Life, on July 2 through iTunes, music retailer www.indiepool.com, some local retailers and at upcoming live shows.

Night Life, which will be officially released tomorrow, is a 10-track effort by programmer, synth-operator, and guitarist Nick Fowler and lead vocalist Tyler Lombard.

Lombard said the original concept for the album was to craft a story arc about a specific evening of club-hopping with friends, but the project quickly grew in scope.

"As opposed to songs about one crazy night out, it evolved into observations about night life at different points in your life," he said.

"I think that made it a bit more substantial, as opposed to having the stories centre around one big evening."

Standout tracks include Right Now, I Know You Know, Can't Stop The Rock, and the blazing I Can Read - an insanely catchy back-and-forth song featuring vocals by Lombard and 20-year-old Danica Beaulieu, a St. Thomas University student who sets the track on fire with her powerful voice and obvious charisma.

He said the band enjoys electronic music and simply wanted to bring a different sound to the local music scene.

"It's a little bit of both. We wanted to do something different.

"We wanted to offer an alternative to what's out there in the local scene - not that we're saying what's out there is good or bad. We just think choice is always a good thing," he said.

"We had it in our heads while we were doing this album."

Lombard, who also plays solo gigs with an acoustic guitar, said he had to make some adjustments to his usual writing process while working on songs for an electronic/club album.

"I've always enjoyed listening to that kind of music. I had tried once or twice to get a group to play this kind of music together, but it never really got off the ground," he said.

"But when Nick and I met, we knew the chemistry was there and we wanted to see what we could do. We're really happy with how it turned out. For me, I normally do folk singer-songwriter stuff and I really liked the challenge of trying to write in this vein."

People can pick up a copy of Night Life through iTunes, online music retail website www.indiepool.com/tat2010cd, several local retailers, and at some upcoming live shows still being organized.

For more information about the group, people can check out their website: http://www.myspace.com/thearkateks. - The Daily Gleaner