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This Is Not A Lecture

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Click to listen.

Miss the podcast last Friday? Have a listen to the podcast, hosted by Karen of CKUT for Leacocks.com and enjoy! She described it thusly:

Bringing you a mix of top dirty 30, new releases, and die hard gems by the fortnight as promised, this is episode 2 of the podcast. Dig it.

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The Montreal Sessions: December 2011 edition!

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Our good buds over at Fixture Records, which is run by Conor Prendergast and Tessa Smith, are going to be the hosts of the December edition of The Montreal Sessions. Tune in every Tuesday in December between 3-5pm to listen to live performances and “fireside chats” with Fixture bands!

Also, starting next week we’ll be featuring profiles on each of the bands to whet your sonic appetite for ’em, complete with photos of their jam spaces and a Q&A. Check the first profile this Monday!

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The Montreal Sessions: CRESTING

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Click image to enlarge.

Gabriel Ng is Cresting and this is his work space. He records onto tape and doesn’t master his songs (in the traditional sense) to ensure that they retain the immediacy of the initial sound recording. He’ll be Fixture Records‘ first guest this month as part of their Montreal Sessions residency. So be sure to tune in tomorrow between 3-5pm to listen to the performance, interview and whatever else they get up to!

Photos and interview by Amanda and Amber.

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The Montreal Sessions: SHEER AGONY

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Sheer Agony practices at Silver Door

Jackson MacIntosh of Sheer Agony showed us around

Jackson tends to the guitar garden, does some weeding.

Jackson MacIntosh is the man behind Sheer Agony and is a mean guitar player. He’ll be Fixture Records‘ second guest this month as part of their Montreal Sessions residency. Be sure to tune in tomorrow between 3-5pm to listen to the performance, interview and whatever else they get up to!

Photos and interview by Amanda and Amber.

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January’s Montreal Sessions: The Word I Heard

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THE WORD I HEARD is an experiment.  This month on CKUT’s Montreal Sessions, Karen Robins and Tim Beeler will explore the places where spoken word poetry and music come together.  The sessions will include found recordings, mashups, in-studio readings, guest artists, as well as their own work.

:::UPDATE::: Tune in to the final installment of The Word I Heard on the Montreal Sessions today from 3 to 5 pm as Karen and Tim reflect on the month’s programming, chat about each others’ work, and bring you some new original material.  Also featuring on-air performances from Eric Andrew-Gee of STEPS Magazine and local spoken word poet and founder of Madpoetix Productions, Kym Dominique-Ferguson.

The Montreal Sessions is a monthly artist-in-residency program. Each month a new local artist/DJ/musician/band/label/festival/promoter programs a month’s worth of live, weekly radio shows, which air every Tuesday from 3-5pm .

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SPECTRAL MIGRATION || Live Bands!

Lady Rap

Emma Frank + UN // Underground Sounds

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Emma Frank

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tune in tonight for a steady flow of Montreal music on your dial from 8-10pm. Your host Nick Schofield interviews jazz singer Emma Frank and debuts new songs from her first album ‘For Being Apart’. Later in the show we’ll reach one half of the UN duo, Kara Keith, by phone for a ticket giveaway to their MEG Fest show on July 25. Wanna win? Call in!

Listen live at CKUT.ca or 90.3 FM

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The Montreal Sessions: June 2, 2015

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Hey kids! don’t forget to listen today for this weeks Montreal Sessions, hosted by the one and only Suoni Per Il Popolo. If you’re not yet familiar, Suoni is a festival that celebrates and explores the outer limits of rock, jazz, and classical music (and is definitely worth checking out).

Tune in your ears from 3-5pm to hear your host Paula and our live guests: Technical Kidman. In the meanwhile, you can check out some of their sweet, sweet tunes right here.

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FUNDING DRIVE KICK OFF PARTY

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a4052255328_10CKUT’s annual funding drive is under way! This year, we present to you Radio Unleashed: from October 22nd to November 1st, our airwaves will be filled with special programming from all your favourite shows and hosts. To kick it all off, tonight at 8pm we are hosting a party at Bar Le Ritz PDB, featuring a variety of Montreal artists, from music to dance and even spoken word!

