POP Montreal was just bananas this year. There was so much to see: parties and weird late nights out with the camera. I am only now, after nearly 5 days, keeping anything like normal hours.

The week started off with a party over at POP central— place was packed when I rolled up on the late side of 7. There were bare lights strung above everyone’s heads downstairs, which made it all a little overt. I headed upstairs where the sub 60 bass was coming from. On the top landing it was dark and I turned the corner right into the last tune of the Young Paris set. I was feeling it, so I stuck around at the jam for a minute afterword and talked about RUN NDG t-shirts with some random guy.

I’d gotten the press lanyard by then, and Flynt Flossy was playing later. Had to go connect with my people for the show, right!? (Read a review of the Turquoise Jeep showcase.)

On Thursday night, I went and checked out that LOC-NAR set at Casa del Popolo. I took Chose Bottine with me — his niece (Tess) plays keys in various projects including LOC-NAR. Now having done a preview of the band already based on my interpretations of their recordings, I was very interested in checking out their set. I was intrigued by the lo-fi style and the strange time signatures. Secondly, this band had a bit of a buzz. Lotsa cool people involved.

The place was packed so I cut hard for the front row so I could photo the group, kind of hard to get balanced for a shot, though! I found Chose Bottine again and just sunk into listening as a musician. The band is really tight, and I don’t mean tight in 4/4 time either. Tonally and energetically this band moves from pop to metallic in a single composition very fluidly. I was also struck by how progressive the tunes were. Nothing dull about how these guys proceed.

Chose Bottine and I were quite impressed. Go check out LOC-NAR live.

Woke up for school feeling like that translucent piece of egg in the pan—

Went downtown Friday night to catch Yoni Wolf. Got totally sidetracked by a few tribespeople and ended up somewhere else. I arrived extremely late and somewhat unbalanced! La Vitrola was bumping with that strange Why? hip hop flavour. No one is as weird on the mic as Yoni Wolf. You got to check him out if you’re unaware. Werd.

The week was wild, the parties were lush and surreal. And I for one sacrificed a few brain cells. But yo! What a job, and what a magical time with my friends covering these acts from Montreal and abroad. The Unicorns closed the week and they get their own article. Shabang!

Photo by Susan Moss courtesy of POP Montreal.

Hey yo POP Montreal— treat me like a pirate and give me that booty. That’s the hook for Flossy’s new single. The guy is on some next level shit right now. I strolled down the wet Plateau streets with the freshest girl I know to catch the Turquoise Jeep set at Club Lambi. I was ready for whatever, like who goes to see Flynt Flossy, right!?

We chilled in the alleyway for a bit, took some flicks and got faded. Pure trap bass was just slamming in the building. Shaydakiss and A-Rock took turns spinning the opening set— they had snifters on the table beside the ones and twos, the place was crunk up. There were some pretty fly dancers on the floor, this one dude was leaning back way under the limbo stick. A throng of girls in AA tights were dipping that shit low too! I don’t know if you’re up on what Flossy’s been doing since Turquoise Jeep, his label, started dropping albums back in 2010—

The sexualization of women is rampant and there’s a super cheesy aesthetic to the lyrical content. These guys that form the Turquoise Jeep crew, Whatchyamacallit and Yung Humma and Flynt Flossy are constantly rapping about sordid encounters with live women. Sounds like a train wreck, no? But yo, trust me, these tracks are so stupid that it’s actually funny. The tracks almost feel like parody. Now, I don’t think Flossy’s as self-aware and pointed as Ween. But there is a shrewdness to embodying something you’re making fun of, marketing it and taking it on tour. Plus, the beats really bang.

shaydakiss

At one point each of the members chose a girl from the audience and had them come up on stage— But yo! These girls got mad lap dances, dudes were grinding all up on these poor girls’ faces. Flossy’s turned the place out. I’m not saying none of those ladies enjoyed it though. The show was just live with strange outfits and dank beats, after an hour I had to dip and walk the streets— photos in the after-rain are so reflective.

If you don’t bump Flynt Flossy once a week just to get low and laugh then you slipping. And also peep that video for “Treat Me Like A Pirate”. It’s all American Appeal and thick gals wining as the beat rolls out.

flynt flossy

Werd.

Photos by Jesse Anger.