scottarthursimpson

[scottarthursimpson]

anatomy of a surprise / how unsound is perfecting the art of the music festival

there are a number of great festivals around, but none have come as close to perfecting the art of the music festival as unsound has. twelve years in and unsound still has more than a few tricks up its sleeves, including this year’s theme: surprise. a relatively simple one to be sure, but one that managed to astound, delight, and confound in equal measures. the premise was straightforward: organizers announced a select number of this year’s performers, the rest would be discovered as they came on stage and later announced through the festival’s social media channels. while this may come off as gimmicky on paper, it worked remarkably well in practice. but a theme is just a theme and does not a festival make. these are only some of the many reasons why this edition of unsound might have almost achieved perfection.

their lineup isn’t a crutch

in a widely saturated festival market—with increasingly homogenized lineups—to depend on the strength of the artists you’re booking while ignoring other crucial elements of your event can be a kiss of death. sure, many people travel to see specific artists perform, but we live in an era where many attendees are there for the simple fact of being there to share a few snapshots and stories through instagram, snapchat, etc. thankfully this isn’t the case with the participants of unsound. even though weekly passes sold out within 10 minutes, with nary an artist name released, this was more a testament to the strength of previous years than the shareability factor of the festival. although when the first names were finally announced, they definitely didn’t disappoint; with the black madonna, nozinja, helena hauff, liturgy, holly herndon, visionist, amnesia scanner, andy stott, current 93, and tons more featured on the early line up. and as the days went on, you had the addition of lotic, prurient, king midas sound & fennesz, angel-ho, hot shotz (lorenzo senni and powell), rss boys, and a bevy of more acts that ranged from obscure to having mass appeal. the surprise acts alone would have made for a strong and attractive lineup, and the fact that unsound didn’t capitalize on them shows the level of confidence they have in their fans and their festival.

they understand the power of a good venue

venue is key for a number of reasons as it’s responsible for setting the mood of your event and can easily make or break it depending on the acoustics. unsound manages to accomplish both all while booking some of the most unusual venues i’ve ever seen. while there were a number of more “conventional” venues, such as the rotunda, a student cultural centre, and the auditorium of the manggha museum, others were truly original. first and foremost, the warszawa chamber of the wieliczka salt mine, located 125m underground, or the hotel forum, a soviet-era hotel that has been closed for more than a decade and has since been turned into something of a social club. while some argued that the sound at the hotel forum was at times too loud, the rest of the events in other venues had no such issues. and these venues included the beautiful tempel synagogue, the awesome underground nightclub szpitalna 1, the museum of municipal engineering, and the appropriately derelict cigarette factory stara fabryka tytoniu. you’d be hard-pressed to find another festival that has such an impressive array of unique venues in its arsenal.

they believe in their mission and stick to it

within the music industry, and particularly so in the electronic music scene, the word “experimental” has become almost taboo. even during the many panels, people were more than reticent to even utter the word. but experimental is central to unsound’s identity and mission, and the organizers definitely don’t shy away from the word or the concept. like emma explored in her review of berlin atonal, the very concept of experimental music is somewhat vague and has become the all-encompassing term used for any music not easily categorizable. but at unsound, experimental actually means experimental.

there was john tilbury & robert piotrowicz’s homage to polish composer tomasz sikorski at the theatre hall of ice kraków—the second of the morning glory events—which involved british pianist tilbury using every possible part of his grand piano, from tapping the interior casing to plucking the strings themselves, while electroacoustic musician piotrowicz warped the sounds to resemble alien transmissions. it was beautifully weird, exhilaratingly new, and sometimes mind numbingly dull. but it was nothing like we’d seen before. the previous night saw bolivian/american artist elysia crampton perform a set at manggha that involved her reading portions of a paper she’s currently working on—an exploration of transgender visibility and the power in operating in darkness—spliced with jarring musical sample patchworks, that included everything from trap, r&b, latin music, and even a lil jon sample thrown in. reactions ranged from purely dismissive to enthusiastically enamoured, but nobody was left untouched. the tempel synagogue couldn’t have been a more perfect venue for matana robert’s performance of the third chapter in her twelve-part coin coin project, an exploration of black history, slavery, the current state of racial relations, and a panoply of other challenging ideas. backed by a translucent screen that projected stirring images— plantation workers, their pristine white owners, a frayed noose—which would be repeated in changing patterns throughout the performance, robert commanded attention with her combination of saxophone, fake scatting, chanting, and spoken word. every time she shouted “i was booooorn” it took on another level of meaning, becoming more affecting, more urgent, more chilling. it definitely wasn���t for everybody, as attested by the semi-constant stream of people trying to leave the synagogue silently, but those who remained will undoubtedly have difficulty forgetting this performance.

these weren’t simply exercises in experimentation for the sake of experimentation, they all had a sense of purpose and of being bigger than they even knew they were. even those that weren’t conventionally enjoyable were undeniably interesting and impossible to simply cast aside.