Music will be provided by local bands Cheap Wig, a highly energetic feminist punk-rock group, Show of Bedlam, a dark experimental death rock group and Smileswithteeth, a feel-good electronic pop group. DJ Jef Barbara will also be spinning throughout the night so be ready to dance!

Beyond music, Ill Groove Garden Hip Hop Dance Crew will perform, as well as spoken word artist Kym Dominique-Ferguson. We’ve got something for everyone’s tastes! 

Please bring a small donation ($10 suggested) to help keep our station running to its full ability!

If all those reasons weren’t enough to get you out tonight, check out this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Jndopa39j8

We hope you’ll join us in supporting our station!

-Céleste Pagniello

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An Ode to Brainfeeder

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An Ode to Brainfeeder

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They caught my attention at The Epic, blew my mind with The Beyond/Where the Giants Roam and Chinese Nu Yr, and changed my religion at Kneedelus.  Founded in 2008 under the direction of god-amongst-men, Flying Lotus, Brainfeeder Records has grown into a Mecca for Jazz, Hip Hop, and electronic music lovers alike and its wide array of musical artists has led to an absolutely earth-shattering year of releases in 2015.  By utilizing the characteristics of many contrasting genres, the label has achieved a sound aesthetic like no other that both bleeds modernism and pays homage to Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock, and the rest of musical fusion’s past.

Tides have been changing this year.  The addition of Thundercat’s virtuosic bass work and Robert Glasper’s brilliant orchestration to Kendrick Lamar’s masterpiece To Pimp a Butterfly has exposed the mainstream audience to Hip-Hop/Jazz fusion.  Meanwhile, Chance the Rapper simply will not tour without his high school friend/instrumental partner in crime Donnie Trumpet and the one and only David Bowie has caught wind of all this activity and released an epic single, Blackstar, featuring the Saxophone prowess of Donny McCaslin and high intensity jazz drumming of Mark Guiliana.  The 90s discographies of The Roots and Tribe Called Quest display the obvious tendency for jazz and popular music to be intertwined, however, it is also valid to say that jazz has held a much more prominent role in the worlds of hip hop and rock this year, which may lead to more genre bending collaboration in the future.

This “Jazz trend” in the commercial music world has been epitomized by Brainfeeder.  Kamasi Washington’s The Epic, Thundercat’s The Beyond/Where the Giants Roam, and Kneebody’s collaboration album with Daedelus are three examples of Jazz music taking strides into the realm of fusion while somehow maintaining some sense of accessibility. The Epic can only be described using that one word; Epic.  The three hour manifesto seamlessly blends classic elements of Latin-American jazz and straight ahead swing with more progressive elements such as complex meter and scales while somehow still leaving room for catchy vocal hooks.  Through the inclusion of all these elements the album has payed tribute to the past, advanced the genre into more progressive territory, and preserved appeal to the less experienced jazz crowd.  This mentality is brought to every jazz related album on the label thus resulting in some of the most important jazz music of the year.

Brainfeeder’s glorious execution of jazz fusion is made even more impressive by their grasp of other experimental genres.  Not only does the label emphasize the advancement of older genres into new territory, it also supports the idea of entirely new, futuristic explorations.  Iglooghost’s ep, Chinese Nu Yr, is a prime example of progressive electronic music that has achieved an entirely forward thinking sound aesthetic. It is important to note that Iglooghost is only 18 years old.  Despite his young age, Iglooghost has achieved a very mature sound that screams futurism and truly sounds like nothing else in the world.  Chinese Nu Yr does not come with the same level of accessibility as some of the other artists on the label, but the difference between this music and that of Kamasi Washington shows just how many boundaries the label has broken down.

Contrast is possibly the most important aspect of any musical endeavor, therefore record labels themselves should produce enough contrasting albums to fully explore the palate of their listeners.  It would be rare for a single record label to incorporate all of the musicians of Brainfeeder, never mind the amount of cross-collaboration the label has encouraged.  All of the masterfully produced and creatively composed music of Brainfeeder’s 2015 catalogue has resulted in a truly spectacular collection of contemporary music that will be absolutely be seen as prolific for years to come.

