Le dimanche 3 décembre dans un Théâtre Plaza archi-plein, le 18e Gala Alternatif de la Musique Indépendante du Québec (Gamiq) a mis en relief la musique alternative et émergente du Québec, toutes langues, toutes cultures, tous genres, tous styles musicaux confondus.
Élisapie (artiste de l’année), La Sécurité (révélation de l’année et album indie rock ) et Population II (révélation de l’année), Arielle Soucy (espoir 2024) et plus d’une trentaine d’autres artistes ou pros de l’industrie sont repartis dans la neige avec leur Lucien – statuette baptisée en hommage au poète rock.
Avant que l’animatrice Émilie Roux ne prenne la barre du gala, Patrice Caron, le fondateur du Gamiq, a démarré le show en rendant hommage à feu Karl Tremblay, affirmant en substance que le regretté chanteur était un punk à l’origine, qu’il en avait été témoin à l’Hémisphère gauche avant que les Cowboys Fringants passent à une autre ligue tout en conservant l’empathie proverbiale des punks.Consensus national, force est d’observer !
Les groupes et artistes Margaret Tracteur (kebamericana), le Choeur des Growlers (métal choral), Naïma Franck (soul pop), Shauit (autochtone) , Belle Grande Fille , Alice, DVTR (punk), Cure-Pipe (indie pop), Laura Krieg (synthwave) et Calamine (rap keb) ont offert tour à tour leur numéro de production au public essentiellement constitué d’artistes et professionnels du champ gauche québécois.
Voici la liste des gagnant.e.s et leur récente production sur Bandcamp
ÉCOUTEZ TOUS LES ARTISTES !
Artiste de l’année : ELISAPIE
Révélation 2023: LA SÉCURITÉ
Révélation 2023: POPULATION II
Espoir 2024: ARIELLE SOUCY
Album rock: FUUDGE – …qu’un cauchemer devienne si vrai
EP Rock: GRAND PUBLIC – Idéal tempo
Album indie-rock: LA SÉCURITÉ – Stay safe!
EP Indie-rock: LYSANDRE – Les heures innocentes
Album Pop : SHEENAH KO – Future is now
EP Pop : LUIS CLAVIS – Échos d’une vie distante, volume 2
Album Folk: VANILLE – La clairière
EP Folk: PÉPÉ ET SA GUITARE – Ta yeule pis joue
Album ou EP Rap / Hip-hop: CALAMINE – Lesbienne woke sur l’autotune
Album ou Ep Électro : SUPER PLAGE – Magie à minuit
Album ou EP Post-Rock/Post-Punk: ATSUKO CHIBA – Water, It Feels Like It’s Growing
Album ou EP Punk: ENFANTS SAUVAGES – Arythmie
Album ou EP Métal: GET THE SHOT – Merciless Destruction
Album ou EP Soul / R&B : NAÏMA FRANCK – Petite fille devient grande
Album ou EP Jazz : OLIVIA KHOURY – Portraits
Album ou EP expérimental: FLORE LAURENTIENNE – Volume II
Album ou EP Country: HAUTERIVE – Hauterive
Album ou EP World: ROBERTO LOPEZ – Ritual
Album ou EP Trad: SHAUIT – Natukun
Hors-Québec (Canada): BAIE – Grand Bleu
Simples: ANTOINE CORRIVEAU: La panique est une fleur
Vidéoclip — Production sur un budget (5000$ et moins): DVTR – DVTR
Viédoclip — Production professionnelle: VIOLETT PI – Celui qui attend / Baloney Suicide
Vidéoclip — Animation : BON ENFANT – Pâte à biscuit
Étiquettes de disques
Mothland
Médias
CFAKGagnants ex-aequo
CHOQ.caGagnants ex-aequo
CHYZ 94.3Gagnants ex-aequo
CISM 89.Gagnants ex-aequo
ecoutedonc.caGagnants ex-aequo
Le Bad CrewGagnants ex-aequo
Le Canal AuditifGagnants ex-aequo
À noter que PAN M 360 ne figure pas sur cette liste vu l’apparence de conflit d’intérêt: Patrice Caron fait partie de notre équipe de direction.