but they don’t forget to make the people dance

while unsound is an exploration of all things experimental, it’s also a celebration of electronic and club music. the early half of the week is dedicated to the more cerebral side of the lineup, but it’s important to be able to let loose after days and evenings filled with experimental projects, industry panels, artist talks, and workshops. this is where the “refraction” party at szpitalna 1—featuring an amazing 6-hour set by detroit’s aaron “fit” siegel—and the hotel forum parties came in. we witnessed the world premiere of hot shotz, the unsound-commissioned project by lorenzo senni and powell, richie hawtin and kode9 also took the stage here to play (not so) surprise sets. surgeon & starlight delighted with their couldn’t-be-more-perfect collaborative set on the same night as holly herndon (who brought along collaborator colin self) and astounded with their stunning live set, a highlight of the night and festival. and while i may not have been particularly moved by shackleton’s set with nisennenmondai—i don’t feel like he allowed the japanese band to properly shine, employing them instead as set pieces—others clearly did as they drew one of the largest crowds of the festival. room 2 offered a nice respite to the main room’s mostly techno and house lineup, with a bouncy footwork set by rp boo, uniiqu3 serving up pure bombast for an insanely fun hour, and nidia minaj switching gears every few minutes for the most idiosyncratic set of the night. the first surprise of the final sold out forum show, techno duo shxcxchcxsh, set out to ease participants into the night, offering a slowly building and mutating set, which, while effective, also veered a bit on the dull side after the initial intrigue. the same cannot be said for two of the night’s highlights: a visceral and pumelling performance by london producer visionist, and a good set by aurora halal, who kept things crisp, clean, and most importantly, danceable.

they don’t ignore other genres

experimental doesn’t always mean electronic, and unsound make sure to book enough acts that fall somewhere in the rock-progressive-noise-electronic spectrum. after a lovely minimal techno set by yves de mey, which unfortunately peaked a little too soon, the audience was quickly whipped into submission by a brutal and rapturous set by us noise artist prurient. it scared away some attendees, but for most his was one of the better sets of festival. if you stripped away the layers of distortion and noise, you found beautifully melodic compositions that made you sway and thrash, sometimes simultaneously. meanwhile, after a change of venue to the museum of municipal engineering, current 93 delighted some and bored others with his blend of folk storytelling, bluesy rock, and more straightforward guitar rock, but he was nonetheless entertaining, offering funny quips in between gulps of wine straight from the bottle. his accompanying band, including members of these new puritans and comus, were faultless throughout. afterwards, a surprise set by the rss boys seemed to confuse most in attendance. after having seen them whip the crowd into a frenzy in the smaller room of the hearn generating station during unsound toronto, i knew this was most likely due to the venue and timeslot, but i still believe they performed admirably for a crowd that was clearly waiting for the night’s headliner, health. the american electro-industrial band took no prisoners as they blended their earlier material with songs off their new album death magic, a perfect blend of noise rock and synth punk. the museum was once again the setting for two heavy hitters on the next night. first, nine inch nails keyboardist alessandro cortini presented an ambient set alongside his own visuals, a highly effective introduction to his many side-projects and a great way to start the evening. he was followed by controversial american black metal band liturgy, who managed to convince me that i might be into black metal after all. anybody who’s ever witnessed the drumming prowess of greg fox can’t help but stand in awe of his dexterity and swiftness.

to burial or not to burial

by now you’ve heard all about this story, and alongside the accusations of satanism thrown at unsound due to its booking of current 93, it’s the story that permeated the festival’s narrative. to be fair, it’s an extremely good story though. 

let me set the scene: dj richard is just finishing up his beautiful 2-hour ambient set while revellers are descending into the depths of the wieliczka salt mine. the lights are lowered, the stage is empty, and everyone is still speculating as to who the two surprise artists are going to be. fennesz’s name comes up regularly, and we’re wondering if he’ll be performing first. but then the music starts, slowly, and the unmistakeable glitches and scratches of burial’s music are heard. everyone starts looking around quizzically at each other: is this for real? but burial has never performed live, nor has he ever shown any intentions of doing so. but it would make sense though, right? this is unsound. the theme is surprise. we are in a freaking salt mine. if burial were to play his first ever live set, this would be the place to do so. some people notice a hooded figure on the balcony found at the back of the room. but just as it all began, it was suddenly over after 30 minutes. everyone stands in disbelief, as fennesz takes to the front stage for his headlining set with king midas sound. the rest has been widely reported: hyperdub vehemently deny that burial was even in kraków, let alone performed at unsound. hyperdub boss steve goodman—aka kode9, who just so happened to play a set at the forum the very next night—is known for throwing in some burial in his set, so it was speculated that it was in fact him who played, which he also denied in a since-deleted tweet. and so the mystery continues, but given the fact this is the only surprise artist to not have been announced post-show and that festival employees signed NDAs, you’re all free to make your own assumptions.

