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Green Velvet beams down to Igloofest!

After 20 years in the business, a half-dozen pseudonyms, countless produced tracks and the growth of a legendary reputation, it’s about time Chicago’s Curtis Jones (alias Green Velvet) landed at Igloofest. Definitely one of the heavy-hitters of the ‘fest, he’ll be playing tomorrow night!

The spirit of American techno has infused many of this year’s Igloofest acts, always with a twist — and Curtis Jones is nothing if not a bit twisted. With his green-mohawked persona and often bizarre lyrics, Curtis has a reputation as the resident mad scientist of techno / house. Green Velvet’s four albums, beginning with the appropriately-titled Constant Chaos in 1993, span the gamut of light and darkness, and show that Jones lives up to his reputation. You can’t have good mad science without, well, madness.

Usual suspects like Juan Atkins and Derrick May (again!) loom large over Green Velvet’s funky techno house sound, but it doesn’t stop there. An experimentalist throughout his career, Green Velvet reaches across genres; one track may feature processed vocals and synth leads from a ’70s Kraftwerk cut, while the next might feature punked-out guitars straight from a ’90s Chemlab track, or sugary female voices from a lost ’80s Italo Disco single. There may also be fragmented tales of alien abductions, which could explain things a bit.

Here’s a preview of some classic Velvet. We assume you won’t need a tractor beam to get you out to Igloofest tomorrow!

Sébastien Léger heats up Igloofest

No matter what the thermometer says, tonight’s Igloofest spectacular is gonna be a hot one. Fresh from his recent Mistakes Music tour, wildly prolific French producer-DJ wunderkind Sébastien Léger is bringing his vintage Rolands to the Igloofest stage, and a decade’s worth of scorching hot house beats are coming with him.

Since his emergence in the dance scene in 1999, the French-born, Amsterdam-residing Léger has been all over the map, producing dozens of EPs, a number of hit singles (including “Hit Girl” and Chris Lake collaboration “Aqualight”) and countless remixes. He’s an undisputed champ over on Beatport. You’ve probably heard his work, even if you don’t know it; Léger has added his synthy stamp to tracks as diverse as Armand Van Helden, Justin Timberlake and even Marilyn Manson.

Once a mainstay of the underground electronic scene, Léger’s prolific and consistent quality have made him a hot commodity. Léger’s style is adaptable, with elements of Detroit techno’s analogue synths and samplers (more hints of Derrick May here), sculptured into soulful, state-of-the-art house. Léger’s trademark flair and funk attest to his formal musical background. A pioneer of his own as-yet-nameless subgenre, Léger is also the mastermind behind Mistakes Music, a label whose artists all toe the borders of house, techno and soulful electro.

What can you expect tonight from Sebastian Leger at Igloofest? To suit the weather, maybe as something as chill as this:

Terence Fixmer fixing Thursday

Igloofest might be a strange place to picture rivetheads, what with all the leather jackets and Skinny Puppy shirts, but with French techno legend Terence Fixmer on the scene, we predict they’ll be out in full force. Fixmer will be bringing his grim and gritty vibes to the dance floor tomorrow night, January 19, and Igloofest doesn’t get any colder than this.

Genre fusion has always been a feature of Igloofest, and Fixmer blends them with the best. His work combines the minimalist urgency of classic Derrick May with brooding EBM from Berlin’s gothiest nightclub, both pulled raw and bleeding out of 1989 and stitched together in an underground lab.

Fixmer has a surplus of goth cred, featuring numerous collaborations with Nitzer Ebb‘s Douglas McCarthy. His most recent full-length, 2010′s Comedy of Menace, is his most EMB-tinged album to date, and his 2011 EP Le Terrible portends an even further descent into darkness.

Though he’s been purveying his grimy sound for over ten years, Fixmer is part of a recent (and long overdue) EBM resurgence which also includes fellow Igloofest guest Green Velvet, and which itself is part of the larger modern wave of aggressive electronic music — including dubstep — which rages more than it raves.

Here’s an example of Fixmer’s vibe, all rusted-out cyberpunk imagery and claustrophobic, pulsing beats. Strap up your combat boots and prepare for a full-scale four-on-the-floor.

Stellar Saturday, Galaxie @ Metropolis!

Saturday night brings with it the closing night of M for Montreal, showcasing some of our finest local luminaries. Presented by dramatically-named label Blue Skies Turn Black, the grand finale will feature Marie-Pierre Arthur, The Barr Brothers, Random Recipe, Karkwa, Ariane Moffatt — and Francophone electro-rock act Galaxie.