Balados Musique
Le Clash Podcast
Relations Médias
Salle de spectacle
Le Zaricot
Festival
La Noce
Représentation d’artistes
Ruel Tourneur
Service à la communauté
Le Pantoum
Sweet Swana Montréal: For a Fair Share of Arab Electro (Part 5)
by Salima Bouaraour
5. Swana electro artists in the PAN M 360 spotlight: Sammy Halimi, Crissemarqueur, Firas Nassri, Mourad Bncr, OM El Beat, Shadya, Wake Island
The Arab population makes up 20.6% of visible minorities in Greater Montreal, ranking 2nd after the black population, which is close to 30%. Visible, they say? Perhaps not so much. The fact is that they are poorly represented in many areas of society, including the electronic music scene.
And yet, Swana electro artists are on a roll in every major metropolis in the world! Montreal, however, is no exception to the trend. The city is full of little treasures, but they are more often acclaimed abroad or outside the province than on the island. Their visibility in the media or on the big stages or at major events is still rather minimal here.
With this feature by our contributor Salima Bouaraour, PAN M 360 shines the spotlight on this thriving pool of artists involved in the development of Montreal’s cultural and nightlife scene, as well as promoting and defending the values of equality, justice, creativity, inclusivity and the celebration of Arab beauty.
Sammy Halimi is the curator of the Oxygen summer event series and producer known as Aquaventure.
Both his events and his music production are inspired by Nature and all the potential it can offer in terms of a welcoming setting for the community to experience sound or ideation.
Sammy has appeared on stage at the Mutek Festival, in a creative project with RAMZI, and as a speaker at the International Conferences of the Sommet de la Nuit to share with the city of Montreal how to take over parks or unusual semi-natural sites for artists, using Berlin or Amsterdam as a model.
Crissemarqueur (Canada/Québec/Tunisia)
Taher Gargouri is the mastermind behind LATEX, a kinky, ultra-advanced series of offbeat events.
A DJ known as Crissemarqueur, Taher is also curator of production company Slata Prod (Tangerine, Kafichanta, LATEX). He is also co-founder of the Fédération des Arts Nocturnes – FANTOM-.
LATEX brings a new, contagious energy to the Montreal kink and rave scenes, while creating a more secure and much-needed space for BIPOC, queer and marginalized individuals (artists and audiences alike) to express themselves and celebrate their identity. Fusing BDSM and Techno in spaces that are inclusive and safe for Montreal ravers, LATEX brings a live sensory experience to the community.
Crissemarqueur frankly and sincerely explores his North African roots through percussive, sensual tracks tinged with techno nuance. His mixes are rich in terms of selection, and he uses remarkable technique to offer his audience a wide range of listening experiences, alternating between traditional oriental music, percussive, black and danceable techno and electro.
Firas is a prolific artist and producer whose music explores his desires, the various facets of his identity and multidimensional culture, and the meaning of creation.
His highly successful album, La Levantine en 2021, blends electronic and oriental music. Released on the CosmoVision label, this album was supported by the collective, whose aim is to promote Montreal artists of immigrant backgrounds through a collaborative approach.
Among other things, he developed Ossa Project: a duo with Lebanese-Canadian multi-instrumentalist and singer Naïm Souaid, in which they explore sung tales in Arabic against a backdrop of rich, varied and dreamlike electronic music.
His latest project, “Ghosts Within”, was supported by the Canada Council for the Arts and premiered in Vancouver. It was enthusiastically unveiled to Montreal audiences on September 24.
Mourad Bennacer (Bncr) has been a versatile multimedia artist for over two decades.
His sound and visual work is inspired by the concept of ephemeral memory and is imbued with beat music, leaving plenty of room for texture and detail. He thus creates a meeting point between his North African cultural heritage, worlds imbued with science fiction and a fascination for technological obsolescence.
For several years now, he has been pursuing a prolific professional career as a trainer and sound designer specializing in the creation of immersive environments at the Society for Arts and Technology, spatialized audio and mixed reality. Blending live sound recording, instrumentation, sound synthesis and microsampling techniques, his musical language appropriates the notion of space in a singular way and comes close to cinematic composition. He regularly collaborates with renowned artists such as Pierre Friquet, Nature Graphique Studios and Iregular.
His EP UNREST, released by Unlog in 2021, is a synthesis of this career path, an assertive transition to a new musical colour.
Mourad is also an active member of Silicon Beats, an electronic music collective known for its jam sessions and film-concerts. He is also co-founder of Unlog, a music collective and label focused on electronic and audiovisual explorations. Unlog has forged a distinctive musical signature over its ten years as a label and music event organizer, supporting the work of international and local artists such as Engone Endong, Camille Frey, Tehu, Vince Konigan, TSF and many others.