their organization is almost faultless

in no uncertain terms, unsound is definitely one of the better organized festivals i’ve had the pleasure of attending. everything is made seamless and pain-free: whatever information you can’t find on the website is transmitted through their social media accounts, or can be obtained by talking to one of the bevy of volunteers. and the volunteers themselves are some of the nicest and happiest volunteers i’ve ever encountered. some i spoke to didn’t even live in kraków but take a week off to volunteer every year, that’s how much they love the festival. and when the people working behind the scenes are happy, it inevitably permeates every other facet of the event. from transportation to the wieliczka salt mine and back, to the massive headquarters at the historical museum of kraków, and the comprehensive festival guide, nothing was left wanting. possibly my favourite aspect of unsound is the almost complete lack of overlap. events are staggered in a way that you can ostensibly catch every event on the schedule if all goes according to plan. and even the acts that do overlap, mostly at the hotel forum, they’re in adjacent rooms that are literally steps away, making it easy to hop back and forth and catch them all. whereas most festivals force you to make difficult logistical decisions leading up to, and during, the event, unsound has taken that burden out the equation altogether. this fact alone makes unsound worth the ticket price and the trip to kraków. but all the reasons listed above are what make unsound one of the best music festivals, hands down.

respect earns respect

unsound never panders to its attendees, nor does it feel the need to hold their hand along the way. they provide information, and let the audience decide for itself what it needs. and in return, unsound attendees are some of the most respectful festival-goers i’ve ever encountered. nobody watching a set through their smartphone screen, only a few quick surreptitious shots as to not disturb their neighbours. i never heard any loud chatter, even during bigger sets that didn’t necessarily require silence. and during those that did you could hear a pin drop. and best of all, attendees treated each other with respect, knowing full well we were all there on the same quest for musical discovery. every single person i spoke to, both locals and outsiders alike, all said a version of the same thing when asked why they return every year: there’s no other festival like it and they always discover something new, even if they might not like everything. people don’t come to party, although everybody undoubtedly does to a certain extent, but it isn’t a primary motivation. the very few that do, such as a trio of very drunk girls that disturbed everyone in a 2m radius during liturgy, are quickly informed to maybe take a backseat—ok informed by me, but still—and instead of reacting with entitlement, they semi-quietly made their way to the back for the rest of the set. i was surprised, almost shocked, and so grateful.

what’s in a surprise?

as explored during the “shock & awe?” panel, it is very difficult—if not impossible—to truly shock an audience. and there is little value in shocking an audience for the sake of shock alone, there has to be purpose and meaning. while unsound’s goal was not to shock, but to surprise, i similarly wondered whether it was truly possible to surprise anymore. sure, you would only discover most of the artists as they came on stage, but it takes more than a half-secret lineup to keep people on their toes. but i believe that unsound has built a strong case for both itself and the idea of the surprise. again, i rolled my eyes a bit when this year’s theme was announced: it was just too easy. to actually and truly surprise is not an easy feat, but one that unsound managed to accomplish with aplomb. i was surprised by the quality and depth of the artists booked, by the truly impressive group of completely unique venues, by the passion and joy of everyone involved, and by the earnestness with which everything was done. but the biggest surprise was the willingness of the audience to go in blindly and simply enjoy the set, while being pleasantly surprised when they finally either recognized or discovered who performed.

[scottarthursimpson]

THEESatisfaction Talk 'EarthEE,' Working with Meshell Ndegeocello

THEESatisfaction have always defied easy categorization, even on their acclaimed Sub Pop debut album AwE NaturalE. The R&B/neo-soul/hip-hop duo composed of Stasia Irons and Catherine Harris-White — commonly referred to as Stas and Cat — have since decided to befuddle expectations and conventional genres even more for their upcoming sophomore release EarthEE, out February 24 via Sub Pop. With Cat splitting her time between Seattle and L.A., and Stas now based out of Brooklyn, THEESat (as they affectionately refer to themselves) embraced a more collaborative spirit, both within the band and with outsiders. Whereas Stas took care of the bulk of production for the project in the past, Cat flexed her production muscles on this new release, such as on album highlight "Post Black, Anyways." "We became better musicians and writers, learning how to use the equipment and software that we have," Stas tells Exclaim! "[Recording EarthEE] was just more freeform, a lot more jamming, we were more focused on what we wanted it to sound like, and it was a different experience." There are some constants on both albums, though, including contributions from labelmates and longtime collaborators Shabazz Palaces — no strangers themselves to genre-bending hip-hop, as attested by last year's standout release Lese Majesty — and a more assertive presence by "secret THEESat member" Erik Blood, the Seattle-based musician and producer who was also instrumental in many Shabazz Palaces efforts. Both Stas and Cat release music independently of THEESatisfaction — Stas under her Stas the Boss moniker and Cat as Sassy Black — which allows them "to be super creative all the time, and then really start honing in what the THEESatisfaction sound is," Cat says The two also operate a series of popular parties entitled Black Weirdo, which have attracted a whole new subset of fans, including legendary soul and funk singer/rapper Meshell Ndegeocello, who appears on two of EarthEE's tracks. "I don't think we could even imagine that she would reach out to us. It was just really magical, and the work she did, was so... it just sounded like us and felt like us, without us actually having met yet. It was really special to collaborate with her," Cat says. EarthEE's first single, the brilliant "Recognition," was an odd choice, given that it isn't necessarily representative of the album as a whole. That was the point, Cat says: "It is kind of a standout, and that's why we decided to lead with this one, and to see how people respond to the next singles that we have." Their next single will be the album's title track, which features Shabazz Palaces, Erik Blood and fellow Sub Pop signee Porter Ray, whose debut album will also be released later this year. THEESatisfaction have a pile of North American tour dates coming up, including several opening for Sleater-Kinney. You can see their schedule here. And Canada is definitely on their radar. "We go to Toronto all the time," Cat says, "and we've been to Alberta twice, so we know the rest of Canada's like 'What the hell is going on with you guys?' We're definitely going to make it happen."