Founded and fronted by French-transplanted Montreal resident Olivier Langevin more than ten years ago, Galaxie was known as Galaxie 500 until the name turned out to be trademarked by an established and well-regarded American alt-rock band (what are the odds?). In the decade-plus since Galaxie‘s formation, Langevin and company have assembled three critically lauded full-length releases and collected a number of prestigious awards. This year alone has garnered the group four 2011 GAMIQ awards, a 2011 ECHO Songwriting Prize, and a shortlist for a Polaris Music Prize for their latest album, Tigre et diesel.

Galaxie is yet another act to infuse electro elements into their rock sound, but the rock comes a little rougher than the milquetoast mewlings of the usual indie fare. Galaxie fuses glammed-out ’80s electronics with stripped-down garage-band blues-rock and laces it all with female vocals, to a powerhouse effect not too incredibly distant from another Canadian group, Black Mountain.

In contrast to a number of other local groups who seem to be ignorant of any music older than about 2005, Langevin claims inspiration from Jimi Hendrix and Led Zeppelin, T. Rex and Bo Diddley, and you can hear it in the groove and swagger of Tigre et diesel.

Recent live shows have incorporated their newer electro influence into tracks from their prior albums as well. In short, Galaxie aren’t screwing around about getting a dancefloor hopping. Prepare to go supernova this Saturday!

Young Empires rising 2night @ SXSW 514!

Right about now, at the South by Southwest (SXSW) showcase at M for Montreal hosted at Sala Rossa, there’s an empire rising. That’s Young Empires, three young men from Toronto who’ve been expanding their sphere of influence rapidly since their formation in 2009. A recent tour with Chromeo made Young Empires a name amongst retro-loving, forward-thinking pop fans, and their headline status at SXSW should only bolster their buzz in the local scene and beyond.

Highly influenced by Pitchforker groups of the recent past, Young Empires wear their influences on their immaculate sleeves. Music journos have struggled to compare Young Empires to bands as disparate as The Killers, Arcade Fire, MGMT and Cut Copy. Not bad for a band who has yet to even release an EP, much less a full album. Older reviews mention a certain tropical vibe to their tunes, but that’s not as apparent as the genre-blurring explorations into chillwave and indie dance-rock they’re currently pushing, which fits them well into the local scene.

Of course, the groups above have mighty shoes to fill for an upstart group in an overpopulated scene, but the comparisons don’t only describe Young Empires‘ sound — they reflect the group’s chameleonic ability to absorb and blend their influences and produce something that gels. While it all comes off as a bit calculated, and not near as rowdy as their “sexy music for sexy people” ad-line would have you believe, Young Empires seems to be on the right track — and what did they say about all roads leading to Rome?

Young Empires’ music is hard to find at the moment — they’ve tightened their tyrant’s grip on music blogs in anticipation of their upcoming EP — but you can get a taste of their sound on their Myspace and on Youtube where their videos proliferate.

Bran Van 3000 electrifies Osheaga!

Bran Van 3000 are something of a legend in Montreal. Founded by DJ James Di Salvio and E.P. Bergen in 1994, BV3 (as they are known to fans) have survived the kind of career that music documentaries are made of – all while continuing to refine their quirky and lush brand of genre-hopping, electro-acoustic groove with rock-solid releases through the years. If you don’t know Bran Van, it’s time to get acquainted: they’ll will be getting funky at Osheaga in Montreal this Friday at 5:30 PM!

As far as Canadian bands go, Bran Van got off to an auspicious beginning. An excursion into radio vibes with 1997′s hit single “Drinkin’ in LA” (which charted once in Canada and twice in the UK) landed Bran Van brief tenure in pop stardom, including a global tour and a Capitol Records release for their 1997 debut Glee. Riding high on their success, BV3 was subsequently signed to the Beastie Boys‘ label Grand Royal for their sophomore effort, 2001′s Discosis.

Unfortunately, a sudden collapse of the Grand Royal label coincided with Discosis‘ release, tanking the album’s publicity. In the wake of disaster, the track “Astounded”, featuring vocals from soul legend Curtis Mayfield, managed to become Bran Van’s highest-charting hit, but the band re-appraised their direction nonetheless. Leaving behind labels and management of any sort, BV3 became notoriously reclusive, refusing interviews and live shows, seeming to exist only in rumour as they assembled their subsequent album, 2007′s Rosé.

Continuing critical acclaim for Discosis and Rosé didn’t change this reclusive image, and BV3 remained a well-kept Canadian secret – until an appearance at the 2008 Montreal Jazz Festival turned the spotlights back upon them. The urban myth of Bran Van was busted when over 200,000 fans converged at the show, packing the streets to see the group play their first live set in almost 10 years.