Producer and DJ Om El Beat – Batoul Almohamad – is of Syrian origin and based in Montreal.
This prolific queer artist has numerous albums and performances to her name. She interweaves nostalgic moods with melancholy electro. Her mixes are a fusion of swana, electro and techno.
The CosmoVision label has also successfully supported some of her projects.
His live appearances are often alongside Crissemarqueur, Wake Island, SHADYA, QUEEN AND QUEER and many others! His activity in the Middle East is extremely rich.
In 2021, an incredible live show was filmed with a drone overlooking the city of Istanbul in Turkey.
A queer artist, decolonial intersectional feminist and committed to the fight against systemic racism, SHADYA has been pursuing a multi-faceted career for over twenty years.
She has been founder and co-manager of an electronic music label – Chez.Kito.Kat records – since 2006, DJ, journalist for PAN M 360, co-curator of the Tempio Nero/AnaLoveMyLog parties and involved in committees such as MTL24/24’s Conseil de Nuit (since 2020) or the Racisme, exclusion sociale et laïcité de l’État committee of the Ligue des droits et libertés (2021).
Through horizontal collective management with DBY and Mr Bios (producers and DJs), the label currently boasts 91 releases by some 30 international artists. The label’s artistic direction is resolutely oriented towards explorative electronic music, mostly analog and modular. Dancefloor references are distributed by Lobster Theremin (UK) and Underscope (FR). Artists from the Montreal label can be found on the stages of the great institutions of electronic music: Berghain, Mutek, Le Sucre… The label is referenced on Hate Music, Trax, Nova, The Wire, Les Yeux Oranges, Resident Advisor, Les Inrockuptibles, NPR, Le Monde, and FIP Radio de Radio France.
A long-time performer in an electroclash band in Europe, she now devotes her time to djing, mixing electro/techno/breaké/acid/oriental/dark/jungle/ hip hop electro breaké swana selections. SHADYA performs regularly in Montreal and has had the opportunity to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Nuit Blanche at MTELUS in February 2023 in partnership with MTL24/24, or a musical celebration for the Musée d’art contemporain Pompidou in Brussels at Kanal Studio in 2021.
ra.co/dj/shadya
https://chezkitokat.com/
Wake Island (Canada/Québec/Lebanon)
Wake Island is a Montreal-based duo of electronic music producers from Beirut.
Through their music, they attempt to reconcile their Lebanese roots with their North American life. Blending Middle Eastern sounds with techno rhythms, they create pop songs that are sometimes reminiscent of the 80s and 90s, while keeping a clear openness to the future.
The duo consists of Philippe Manasseh (he/him) and Nadim Maghzal (he/him), two Lebanese immigrants who met in Montreal in the early 2000s. Since 2018, the band has been firmly established between New York and Montreal in the Middle Eastern and LGBTQ scenes.
In particular, they have created Laylit, a dance party seeking to showcase the musical diversity of the Middle East and North Africa region. Glorified by the New York Times and Pitchfork, Laylit celebrated its 5th anniversary in the summer of 2023 with an America/Middle East tour and a Boiler Room session in New York.
Since 2020, they have been focusing on multidisciplinary projects, establishing their presence in the interactive and VR/AR fields.
For this compilation, Wake Island generously offers us a track from their latest album: Sleep 2.0 from the Born to Leave album.
Wake Island Boiler Room, Summer 2023, New York
Nadim Maghzal (Wake Island)
The End
Sweet Swana Montréal: For a Fair Share of Arab Electro (Part 4)
by Salima Bouaraour
4. When Music, History and Politics are intrinsically linked
The Arab population makes up 20.6% of visible minorities in Greater Montreal, ranking 2nd after the black population, which is close to 30%. Visible, they say? Perhaps not so much. The fact is that they are poorly represented in many areas of society, including the electronic music scene.
And yet, Swana electro artists are on a roll in every major metropolis in the world! Montreal, however, is no exception to the trend. The city is full of little treasures, but they are more often acclaimed abroad or outside the province than on the island. Their visibility in the media or on the big stages or at major events is still rather minimal here.
With this feature by our contributor Salima Bouaraour, PAN M 360 shines the spotlight on this thriving pool of artists involved in the development of Montreal’s cultural and nightlife scene, as well as promoting and defending the values of equality, justice, creativity, inclusivity and the celebration of Arab beauty.
