since 1984 art damage has produced electronic music, photos, graphic design, videos and sound design.

based in/on Cape Breton Island (famous for Celtic music) one Matthew Claener has released 7 albums locally and now appears on CDBaby's site, iTunes Music Store, eMusic among others.

it's hard to pin down art damage's sound as it borrows from genres like drum n bass. ambient and techno, while blending disparate elements into something fresh.

about art damage...

Who is Art Damage? He's a mysterious musician who's been called "Atlantic Canada's electronic guru." He rarely performs his strange brand of electronic ambient sounds live. He prefers instead to experiment like an audio-centric mad scientist in his secret underground sound lab.

What else would you expect from a man widely known for his infamous "blood performance"?

Art has also appeared on skate videos and compilation albums in Canada, England and Germany.

"art damage always gets crappy turnouts unless the kids think he's gonna draw blood or some sh*t. art is a super nice guy, and he's got a zillion electronic albums. you can buy some of his albums at mary jane's: give this guy a chance, some of his beats are super good and not that thrown-together-in-2-minutes frooty loops sh*at.

"....Ok he's a legend- and were
anticipating such a huge crowd were thinking of making tickets the Leaf holds only about 70 safely...tee heee; but listen it
would be nice for many to go see Art- it might be one of his last shows in Sydney for awhile."


"...woah. lol. Crazy techno / dance music with a very odd and colorful monitor display going at the same time. Very different indeed."

"...weirdoes, and the ever-mysterious Art Damage, who is one of Sydney's only performing electronic
musicians, and certainly the most experienced. Maybe he'll do that thing with the blood again."

"Ummmm...rumours have it that the Art Damage show isn't happening this Saturday; because of Arts' Health...Well; I've just talked to the man himself and he's going to be able to do the show on Saturday.
I think it would be really great if a lot of people would show up.

"Why you ask? Well I'm not going to guilt you into it; but the guys been involved in the indie/ underground scene for longer than I can remember.....he was in Phycus for god sake. But moreover; I think his music should be heard- I think it adds to the local scene and just shows the diversity of music that comes from this place; and come on it's only three bucks you all can fish that out of your pockets to see a truly original Cape Breton artist."

I finally got around to listening to the Art Damage tape I bought at the ECMA Unauthorized nocase, and I was quite impressed. It was recorded a few years ago, so the music is a little dated, but still really good, if you're into techno. Art...went to school to
learn studio recording, so the quality is excellent; very crisp.
The beats are really strong, and there's a pile of songs on the tape, too. It's called "Murdering Your Inner Child", by the way. If you can find Matt (try the next Electric CB rave, if you're over the age of 14, pick up a copy of the tape. Se@n out."

Art Damage: you never know what to expect from Mr Damage. Every show is completely different, with a long period of preparation before he even gets on stage. Unpredictable and thought provoking are the best words to describe Art Damage.