The Epic

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The world simply cannot generate enough praise for Kamasi Washington.  The man has approached jazz with a rock and roll level of intensity and near Coltrane level of virtuosity.  In a world were all music is essentially available free for anyone at any time, Washington has somehow managed to gain international recognition through the employment of a three hour jazz album, thus proving the relevance of truly great work in modern day society.  Despite the obvious approachable aspect of the album, Washington has refused to accept any level of musical sacrifice resulting in a nearly untouchable piece of music suitable for devote music listeners of any genre.

 Energy. Plain and simple.  The amount of work that went into this album can be heard whenever Washington reaches his blood-curdling saxophone scream while the drums of Leon Mobley, Tony Austin, and Ronald Bruner, Jr. are beaten to death in moment of pure blood, sweat, and tears.  Subtly is an important aspect of music, however, the powerful, energetic approach of The Epic is probably the most appealing aspect of the first listen.  Also, the atmosphere of it all is possibly where the accessibility is found.  Music in every setting has always displayed an evolution of energy.  Without some range of different levels of excitement, music becomes dry and boring.  Washington’s constantly evolving sound and emphasis on musical power has resulted in a piece that is just simply impressive to watch unfold and as energetic as any other album on the market right now.

One of the most memorable tracks on The Epic has to beThe Magnificent Seven.  As described, the song is in 7/4.  This is a somewhat progressive songwriting strategy, however, what makes it so impressive is the ease with which it is approached.  Washington plays in seven with the same raw intensity that he employs on the entire record and the beautiful choral melody hides away the uncommon meter, providing some sense of subtlety.  It is also impressive how grabbing the song is considering its twelve minute length.  As a jazz DJ, I might have a slightly different gage for song length and interest, but I fail to see how anyone could possibly not be glued to their seat from beginning to end on The Magnificent Seven. This song is a perfect example of how each cell within the album is representative of the work as a whole.  Washington employs subtle progressive elements to provide the listener with something different to latch onto all the while incorporating high intensity choral parts and instrumental solos and somehow leaving space for beautiful melodic highlights.

Perhaps Brainfeeder’s order of releases this year was coincidental, but I believe that Washington’s Epic was meant to be the flagship.  With its May release date, The Epic set the tone for the 2015 and generated my interest in the other albums released on the label this year.

Where the Giants Roam

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The burden of virtuosity.  Nobody can play the bass quite like Thundercat, but that’s not what makes his work so impressive.  Virtuosity is simply not valued in the same way in 2015 as it was in the time of Franz Liszt or Wolfgang Mozart.  The most important aspect of Thundercat’s music career is the way he writes songs.  Thundercat puts together a piece of music in a similar way to Lou Reed or Patti Smith, expertly incorporating his personality and imperfections into the sound aesthetic of the song culminating in a beautifully subtle song for any music lover to enjoy.

The album art of The Beyond/Where the Giants Roamdisplays a mythological, silhouette emerging from the fog while the shimmering light sets on a long autumn afternoon.  The sound aesthetic of the EP itself is largely reflected by this cover.  The darkly produced drum beats are made mysterious by the light, foggy bass work and Thundercat’s longing voice shimmers over the top of it all like the setting sun.  This combined with the vivid imagery of Thundercat losing track of his heart on Them Changes and the chilling atmosphere on Song for the Dead, provide the piece with a captivating level of mental turmoil.  The emotional affect is stunning.

Minimalism is everywhere on this piece.  Clocking in at only sixteen minutes, The Beyond is gone before you can even blink, however, the culmination of Thundercat’s featured artists and brilliantly selected little details results in an impact like that of a Monet Haystack.  The lyrics of Lone Wolf and Cubperfectly summarize the potential of simplicity.  There’s really not much to “Wolf and cub, wolf and cub, wolf and cub/On your own, on your own, on your own/Where will you go? Where will you go? Where will you go” and the rest of the song employs similar, repetitive phrases, yet the theme of being lost and having nowhere to go leads the song into a terrifyingly eerie realm.  When combined with the droning instrumental outro, these minimalist phrases are able to create a heavy, lasting impression on the listener.