[scottarthursimpson]

Top 10 Dance & Electronic Albums of 2014: Caribou - Our Love

Published December 9th, 2014

1. Caribou Our Love (Merge) If 2010's phenomenal Swim was Dan Snaith showing us what he was capable of making, then Our Love is him showing us what he wants to make. While not a monumental sonic shift in sound, Our Love is imbued with an enveloping warmth that was only hinted at on his previous material. First single "Can't Do Without You" was a mission statement, an undeniably "Caribou" track that masterfully incorporated the sound of Swim with a new twist, lifting the fog at the 90-second mark to reveal a crisp, explosive and colourful climax, only to slowly ebb away and expand its lyrics in its final 20 seconds.  While his Daphni moniker grants him the freedom to explore his techno and house sensibilities, it also allows Snaith to make more pop-leaning material under the Caribou name. His vocals, while present on previous releases, are at their clearest and purest here, with minimal manipulation and multiple appearances throughout the album's ten tracks. But this isn't to say that Our Love doesn't include some truly experimental cuts, such as the brilliantly unpredictable "Mars" and the pulsating "Julia Brightly." In our 2010 Year In Review feature we stated "Caribou will be remembered for Swim"; Our Love will be remembered as the album that established Caribou's sound and brought it to the masses. (Scott Simpson)

[scottarthursimpson]

Top 20 Pop & Rock Albums of 2017: Timber Timbre - Hot Dreams

Published December 8th, 2014

7. Timber Timbre Hot Dreams (Arts & Crafts) There's a lot to be said for albums that have the ability to establish a mood for itself and then immediately plunge the listener into it. Taylor Kirk's vocals have never sounded more at home, going full film noir on the band's fifth studio album, one that found universal love within their sizeable fan base. The album first started to take shape while Kirk spent some time in Laurel Canyon, and appropriately, Hot Dreams incorporates elements of country, rockabilly and Americana, with songs like "Grand Canyon" and "Run From Me" evoking Elvis Presley at his melancholic best. There's a sense of fatalism that permeates the album, especially on cuts like "The New Tomorrow," and while the dark subject matter combined with the gloom of Simon Trottier's arrangements can be utterly depressing, it's also exactly why Hot Dreams is such a singular release.  Enlisting the usual suspects — including Olivier Fairfield, Mathieu Charbonneau and Mika Posen, not to mention saxophonist extraordinaire Colin Stetson — Kirk manages to include everything from the Mellotron, the Fender Rhodes and the Theremin and somehow make is seem easy and spontaneous. Hot Dreams is a cinematic masterwork. (Scott Simpson) 

[scottarthursimpson]

News: Montreal's Divan Orange Launches Fundraising Campaign Following $15,000 in Noise Complaints

Published December 5th, 2014

Montreal institution Divan Orange, a local cultural cooperative and concert venue, is reaching out to the local community in hopes to guarantee its survival. It recently launched a new Indiegogo crowd-funding campaign running until January 30 ironically titled "Levée de Son," which roughly translates to "Sound Raising," a play on words on the generally used term "levée de fonds." Combined with a series of benefit concerts, the Divan Orange is hoping to raise a total of $25,000. The funds are necessary to cover the costs of planned expansions, as well as a recent barrage of noise complaints, resulting in fines totalling $15,000. Divan Orange has seen its existence threatened by the recent noise complaints from tenants living on the third floor of the building it occupies at 4234 Boulevard Saint-Laurent. While many have argued that noise is to be expected when you move above a concert hall, Divan Orange general director Carolyne Normandin doesn't fault the tenants for being displeased, telling Le Devoir newspaper, "They're frustrated with the sound, and I understand them."  The second floor space is currently vacated, which has been amplifying the sound emanating from the concert venue since its tenants moved out. Divan Orange recently revealed the acquisition of this second floor space to open a broadcast centre that will help promote the emerging music scene. The space will house affordable office spaces for various local music stakeholders, including long-term partners such as the many festivals that take place at the downstairs venue. Ironically, these offices would have helped create the necessary sound barrier between the concert venue and the third floor tenants. A resolution seems imminent thanks to the collaboration of borough councillor Christine Gosselin, who has been instrumental in helping both parties find common ground. It had recently been announced that the tenants have decided that the only long-term solution would be to move out, with Normandin currently helping the tenants in finding more suitable living arrangements.  But the fines still remain, and the Divan Orange is forging forward with its fundraising campaign, with the first of its planned benefit concerts to take place on December 20 in Montreal. Performers include local darling Bernard Adamus, musical collective Canailles, two-man rock back Les Deuxluxes, and musical troubadour Le Winston Band, all performing at the venue. Tickets are $25 and are available for pre-sale online through Point of Sale. You can find more information about the concert here on Facebook.

