Montreal electronic music

ArtsFestivalsFTB WeekendsMusicNightlife

Mutek 2013 is starting tonight. We could make a list of top five acts not to miss at this year’s festival, but we all know you’re too busy and excited to go through all that reading.

This year we decided to go straight to what’s important: the music itself! We made you a playlist that you can enjoy while pre-dinking at your house. We honestly think the Mutek organizers have come up with the most impressive lineup in their history and you should attend ALL of their events!

So, for now, sit back, relax and for the complete schedule head to their website.

 

John Tejada – Operation Photon (original mix)
Michael Mayer – Good Times
Brandt Brauer & Frick – Plastic like your mother (feat. Om’mas Keith)
Andy Stott – Numb
Robert Hood – Dancer
John Talabot – Afrika
John Roberts – Fences
Laurel Halo – Throw
San Proper – Cut your hair
Axel Boman – Purple drank
Juju & Jordash – Doctor Strangepork

 

ArtsFestivalsMusicNightlife

Igloofest’s first week is behind us and with such a strong beginning we’re happy they decided to extend it an extra week. That means there are still nine more nights to go. Hopefully Mother Nature will be nicer to us, but like a girl working the festival mentioned: “It wouldn’t be the same if we weren’t freezing cold; only the true electronic music lovers come out and play under these circumstances.” Here are my thoughts on the first weekend, including Wolf + Lamb and performances at the local DJ stage.

Wolf+Lamb

Wolf + Lamb proved once again they’re true party animals. They delivered a DJ set that even your mother would have danced to. It might sound negative  but when it’s as cold outside as it was last Thursday, a little crowd pleaser here and there is exactly what you need. They put a smile on everybody’s face when they dropped Eddie Murphy’s hit “Party all the time”. They played one of my guilty pleasure “Sensual seduction” by Snoop (when he was still) the Dogg and finished their journey with Detroit anthem “Big Fun”.

Mistress Barbara

Mistress Barbara followed up and you could feel a true connection between her and the crowd. She loves what she does, and in return Montreal fans fought the freezing weather and stayed until the very end.

 

Talking about Montreal DJs, I was happily surprised by the Virgin Mobile Igloo. Not only that sound quality is way better (it’s a cozy sphere so the speakers are more efficient compared to the outdoor setting), but I must say our local scene is healthier than ever. I got to see G O’Brien, who’s been a techno veteran for years now, formerly involved in the rave scene and later in afterhours such as Sona and Aria. The stage is in a closed, heated area and it literally saved my life last Thursday. It’s definitely the best way to defrost your body and discover new talents. Beware though, the space is small and the line up is long but your toes and ears will thank you for being patient.

2013 Igloofest thur-128 2013 Igloofest thur-109Igloofest was not at full capacity on the colder days which made me wonder why they don’t offer a special price for exceptionally cold weather. I mean, not everybody can stay outside when it’s -25 and most people will think twice before spending 20$ when they know they can’t deal with the cold for more than an hour or two.

This weekend we’ll be back covering: Miss Kittin, Ellen Allien, Nina Kravitz, Pan-Pot, TNGHT, and Schlachthofbronx. Here is a bit of a preview.

If you’re a female DJ or just a fan of the female persuasion (and I know there are more and more of us out there), do yourself a favor and attend Igloofest on Thursday January 24th. Miss Kittin and Ellen Allien will be sharing the stage and seeing these two working in the electronic music industry for over a decade has been truly inspiring.

ArtsMusic

Sunday June 3rd (well, Monday afternoon for me) marked the end of another edition of one of the most important electronic music festival in North America. I’ve been attending Mutek for four years now and I can say without hesitating that this year edition was my favorite so far. I mean, every year has had its highlights but this time it was different. Every single night, I’ve found myself discovering or re-discovering incredible musicians! Which was priceless. Here’s a list of my favorite performances day by day.

Wednesday:

Probably my top discovery of this year’s festival is the American duo Blondes. Having heard of them without knowing what they would sound like, I was expecting some minimal intellectual electronic music. How wrong was I! These guys can teach you a thing or two about how to do a proper live techno set just like any other Detroit dude. Apparat live right after was a little bit too Sigur Ros infused to keep the party going.

Thursday:

Having the chance of seeing a legend like Jeff Mills is a once in a lifetime experience… getting to see him twice in less than a week is the best thing I could dreamed of. After catching his Wizard set on Monday in Detroit it was now time to catch the more experimental and sci-fi side of Mills. A Roland 909 up front, five cdj’s in the back and the moon pumping to the beat in the background, the set-up was out of this world; and so was the performance…

Friday:

To kick-off the week-end, Mutek crew provided us with the most “mainstream” line-up of the festival. Everybody in Montreal was waiting to hear how Nicolas Jaar would sound live. I got to see him last March in Toronto and was very disappointed. Although he didn’t deliver the best performance of this year’s festival; let’s just say that it was decent enough to patch things up between the two of us. Jimmy Edgar closed the night and sounded so good that I had to go to this small sweaty after-party where we danced to his mixes until 6am.

Saturday:

I’m magically out of bed early enough to catch my favorite performance of this year’s festival. It’s a rainy day, so Piknik Electronic has been moved to S.A.T. It’s dark and definitely not what one needs to cure a hangover. It doesn’t matter because nothing will stop the talented KiNK! He delivered an energy-driven set expressing how excited he was to be there. He interacted with the crowd, giving them the opportunity to mess with his sequencer and join ion the music making. Some people say he puts on the best live electronic music around and I tend to agree.

Sunday:

For the last day of the festival, despite the possibility of rain, the weather was on our side and we got to go out to Piknik Electronik . The special guest at Piknik Electronik was none other than Nicolas Jaar followed by Benoit & Sergio live and finally Wolf & Lamb. It was the perfect line-up to listen to while spending the afternoon dancing outside. The bravest among us crawled to S.A.T to catch the last Nocturne, which feature a live set by Dave Aju. I won’t lie; at this point I was so beaten up I can’t really say how good it was…

The Mutek crew, this year more than any other, proved that Montreal is an important player in the electronic music scene. Now, we just have to surf the wave and use this inspiring week-end as a model for more electronic music events in our city.

Also for all our original photography from the fest check out ForgetTheBox on FB