One of the best moments on Where the Giants Roamstems from Thundercat’s minimalist detailing.  The climax ofSong For The Dead is reached as the volume reaches its peak towards the end of the song.  Not only does the intensity of the song grow, but just when the climactic moment is about to occur, a mechanical whistle of sorts reaches its highest frequency and the vocals are panned from right to left almost like a bass drop at an edm concert.  The result is glorious.  The spacy aesthetic of the whole EP comes together for a momentary spark of excitement before sputtering back into Thundercat’s melancholy world.

Oh Sheit it’s X will forever be Thundercat’s best bass line, but he spent 2015 proving that his mastery of emotion comes full circle.  Just after the horrifying terrorist attacks on Paris last month, Thundercat recorded a song that took the cities name.  The 74 second piece perfectly captured the emotions of the world with the subtlety of a prayer.  The Beyond/Where the Giants Roam was approached with the same simplistic ideology and the results were truly magnificent.

Chinese Nu Yr

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According to Brainfeeder, Iglooghost describes Chinese Nu Yr in the following manner:

“The EP is a story about a gelatinous worm-shaped creature who wears a witch hat called xiāngjiāo. He/she is really sad because his/her existence consists of infinitely being blasted through endless wormholes into different worlds that don’t make any sense – full of floating fruit and pink mist. He/she has a voice played by my little sister but sometimes my dad. He/she is perennially sad and terrified because it doesn’t make any sense why he/she was randomly born into this existence, but he/she is also shit scared because being shot at light speed through wormholes is probably f**king terrifying.”

Iglooghost is a bit of an enigma.  In following him on twitter since the release of this EP I have discovered that he is 18 years old, from England, and he began creating music at the age of 15.  The aura that he has established around himself is heavily reflected by his music.  The piece operates as one unit sporadically jumping from insane idea to insane idea resulting in an unstable electronic explosion of uniqueness.

When discussing Chinese Nu Yr, the subject of aesthetic has to be the first thought; it’s borderline indescribable.  The over-the-top futuristic electronic sounds and intentionally overbearing textural approach combine for a truly futuristic sound that doesn’t simply warp the human element of the music, it dismisses it entirely.  Even when the EP transforms itself into the somewhat predictable rap verse/DJ context with the Mr. Yote feature, Chinese Nu Yr completely avoids predictability in its presentation.  The song sidesteps the pop song structure entirely and more focusses on flow.  The ideas develop and seep into each other in a quasi-improvisational manner and Mr Yote’s rap is just another piece of the cycle.  This mentality combined with the electronic mastery of Iglooghost result in a fascinating sound aesthetic completely uncompromising in its search for the future.

The subtle hints of genius on this EP are arguably Iglooghost’s greatest quality.  He’s a comical character who approaches his music in a borderline sarcastic way but he also incorporates these tiny moments of absolute brilliance that classify him as a true genius.  The sentence “He/she is perennially sad and terrified because it doesn’t make any sense why he/she was randomly born into this existence” from the EP’s backstory is especially striking. He has written this extravagant backstory of a worm sporting a witch’s hat flying through the galaxy, yet he hides in this philosophical point about the experience of existence.

Despite the absence of words the music also embodies the sarcastic, extravagance of the back story with the same level of intertwined excellence.  The aesthetic of the song has been discussed previously and it is certainly a major part of the musical excellence but, Iglooghost also employs rhythmic mastery that is seriously progressive in the electronic dance music idiom.  Rather than the underlying bass drum/snare quarter notes of commercial electronic music, it is clear that the percussive bass part was carefully concocted based on the activity in the rest of the sound arc.  The constant, unclear human voice elements of the piece are another interesting way of creating rhythmic variety.  I’m not entirely sure where the voices come from but they have been manipulated in a manner where they are reduced to a rhythmic effect; it’s an entirely different way of sampling.

Iglooghost’s 16 minute EP is quite possibly the polar opposite of Thundercat’s 16 minute EP, but the results are truly just as spectacular.  His youth, originality, and musical prowess culminate in and EP that truly breaks the rules and gives us insight into a possible electronic genre of the future.