You could say it was something of a turnaround for BV3′s approach. Back in the groove of live shows and recording, BV3 released The Garden in 2010 – and it might be their best work yet. As far back as Glee, Bran Van was fusing electronic beats with rich acoustic sounds and they only push it further here, for The Garden simmers with experimentation and creative meldings of genres. Everything from singalong twee-indie to downtempo, electro-funk, hip-hop and reggae makes an appearance, courtesy of an army of skillfully-arranged guest vocalists. It’s all unpredictable but it never sounds strained – for this, The Garden has earned unanimous and deserved critical praise.

Yeah, we know what you’ll be doing at Osheaga this Friday. See you there!

Glitch Mob’s synth-war at Osheaga!

Osheaga has kicked down Montreal’s door once again, and it couldn’t get off to a synthier start. Neon and Highfood have teamed with Osheaga (and a Red Bull sponsorship) to bring us the highly anticipated triple threat: Glitch Mob, Phantogram and Com Truise at Société des Arts Technologiques at 8:00 tomorrow!

We recommend you don your neon headbands, leg-warmers and slap-bracelets for this one. With these three down-tuned, cinematic groups engaged in a war of keyboards and drum machines, we’re sure it’s going to be a synth-wave throwdown.

THE GLITCH MOB

Hailing from the bass-driven nightlife of Los Angeles, The Glitch Mob are neither especially glitchy or, technically speaking, a mob – but with an onslaught of moody, funky instrumentals spanning a whole constellation of ’80s and early ’90s synth sounds, they manage to paint a grimy portrait of neon-lit nights and Vice City violence that makes their name feel spot-on. Variously described as glitch-hop, IDM and breakbeat, Glitch Mob don’t stick to one sub-sub-genre long enough to be pigeonholed, but their sound is unified by creative sonic layering and midnight retro atmosphere as thick as LA smog. This is one mob you’ll be happy to join.

PHANTOGRAM

Phantogram have been a mainstay of the Montreal scene since 2007, delivering their unique brand of downtempo trip-hop to a growing fanbase – this writer recalls a crowd going apeshit for them at a local venue last year as they followed up the release of their debut album Eyelid Movies.

Sonically, Phantogram are firmly rooted in the sultry stylings of late ’90s Massive Attack and Portishead, filtered through a decade-plus of organic experimentation and low-fi indie sound-collage. The fragile crooning of lead singer Sarah Barthel s as likely to attract fans of Florence + the Machine as much as old-school Bowery Electric.

COM TRUISE

Com Truise has been described – as always, somewhat non-descriptively – as chillwave, but for us Nintendo Generation kids, he’s more than merely chill, he’s an architect of a certain nostalgic time and place where chill was the default state.

Stirring up a blend of laid-back, ’80s-styled soundscapes by way of classic analogue synths and samplers, Com Truise is to downtempo what the Valerie Collective is to electro. A bit of hard-edged cyberpunk (Com Truise is perhaps most well-known for his remixes of the Tron soundtrack) and spaced-out Steve Moore-ish atmosphere add further colour to Com Truise’s sound. Glitchy samples and the occasional broken breakbeat are the main clues to modernity for Com Truise; for the most part, he’s as ’80s-authentic as a Sylvester Levay film score – and just as moodily cinematic.

U2 spins Montreal 360°

So pop-rock gods U2 are coming to Montr– what, you’ve already heard? Oh, of course. If you live here, you’ve definitely heard.

Over 160,000 fans are expected to show up tomorrow to U2′s massive self-constructed venue at the Hippodrome at Decarie and Jean Talon, formerly the Blue Bonnets racetrack. Hundreds, in fact, are already there right now, camping out in the streets overnight to catch first glimpse of Bono and his crew tomorrow night. U2 plays two full shows Friday and Saturday night (July 8th and 9th), as part of their massive world tour, U2 360.

The much-discussed 360 stage gives U2′s tour its name. A rotating stage will slowly turn throughout the concert, leaving the stage and band totally surrounded by countless thousands of concertgoers. It’s been done before, but never to this scale – U2′s attempt is the largest stage of its kind ever built. Depending on your point of view, this enormous and expensive spectacle is either an audacious move to accommodate the needs of an enormous fanbase, or an over-hyped publicity stunt cooked up in typical fashion by the world’s most pretentious Adult Contemporary band. Both views are common in the media at the moment – we’ll let you make up your own mind.

One positive of the stunt? The enormous stage means there’s an enormous amount of space, which means tickets are still available!

You can thank U2 for that one. Maybe Prince ought to take some pointers.

Incidentally, the number 360 also has added meaning for hardcore U2 lovers. U2′s Montreal stopover comes almost a full year late – fans will recall that a back injury sustained by Bono cut U2′s 2010 tour short before it ever reached Montreal. Tomorrow should wash away 360 days of anticipation.

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THE GLITCH MOB

PHANTOGRAM

COM TRUISE

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