[scottarthursimpson]

Album Review: Mr. Mitch - Parallel Memories

Published November 28th, 2014

Rating: 8/10

UK producer and Gobstopper Records founder Mr. Mitch has worked steadily to reimagine what grime music should sound like in 2014. Taking a decidedly more instrumental approach to a traditionally bass- and garage-indebted genre, Mr. Mitch has since created the influential Boxed nights in various London clubs alongside fellow grime DJs Oil Gang, Logos and Slackk, finally giving a home to a genre that had lost a bit of its lustre. For his debut album Parallel Memories, released on Planet Mu Records, Mr. Mitch goes full experimental, recalling the work of similarly minded artists such as Evian Christ and Shabazz Palaces, albeit in a more muted way.  There's a nice pacing to the album, which starts off very smoothly with more ambient cuts "Afternoon After" and "The Night," picking up steam midway and then simmering down in time for album closer "Hot Air," a fantastic cut that invites you to start the whole experience over again. "Don't Leave," a standout track from his preceding EP release of the same name, finds itself on the LP and instead of feeling like a leftover, integrates into the track list nicely, offering up some production flourishes that evoke Kanye West's "Lost In The World." Much of the material is minimal, such as the Dark0 collaboration "Sweet Boy Code," but doesn't feel out of place. "Bullion" is one of the package's more aggressive cuts, combining an electronic twang, as if someone were unspooling metallic twine, with repeated box spring patterns that abruptly end. It's followed by "Denial," which crafts a beat of disparate glitches around a pitched vocal sample and backing synths that build up before dropping off, revealing a dark backing pattern.  The release raises the question of whether this can still really be considered grime, but that's probably the point: to challenge pre-conceived ideas as to what a grime release should sound like.Parallel Memories is a testament to Mr. Mitch's dedication to the craft, and in a year that saw the release of Arca's Xen and Aphex Twin's Syro garner widespread critical acclaim, it would be a shame to see it get lost in the shuffle. (Planet Mu)

[scottarthursimpson]

M For Montreal: Gazelle Twin at Divan Orange

Published November 23rd, 2014

Rating: 9/10

For what was her final date of her tour, and also the final Divan Orange-hosted set at M For Montreal, UK experimental musician Elizabeth Bernholz, alias Gazelle Twin, made sure the performance would be remembered. Sporting her now famous blue-fleeced tracksuit, face-obscuring mask and long-flowing dark curly hair, Bernholz crept up on stage and crouched down, while her partner crouched over a simple drum pad, clad in a red hoodie. It made for an unsettling opening, but this is the captivating world explored on Gazelle Twin's recently released sophomore album, Unflesh.  Bernholz slowly crept up and started shouting "Coming at me, coming at me" from the album's title track while jumping side to side. Her performance was dark, entrancing and completely absorbing, while retaining a refreshing simplicity. She maintained her mysterious persona throughout, never breaking character, and the minimal interaction with the crowd felt warranted. She alternately pounced around the stage and then crouched down, using her pedal to manipulate her vocals, rocking back and forth using her voice as looped beats. Her long swaying wig was as much part of the performance as anything else, taking a life of its own. When she did acknowledge the audience, it was either face down or with her back to us, muttering a quiet "thank you, thank you for this." Still, Bernholz is completely dedicated to the performance, using her powerful vocals for various effects. "This is our last song, last song on our tour," she suddenly announced in guttural fashion, turning her head away and crouching Gollum-like before launching into "Exorcise," during which she ironically performed tuck jumps, as if from an '80s exercise video. And just as suddenly as the performance started, Bernholz jumped off stage into the crowd and disappeared into the night. While it may be hard to define what exactly we had just experienced, everybody in attendance knew it was like nothing we'd seen before.

