In FME’s past, my memory of the final show of the weekend is always one of being dead on my feet, swaying gently in a basement as I fight to maintain my final, vestigial brain cells against an onslaught of some sort of trancy, droning music.
So as you can imagine, I was thrilled to find out the final show of the weekend this year was not only outside, but featured Automelodi, an outstanding, energetic synthpop performer who came to party. Automelodi, also known as Xavier Paradis, is a lone figure onstage surrounded by synths, beatpads, and mic stands. Having gotten his start in 2006, we’re now seeing a renaissance for the Montreal musician, as he returns to the stage in sync with many upcoming releases in 2025. With distorted, reverb-soaked vocals, breakneck change-ups, and an unrelenting danceability to every moment, the music is urgent, lively, and compels—even my sorry, hungover ass—to dance one last time to close out the weekend.
We few who remained by the end of the night, were crushed to see him finish the set, begging for just one more dirty, crime spree club hit to close out the night. While we weren’t granted this encore, I was still glad that FME decided to round out this year’s programming with such an obvious, universally enjoyable smash hit of an act.