 Kneedelus

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This record is an example of how much a great producer can do for a great group of musicians.  Kneebody is an experimental fusion band that has always incorporated pedals and electronic sound ideas into their jazz-rock setup, but somewhat failed to nail it when it came to their recorded material.  In other words, they fit Flying Lotus’ archetype perfectly.  The advanced group of musical minds were brought to the record company and paired up with producing wiz Daedelus resulting in a record that is as impressive on paper as it is within its sound arc and one that breaks down boundaries that would not have been entirely possible without the help of Brainfeeder.

One of the most significant aspects of Kneedelus is the depth of the sound.  The bass growls with tasteful distortion, the drums are approached with a booming explosiveness that hits the listener right in the gut, and the electronic sounds generate this eerie textural element transporting you to another world in a similar manner to Chelsea Wolfe’s Abyss.  This is in stark contrast to Kneebody’s last record The Line, which operates like a semi-typical modern day fusion record.  The straight ahead rock drum sounds and clean electric bass work have been replaced with a new-found sense of maturity and sophistication that has to be attributed to Daedelus.  Daedelus has been a bit of a wild card in his solo work.  From mysterious vocals to classical guitar work, his last album The Light Brigadedemonstrates his uncanny ability to produce anything.  OnKneedelus, the necessary aesthetic evolution was darkness and depth and both have been found in Daedelus’s producing excellence.

Another important aspect of the ensemble sound is the horns, which haven’t changed a whole lot with the presence of a new producer.  The slightly electronic horn lines and solos have always been an important part of Kneebody’s sound and with so much other change going on they have found familiarity in the use of these horn parts.  Now the brightness of Shane Endsley’s trumpet tone is not matched by a clean-cut ensemble sound, instead it is contrasted by the darkness of it all.  Just as Kanye West has gone about generating evolutions in aesthetic around his relatively unchanging rap verses, Kneebody has moved around the sounds that surround their horns thus creating a perfect blend of ideas new and old.

With all evolving ideas and aesthetic changes set aside, it is obvious that the songwriting itself deserves some credit.  The last song on the record Not Love is quite frankly one of the most beautiful things to grace my ears this year.  The simple melodic piano chords are taken into glorious territory with the light vocal line.  The horns come into to back it all up with the slightest hint of strummed upright bass below it all.  The tempos change, the energy evolves in a way that fully encapsulates the listener even though the melody is relatively steady.  It’s a perfect execution of minimalism that would simply not be possible without a truly magnificent level of musical composition.  When combined with the progressive meter, advanced jazz improvisation, and textural genius of the rest of the record, the minimalism of Not Love is all the more impressive and it shows just how prolific this band can be.

For me, this album has solidified Brainfeeder’s importance.  Jazz has always been an amazing art form but it has always struggled to provide something for everyone.  I got a chance to see Kneebody play live over the summer and they put on a very interesting show in a traditional sit-down, playing-for-old-folks jazz situation, but now they might be taking a step into the Metropolis scenario.  I believe that production like this is the future because it can seriously change the way a record is executed without making the music itself simplistic in any way.  It is clear that Flying Lotus wants to expose the brilliant, progressive musicianship of his artists while also letting them earn some money well they’re at it and the entire Brainfeeder 2015 catalogue has accomplished this idea perfectly.

Written by Donovan Burtan

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CKUT’s Guide to POP Montreal 2016

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THE TIME IS NOW. The 15th installation of POP Montreal kicks off with a bang next Wednesday, September 21st and runs until Sunday, September 25th. Being your ~numero uno~ advisor and advocate for all things artsy and Montréalais, the CKUT Music Dept. is proud to present our very own guide to the festivities going on all over the city. Allons-y!

MUSIC
With over 400 artists to choose from in a five-day period, it’s easy to get overwhelmed. We’ve selected a handful of shows for each day that might be worth checking out! You can also find the full list of acts here. The blurbs have been taken from the bands’ five-word descriptions of themselves, courtesy of the POP Montreal mag.

