English-German outfit Art Brut take their name from a little-used alternate term for outsider art. It’s an appropriate moniker — Art Brut may well have formed in a vacuum, because nobody else sounds quite like them. To call Art Brut indie rock would be, if not a mistake, then at least inadequate. It’s true that [...]

Now first of all, in this business partnership (Me and Duncan) I’m not the wire head.  Although I like house music, electronica and Cafe Del Mar style lounge, I have never been one for the more experimental sounds of the sub-genre world of  minimal noise, so take my review with the required grains of salt. [...]

Multi-talented UK artist Kieran Hebden is brought his electronic act (under the name Four Tet) to MUTEK Montreal! He’s one of the top names this year, set to explode his electro-acoustic lab experiments across the ears of thousands of lucky participants. Four Tet’s inimitable style straddles post-rock, dance, jazz and folk, as well as genres [...]

This year’s MUTEK festival boasts several big names, but perhaps none bigger than Amon Tobin, who’s been pioneering his deep brand of sample-based music for the better part of twenty years. Tobin supported his latest album Isam at MUTEK 2011 on June 1 with a massive 3D art installation and spectacular live show. The man [...]

Il Motore, Dec. 10 A no-frills bar and venue which makes its token number of tables magically disappear when it’s time to get a floor moving, Il Motore boasts ample stage space and a sound system that’s powerful but not overwhelming when you’re slurring at the bartender for your eighth pint. It’s very nearly ideal. [...]

Montreal’s own Priestess might have been a confusing addition to the lineup for some of the audience at Saturday’s M for Montreal. Sandwiched between local indie rockers The Dears and boisterous showmen Misteur Valaire, Priestess repped the metal contingent, and though they sounded like nothing else on the menu, they kept the energy high and [...]

M for/pour Montreal Highlights: Misteur Valaire Montréal’s own Misteur Valaire played M for Montreal at the Saturday night event at Metropolis, and now let’s get one cliché out of the way: If you haven’t heard Mister Valaire live, then you haven’t heard them at all. As good as their albums are, successfully fusing electro-rock (reminiscent [...]

M for/pour Montreal: Pascale Picard With a platinum-selling album and opening slots for Paul McCartney behind them, Québec City’s Pascale Picard Band is already a name brand to Canadian listeners. Both critics and audiences agree that Pascale and her sound both captivate the mainstream and transcend it. Pascale Picard‘s smooth voice combines with catchy pop-folk [...]