[scottarthursimpson]

M For Montreal: Noni Wo at Casa Del Popolo

Published November 23rd, 2014

Rating: 7/10

In its short existence, Pat Jordache's Montreal-based record label Banko Gotiti has already released an impressive collection of records from its strong roster. Jordache rightly used the M For Montreal festival as a platform to showcase his label's talented trio of acts, which includes Vesuvio Solo and the Group Sound. Full disclosure: As many of the preceding sets that I attended ran late, I was only able to catch the last few tracks of Noni Wo's set, but the little I did see was charming and pleasant.  There's an ease with which four-piece performed that was refreshing, and they know how to get a groove going. And while their brand of indie pop is nothing groundbreaking, their assuredness in their material, most of which was recently released on their U S B E P through Summer Cool, makes them a promising act to look out for. Sometimes a nice pleasant set is all you're looking for, and Noni Wo managed to end our M For Montreal experience nicely.

[scottarthursimpson]

M For Montreal: Slow Down Molasses at Casa Del Popolo

Published November 23rd, 2014

Rating: 5/10

Saskatoon five-piece indie rock band Slow Down Molasses performed a short and bombastic set that saw the members taking turns on various instruments and sharing vocal duties, to differing degrees of success. Their live set tends to drown out any sense of the original recorded material, making it difficult to discern their lyrics and arrangements. Their live performance ticks can also be quite distracting, with a somewhat ridiculous amount of kicking and lifting guitars up in the air to add a layer of false complexity to some pretty simple instrumentation.  Whereas on record they perform a nice blend of shoegaze, pop and rock with pretty harmonies and pleasant strings, their live set sees the five-piece try their hand at noise rock, making it nearly impossible to recognize the original material, ultimately proving a detriment to the whole experience. Still, every time the band would scale it back slightly, one could catch glimpses of the type of performance they're capable of, such as on a promising slow number reminiscent of Echo and the Bunnymen. The fact that most of the members performed with their back to the crowd certainly didn't help, giving the impression they were too self-impressed to realize they were performing for others. But if they can work out these kinks and concentrate on engaging the audience instead of themselves, they have the potential to be a great live band instead of a mildly appealing one.

[scottarthursimpson]

M For Montreal: Seoul at La Sala Rossa

Published November 22nd, 2014

Rating: 7/10

It was nice to see La Sala Rossa finally starting to fill up after it had been borderline empty during a great set by local "fuzz pop, haze rock" band CTZNSHP earlier that evening. While it's likely that many of the people in attendance were simply waiting for Dan Boeckner's set with his band Operators — which boasts a pretty fervent fanbase — they were treated to a pretty excellent set by Montreal dream-pop band Seoul. While the four-piece's image can be a bit contrived and they have a tendency to sometimes take themselves a tad too seriously, it's also this rigorous attention to detail that make their live set sonically complete.  Their set included the few tracks they've released thus far, such as "White Morning" and early highlight "Stay With Us," and a handful of other tracks they've been performing for the past year. The band performs in a subdued manner with very little interaction other than the occasional "thank you," which can be somewhat off-putting, but it didn't seem to deter the crowd from swaying along and enjoying themselves. Any fans of fellow purveyors of ambient pop Toro y Moi and Twin Shadow should do themselves a favour and catch Seoul at their next live performance while we wait for their next official release.

[scottarthursimpson]

M For Montreal: Choses Sauvages at Divan Orange

Published November 22nd, 2014

Rating: 7/10

Being a French musician in Montreal, while it affords many advantages, also means making the difficult decision as to the language in which one should record. If you do so only in French, you are limiting your market and restricting your export potential; do so in English and you lose the fluidity of your words, making your lyricism and delivery suffer accordingly. The Choses Sauvages showcase at M For Montreal was a pretty apt representation of this problem: the Montreal four-piece alternated between both languages, with their French compositions faring much better, while songs they did perform in English suffered from clunky lyrics and mumbled delivery.  They attempt to marry the two in certain songs, such as the Franglais "Violence," to better results, which may offer them the solution they need to tighten up their discography. But there's definitely a lot of potential, as the band have only been performing together for a little over a year and have already managed to release the digital-only Late Night EP earlier this summer, which includes some pretty catchy tunes. The four members traded places throughout the set, with the bassist jumping on keys and the guitarist switching to the saxophone at the end of "L'Épave Trouée," and they all did respectably on each respective instrument. Vocals were equally shared, mostly by the lead bass player and keys player, but to mitigated results; their voices aren't horrible, but aren't great either, and some of their harmonies left a lot to be desired.  Most of their material is characterized by their love of funky bass lines and glittery synths, and combined with their stage presence and performing tics (like all four lifting their hands up quickly at song's end) it made for an enjoyable set that was a good indicator of the band members' respective musical strengths.