September 21, 2016:
-The Kills (8pm @ Metropolis): “girl, boy, garage rock, hot.”
-Allah-Las (8pm @ La Tulipe): “California, the sands, the seas, the streets.”
-Smileswithteeth (9:15pm @ Balattou): “dreamy, upbeat, warm, rhythmic, melodic”

September 22, 2016:
-Groenland + Lowlands (8pm @ Club Soda): “Indie pop orchestral”
-Jesse Mac Cormack (8:30pm @ Rialto Hall): “Music for the soul”
-Manners (8:45pm @ Cagibi): “POP, ROCK, INDIE, MONTREAL, SUD OUEST” 

September 23, 2016:
Beca (9pm @ Studio Rialto): “Spacey electro-disco with girly vocals”
-Let’s Eat Grandma + Caveboy (9pm @ Bar Le Ritz PDB): “hypnotic vocals from UK sisters”
-Angel Olsen (9pm @ Theatre Rialto): “mesmerizing folk country pop”
-Lungbutter (9:30pm @ Theatre Fairmount): “Noisy, fierce, experimental art rock”
– Shinehead (11:59pm @ Piccolo Little Burgundy Late Night): “MTV Raps Alumni KING”

September 24, 2016:
-Pop vs. Jock IV (1pm @ McGill Sports Centre): Win Butler’s charity basketball game (our description)
-Emilie & Ogden (8:30pm @ La Chapelle Saint-Louis): “The most beautiful harp music”
-Chairs (9:30pm @ Barfly): “quasi-chamber psych-pop”
-Ryley Walker (10pm @ Rialto Hall): “Chicago folk god. Is funny” 

September 25, 2016:
-Wolves in the Throne Room (8:30pm @ La Sala Rossa): “deafening metal for a sunday night”
-CopCar Bonfire (9pm @ Brasserie Beaubien): “experimental beats for any occasion”
-Joe Grass (9pm @ Divan Orange): “folk soul blue elephant thrash” 

ART
POP Montreal has many artists working with all types of media displaying their installations all over the city; here are a few that we think are worth the trek.

-Kalup Linzy (9/24 6-8pm @ Pop Box 2): a multimedia performance rooted around live singing and video; incorporates themes of the 80’s soap operas and domestic life.
-Feelings Film Festival (9/22 9pm @ Cinema du Parc Theatre #3): emerging video art talent working with the theme of Sex.
Adam Basanta (9/21-25 @ Quartier Pop, 2nd floor): a Montreal-based sound artist who will be showcasing his sound installation, dissecting this year’s POP Montreal festival sounds!
-Mitch Dixon (9/21-25 @ Quartier Pop, 3rd floor): a multimedia artist who has created a life-sized installation of a studio shared by two artists. The title of the piece is “Two Male Artists’ Passive-Aggressively Compete for Supremacy in a Shared Studio Space Situation, Both Believing in Their ‘Unique’ Views” so you know you gotta be there. 

FILM
There are a bunch of independent and international films being showcased at this year’s POP Montreal: read up on which ones we think are especially noteworthy.

Fonko (9/21, 7pm @ Cinema du Parc Theatre #3): discusses the subject of new Pan-African music through a collage-style approach; uses interviews, archived material, and music videos to give the viewer a tour of Africa’s upcoming musical talent.
True Stories (9/23, 7pm @ Cinema du Parc Theatre #3) and Contemporary Color (9/23, 9pm @ Cinema du Parc Theatre #3): DAVID. BYRNE. FILMS. Or, in other words, True Stories is a satirical take on a classic Hollywood flick and Contemporary Color is a wild version of a concert film.
I Called Him Morgan (9/24, 1pm @ Cinema du Parc Theatre #3): a stunning film based on the relationship between jazz trumpeter Lee Morgan and his wife Helen, who murdered him unexpectedly during one of his gigs.
Space Jam (20TH ANNIVERSARY!!) (9/24, 5pm @ Cinema du Parc Theatre #3): NEED WE SAY MORE. Just go. Your nostalgic childhood self will thank us later. 

~FREE SHIT~
Bet that got your attention. There are a ton of free events that POP Montreal has to offer, so make sure you mark your calendars.

