About Erik Mongrain

Erik Mongrain (born April 12, 1980, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada) is a Canadian composer and guitarist. He uses a unique acoustic style with a wide array of different techniques, approaches and textures reminiscent of Michael Hedges. Mongrain became very interested in guitar at the age of fourteen. The electric guitar was what Mongrain first worked with as he was teaching himself, and eventually picked up an interest in classical and acoustic guitar. He then went on to teach himself how to read music, and started to compose his own. His is considered to have began his career as a musician in 2001. Mongrain is most well known for the technique called lap tapping, which is done with one or two hands, primarily with the guitar sitting in the guitarists lap. A series of hammer ons and pull offs is performed by one hand, and the playing of notes synchronized with the tapping is performed by the other hand. Erik Mongrain plays shows in the United States, England and, of course, Canada. As he first started, he is still playing street shows, and has done some performances on television. In December 2006, Mongrain released his first full length album titled, Fates. This was available in stores from June 2007. On October 21, 2008, Mongrain launched his second album "Equilibrium". The title track from the album is an ode to the balance between humans and the planet. The album was recorded in July 2008 in "The Dragon Crossing studios", the personal recording place of Paul Reed Smith (PRS Guitars), located in Annapolis, Maryland, United States. On this album, Mongrain plays with musicians such as Michael Manring on fretless bass and Bill Plummer on synthesizers.