[scottarthursimpson]

M For Montreal: Betty Bonifassi at Cabaret du Mile-End

Published November 22nd, 2014

Rating: 7/10

After performing for the past few decades alongside Champion and Beast, Betty Bonifassi has finally released her first solo self-titled album earlier this year. A passion project revolving around the music of African-American slaves in the 1920s, her album revamps the material for a 21st century audience, infusing the traditional soul music with synths, drums and samples, and transforming the material into dance-ready rock songs. Her live show continues this conceptual path, with digitally manipulated images of plantations, slave communities and workers displayed in the background. While it teeters on the edge between representation and appropriation at times, Bonifassi's heart is in the right place. And that voice; oh, that voice.  There's a reason she's been the vocalist for multiple projects, including her Grammy-nominated work on the soundtrack to Les Triplettes de Belleville, because Bonifassi believes in her voice as an instrument, and treats it as such. Her reinterpretation of "Black Betty" had most people in attendance moving — this was definitely one of the dancier crowds of the evening — and the dubstep-undercut "Working Down" was a definite crowd-pleaser. "No More My Lawrd" could have benefited from a more understated performance, as the piano-driven and electronic drum infused cut lost its potency when it would veer into hard rock territory. The situation was reversed during "Go Down Old Hannah" which started off as an effectively more straightforward rock composition, until its electronic backend, which was completely unnecessary.  Still, the crowd loved it and chanted for more, which they got when Bonifassi came back for a quick encore, performed from within the excited crowd. These were seasoned performers who had a great command on their material, who managed to stay true to themselves while being greatly entertaining.

[scottarthursimpson]

M For Montreal: Syzzors at Divan Orange

Published November 22nd, 2014

Rating: 6/10

Montreal-based electronic trio Syzzors perform synth-heavy pop music that blends the traditional instrumentation of guitar, bass and drums with electronic samples and drum patterns. Performing right after Choses Sauvages, they demonstrated some of the same issues when it came to language limitations, with Raphaëlle Chouinard's vocal delivery in English somewhat alienating, relying on vocal ticks to infuse strength into her performance. Her guitar work is also a little shaky, and maybe it'd be best to concentrate on adding a few percussive flourishes, as she sometimes did throughout the short set, to better results.  Chouinard was backed by Gabriel Tremblay on bass, keys and synths, and Lisandre Bourdage on drums and backing vocals, who provided some of the stronger instrumentation. Emotional opener "Rain" came off as more cheesy than affecting, with the vocals being overshadowed by Tremblay's strong production, and "Love Triangle ♥∆," while not about the band being a love triangle — though "they do really like each other" quips Chouinard — explores modern love dynamics nicely enough, if not in an original manner. Their material needs some editing and polishing, as they often try to cram too many ideas into a single song, and it'd be interesting to see what they could do with strictly instrumental cuts. The songwriting is also lacking at times, with some long-winded compositions and bland use of metaphors, and you can't help but wonder what they'd be able to achieve if they wrote in their native French.  It's also a little hard to discern what type of band they're hoping to be, with some cuts coming off as a rockier version of the xx, while others are on the electro-singer-songwriter spectrum. The best song of the night was actually the first one Syzzors wrote together as a band, entitled "That G Word," a nice sparse slow jam that recently got the video treatment to be released next week, and which ended their set nicely.

[scottarthursimpson]

M For Montreal: July Talk at Club Soda

Published November 21st, 2014

Rating: 8/10

While they may not receive the same type of hometown love they do in their native Toronto, July Talk still boast a very enthusiastic fanbase in Montreal, attracting a quite sizeable crowd at Club Soda. The night's mood was unabashedly celebratory, with the five-piece enthusiastically engaging with their fans and raising their beers for a venue-wide cheers. Before launching into "Summer Dress" — after a roaring performance of "Blood + Honey" — co-lead signer Leah Fay regaled us in French with a little backstory about the track and how it got its start in Montreal.  Her partner in crime Peter Dreimanis shouted "Can we party together tonight?" and stated how glad they were to be back in Montreal, their first time since performing at Osheaga back in August. The singing duo showcased their well-documented onstage chemistry, offering up a dynamic performance that rarely slowed down, one that featured Dreimanis jumping into the crowd while still playing guitar during fan favourite "Guns + Ammunition." They took the time to shout out the M For Montreal festival and urge fans to go across the street to Café Cléopatra for fellow Toronto performer Light Fires.  Fay is an entrancing performer and knows how to captivate the crowd, checking in to see if a fan was okay during an animated rendition of "Headsick" and urging the crowd to "be good to one another" to then immediately demand a fan's tank top that read "Boobies make me smile" and wearing it during "Paper Girl." She informed us that Montreal taught her everything she knows about "not giving a fuck" before performing the night's last song, early hit "The Garden." The band took this opportunity to showcase their impressive instrumental skills, especially the guitar duo of Dreimanis and Ian Docherty, and promptly left the stage after what was a tight and solid set.

