Leb Borgerson - vocals, guitars, drums, keys, beats and loops.
Influences
Themselves, Jeff Buckley, Godspeed You Black Emperor, New Order, Fugazi, Eureka Farm (The Misadventures of Two), Prefuse 73, Neutral Milk Hotel
Sounds Like
"Leb Borgerson, the sole citizen of Quiet Countries, uses more pedals, loops, dials and gadgets than James Bond to handcraft each song before your eyes. His powerful, soaring voice distinguishes him as a 21st-century troubadour worth hearing."
-Karla Starr/The Willamette Week
"Quiet Countries, the solo project of Leb Borgerson, put on a blown-out set of Mack-truck vocals over beats and loops expertly manipulated to create moments of high drama worthy of both the psycho-histrionics in Ibsen's A Doll's House and the right-now teen angst on The O.C."
-Mark Baumgarten/The Willamette Week
"A jittery blend of heavy beats, baritone guitar and augmented vocal loops that range from desolate to downright creepy, Quiet Countries perform some strange variant of electronica that has yet to be named. Dark wave glitch pop? Intelligent kick dub Detroit techno? Whatever the category, Quiet Countries are well on their way to mastering it."
-Brian Graham/Tablet Magazine
"Leb Borgerson imbues his solo project, Quiet Countries, with a natural conviction that hints at genius. Wielding a baritone guitar, he loops dissonant melodies with a Line 6 pedal and layers booming beats, syncing them perfectly with the mathy evilness of the guitar. His voice cuts through with tortured lines like, we can't keep wrapping ourselves in plastic... but we try, we try, we try; in the process, he obliterates the traditional role of the singer/songwriter, combining meaningful lyrics with modern modes of musical creation, filling out the heart that is absent in much electronic music."
-Kevin O'Conner/The Portland Mercury
"Quiet Countries' Leb Borgerson is one of the few one-man bands around that doesn't rely on a laptop, instead relying on actual instruments: guitars, keys and yes, a table full of boxes and wires. It all results in Portland-inspired moody atmospherics coupled with heart-attack deep bass beats."
-Michael Byrne/The Willamette Week
"With all its glitched beats and laptop-born melodic flourishes, Quiet Countries makes for a very different type of singer-songwriter than the usual coffee-house troubadours."
-Richard Shirk/The Willamette Week
"Take a good musician who knows music theory. His band breaks up and he's left to be inspired with his solo work. Then, say this guy has some nice looping gear, a guitar and some great songwriting ideas. Put this guy in a studio with his experience and some free time you would then have Leb Borgerson and his Quiet Countries. Loop based guitar rock. Vocals that penetrate. Times that change. Serenity within madness. Order amongst chaos. All That is felicitous. This album is merely an EP but feels more whole than they usually do. There were a lot of nuances that I didn't catch the first time I listened. If your stereo is set so the whole cd repeats, you may not even notice 'til the third time around."
-Maranda Dabel/Music Liberation Project
Quiet Countries is the alias of Alan Singley and the Pants Machine guitarist, Leb Borgerson. Started under the name Imminent Music Company in 2002, after the break-up of post rock/jam band, Laserhawk, Leb performed melancholy songs centered around his looping guitar and vocals. The named changed to Quiet Countries at a show the Halloween of that year, inspired in part by the addition of a fairly cheap drum machine to the “line up”. In 2003 he released a limited edition EP on Lucky Madison Records called The Quiet Countries EP. This consisted of early versions of songs from his live set, sound experiments recorded at Sky Onion, and fleshed-out improvisations. In February 2006 Quiet Countries debut full-length, "No One Makes a Sound" came out, also on Lucky Madison. Recorded over two years at various Portland studios, this release contained most of the music in the live set since late 2002 and featured members of Point Juncture Washington, Talkdemonic, and the Snuggle Ups .
Quiet Countries has recently completed "The Karate Williams Diaries" to be released early in 2009 on Central Service Records. A concept album of sorts, it consists of work done during 2007 at Leb’s home studio. That year while at work, Leb cut the tendons, artery and nerves in his left index finger. This resulted in an extended time off from playing guitar and more time focused on other musical projects, some of which ended up as the Diaries. With the exception of one song that Leb sings on, and the addition of talented Portland MC, A.E.D., on another, it is a collection of bombastic, beat heavy instrumentals filled with dense synth melodies and swirling, textured harmonies.
Leb is also finishing up the next Quiet Countries CD called "The Ancient Motorcade" and will put together a full band to perform the music from this record once it is completed.
ah, studio time is divine. how many tracks you mixin'? is there an MD in the house cuz these tracks is ill. the chorus of moving day reminds me of "fame" in a way; the bowie/lennon comp not the movie or song from the movie. keep up the good work L. Give gus a shouts, por favor.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!! 
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