-POP Montreal Opening Party (9/21, 5-8 pm @ Quartier Pop): self-explanatory. Come celebrate the start of what will be a WICKED GOOD TIME.
Symposium (9/21-9/25, all day @ Quartier Pop)
-POP Montreal BBQs (9/21, 2-7pm and 9/22-9/25, 2-6pm @ Quartier Pop): Food?? Free music?? Please tell us we’re dreaming…
-Divan Orange (9/21-9/25, afternoons @ Divan Orange): showcases up-and-coming Canadian musicians! For FREE.
-Record Fair (9/24-25, 11-6pm @ St-Michel Church)
Fashion Pop (9/21, 7pm @ Theatre Rialto)

Feel free to check out the POP Montreal website for more information on various events. Hope to see you all there!!

Lots of luv,

The CKUT Music Department

 

 

Concert Review: DF EP Launch @ Art Lounge

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Montreal-based audiovisual duo DF released their new EP abcdf this past week, marking the occasion with an evening of stellar local music at Art Lounge that featured sets from Justin Lazarus (Look Vibrant) and Joni Void, as well as DF themselves.

I was fifteen minutes late to the soirée; by the time I arrived the huddled audience was already seeped in the wooze of Lazarus’s characteristically idiosyncratic, adventurous songwriting. Lazarus and his two accompanists had a stripped down set up of vocals, sampler, bass and keys that glowed with analog warmth. He took the crowd to chord school, teaching us to celebrate mixing disparate colours in the same song. Whatever emotional arc Lazarus’s songs demanded, he always chose the sounds that were right for them. His set coupled this free-spirited vision with earnestness and vocal abilities bent to his will, making for an unfailingly exciting live experience.

Following Lazarus was Joni Void, who performed found-sound electronic music, backed by projections. For the most part, he kept a filter over the projector’s lens, lightly distorting the visuals so the audience had to recall them from memory. Void began his set with a dusky lullaby of a rarity from his side project, Boy With a Red Cap. Its serene sine blips were spare but not reaching for anything more, twinkling enough that the crowd could lock into Void’s vision. The set’s highlight was a song based on an ambulance siren that flashed before the audience, running to and from opposite ends of the stereo image. During this song, Void showed us video clips of city life, but never the ambulance itself. The siren passed again and again, suspending me in a daily moment I rarely otherwise think about. Off-kilter harmonies formed around the visuals and a discernable beat took me into a bizarre trance, where the sound and visuals of daytime were bent to rhythms typical of nightlife. Joni Void uses an impressively sparse set of sounds to command of the listener’s mind, and in this set he had me captivated.

Headliners DF performed next in front of their own massive light fixture, an array of panels that visual artist Dan Freder puppeteers in pulses and patterns, responding to Dustin Finer’s saxophone. Throughout the set, Freder hopped from dimension to dimension, switching between altering the patterns on the light fixture and projecting various visual mapping schemes against the venue walls. Prior to this show, I had only seen the duo’s music video for “She’s Great and All…,” which superimposes 3D animations against real life footage. When the two played the song live, Freder opted for alternate imagery, casting ripples on a set of delighted dots. Through innovations such as this, DF made sure the night didn’t feel like a playthrough of the EP, and Freder demonstrated versatile imaginations that paired well with his partner’s music.

On the music end of the set, Finer ditched the potential baggage of the solo-instrument-loop-pedal performance by making sure to get the most out of his tenor sax. Digging deep in the sax’s sound, he reached Hammond-organ-like bass tones and created mechanical glitchy percussion by tapping his horn’s keys. Finer had a family of hearty, triumphant tunes ready for the communal vibe, but he also made time to rip freeform solos through a yummy stacked-4ths harmonizer.

My personal favorite piece of the night was the manic “Hobgoblin,” where Finer squealed through his horn as Freder shook a piece of foil against a beam of light. The fact that “Hobgoblin” lasts only one second is further testament to its reckless creativity, and the duo’s broad, promising conception of art. The nature of AV shows demands they be experienced live, so DF are a group you should see for yourselves – and there will definitely be many more opportunities, as this duo’s future has plenty in store.

– review by Rian Adamian

ALEX IN CONVERSATION WITH ALASKA B OF YAMANTAKA//SONIC TITAN

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