[scottarthursimpson]

M For Montreal: Lisa Leblanc at Club Soda

Published November 21st, 2014

Rating: 9/10

After releasing her self-titled debut album back in 2012, Lisa LeBlanc saw her profile rise significantly within French Canada and in French-speaking countries, which led to the Acadian folk-rock singer spending much time on the road and inspiring her latest release. While her debut was written and recorded solely in French, with the help of Louis-Jean Cormier of Karkwa fame, her newest EP is her first official foray into English music territory, one that's guaranteed to attract a whole new slew of fans. Not all of the July Talk fans at the Club Soda stayed to see her perform, but those who did were treated to a stellar performance that presented LeBlanc as a star in the making.  If anything, the small but enthusiastic crowd seemed to swell throughout the set, with backroom stragglers entranced by LeBlanc's spirited banjo and guitar work, as well as the group dynamic she's developed with drummer Maxime and guitarist JP. The trio kicked off their performance with a raucous delivery of new song "Gold Diggin' Hoedown," and would continue to inject their set with English songs off the excellent Highways, Heartaches and Time Well Wasted EP, including a fantastic cover of Karen Dalton's "Katie Cruel," throughout.  There was a lot of love between LeBlanc and the crowd, with the young musician repeatedly professing her love for Montreal and saying how happy she was to perform here before launching a new Canada-wide tour. She recalls her move to Montreal, moving out of a 51-person village and landing on the corner of Sainte-Catherine and Saint-Laurent, and thinking, "What the hell am I doing here," a story she explores on her song "Downtown." After breaking a banjo string due to strumming too hard during "You Look Like Trouble (But I Guess I Do Too)" and her cover of Motörhead's "Ace Of Spades," LeBlanc quipped that she felt badass, as she should — she has major skills on both the guitar and the banjo. After thanking the lighting and sound technicians, she took the time to talk about the Dr. Julian Foundation and its Garage À Musique initiative, to which all the night's funds were being donated.  LeBlanc's performance of new song "Race Track" highlighted one of her biggest strengths, which is her ability to lull one into a false sense of soft security before launching into epic breakdowns that stop just as abruptly as they start, demonstrating a mastery of her instrument and material. With the English EP already receiving overwhelmingly positive reviews, it's just a matter of time before you start seeing Lisa LeBlanc's name pop up a little everywhere, just as it should.

[scottarthursimpson]

M For Montreal: Lights Fires at Café Cléopatra

Published November 21st, 2014

Rating: 8/10

For the uninitiated, Light Fires is the musical collaboration of Gentleman Reg and James Bunton, an '80s electro-dance patchwork that led to the release of their debut album, Face, in 2013. For their live performances, Gentleman Reg performs solo as Regina the Gentlelady, assisted solely by an iPod and a stool. After performing an opening set at the Unicorns' comeback gig at Pop Montreal, many were left perplexed as to what they had witnessed; to see Light Fires live is to be drawn into Regina's entrancing world and leaving any preconceived ideas of what constitutes a "musical performance" at the door.  After the crowd left much to be desired during the Posterz' satisfying set, it was a bit worrying to see Regina set up while the handful of patrons mulled around and chatted, but by about halfway through "I'll Be Your Body," the front of the stage had filled up and the dance party had began, while members of July Talk made good on their promise to attend the set, with Leah Fay and Peter Dreimanis front and centre. Regina strutted around, vogueing, bouncing, and recreating fitness moves from '80s workout videos while singing and stripping layers of clothing off. By the time the Owen Pallett-featuring "Dependent" started, almost everybody in attendance was dancing along to Regina's karate-kid moves and floor grinding. "Let's Get Divorced" was the highlight of the set, as it encapsulated the sheer ridiculousness and unabashed fun of Light Fires, all drag kitsch and tongue-in-cheek spirit.

[scottarthursimpson]

M For Montreal: The Posterz at Café Cléopatra

Published November 21st, 2014

Rating: 7/10

Montreal rap trio the Posterz couldn't have had a better setting for their M For Montreal showcase, performing at Montreal institution Café Cléopatra in the bar above its strip club, but unfortunately, the crowd assembled did not match the trio's energy and swagger.  Maybe Montreal is suffering from the Posterz-fatigue, as the trio have been omnipresent on the festival circuit and Montreal live scene for the better part of the past year, and judging by their M For Montreal performance, they're clearly ready for bigger and better things. These young guys are hungry and have the skill to back it up, performing tracks off their Starships & Darks Tints EP released earlier this summer with dynamism and assurance. Recent single "All I Know" deserves to be a bigger hit, and might be in any other city, but Montreal isn't known for fostering its hip-hop talent.  Nate Husser, Joey Sherrett and Kris the $pirit have great stage presence and even better camaraderie, taking over every inch of the floor and trying to engage with the audience as best the crowd would allow. Joey came forward to sit on a speaker during "Those Days," their anthem to weed, shouting a "Make some noise for weeeeed" that didn't elicit much of a reaction. Then again, stoners aren't known to be all that vivacious.  When they asked who had seen their video for "The Bass Song," a lone guy answered, to which the guys replied "respect to the one guy who saw it." This exchange was sadly an accurate portrayal of most of the set. It's disheartening to see so much talent wasted on the unappreciative. While their live set wasn't perfect and definitely has room to grow and develop, the Posterz need a bigger audience to help them do so.