Arab immigration to Canada goes back a long way. The first arrival from Lebanon was recorded in 1882! In Montreal, the Algerian community is second only to that of Haiti, followed by Italy, France and Morocco.
Nevertheless, if we dare evoke the term “Arab community”, we need to redefine what the term “ARAB” alone encompasses: North Africa? Near East? Middle East? All faiths? Linguistic mosaic? Cultural diversity? To this, we add the more commonly used and highly relevant term “Swana”, which is more in tune with post-colonial reality.
In the end, if we want to stay focused on our subject, we’ll limit ourselves this time to their involvement in the Montreal electronic music scene and their anchoring point on the extra muros scene.
Nevertheless, “the integration of artists from immigrant backgrounds (long or recent) and Quebec-born racialized artists into the cultural milieu can certainly contribute to social cohesion and an inclusive collective imagination, i.e., an embodied way of living together. However, it is regrettable to note that so-called “artists of diversity” are all too seldom mentioned when it comes to professional practice, and that so-called “citizens of diversity” are all too often perceived as needing mediation. Full recognition of so-called diversity artists, as well as fair and adequate diverse representation at all institutional, decision-making, administrative and creative levels.” (City of Montréal)
This is something that is more than necessary, if not urgent to implement in concrete terms. This is how the City of Montreal’s cultural development policy was determined in 2017, following the publication of a brief on artistic diversity. It’s all about living and working together as equals.
Moreover, this specific notion of the “need for mediation” implies that individuals from ethnic groups would need to be somehow referred to and benefit from benevolence, often tinged with a neo-colonial paternalism if clumsily conducted by individuals from the so-called “white” population. The report also calls for a review of semantics, which is in fact detrimental to positive action, since they create an invisible but definitely palpable secession between “Them and Us”, “Them and the Others”.
As a result, “The presence of Montreal’s diversity in this way, allowing everyone to recognize and identify with both the structures and the narratives created, would undoubtedly serve to create a real way of living together”. (City of Montréal)
The debate on this issue is indeed a broad and massive one, bringing us back to our subject: the representation of Arab artists on the electro scene in Montreal. It is imperative to renegotiate, collectively and in the wider public arena, the image we have of them and the way society perceives and conceives them, not to mention their involvement at every level. Music and art, in their very essence, are strong vectors of integration at the heart of society.
Because of their longstanding presence in Canada and their representative demographic weight in Montreal, Arab artists on the electro scene have the legitimacy to recognize themselves in all facets of society, and to benefit from the same opportunities, whether in terms of programming, professional opportunities, decision-making positions or influence in the public arena.
As a result, the spotlight needs to be more multidirectional, in order to rectify the situation and trigger positive concrete action so that “THEM and OTHERS” become a substantial WE.
Sweet Swana Montréal: For a Fair Share of Arab Electro (Part 3)
by Salima Bouaraour
3. Swana electro-techno-pop hits the international scene!
The Arab population makes up 20.6% of visible minorities in Greater Montreal, ranking 2nd after the black population, which is close to 30%. Visible, they say? Perhaps not so much. The fact is that they are poorly represented in many areas of society, including the electronic music scene.
And yet, Swana electro artists are on a roll in every major metropolis in the world! Montreal, however, is no exception to the trend. The city is full of little treasures, but they are more often acclaimed abroad or outside the province than on the island. Their visibility in the media or on the big stages or at major events is still rather minimal here.
With this feature by our contributor Salima Bouaraour, PAN M 360 shines the spotlight on this thriving pool of artists involved in the development of Montreal’s cultural and nightlife scene, as well as promoting and defending the values of equality, justice, creativity, inclusivity and the celebration of Arab beauty.
Well-known for its avant-gardism and musical syncretism, London’s electronic music scene today sees the Arab community genially blending influences from traditional Oriental music with broken electro, in the same way that the Indian electro-pop trend of the 90s/2000s exploded to make the whole world dance! In the USA, the phenomenon is raging. The Institut du Monde Arabe in Paris regularly programs Arab electro artists.
Hailing from the Near and Middle East, these artists are increasingly exporting themselves: Saliah (UK/Lebanon), Toumba (UK/Jordan), Ibrahim Abu-Ali / DJ Habibeats (USA/Jordan) and more. And of course, Omar Souleyman, who played a major role in democratizing this trend on an international scale. And many others, such as the Palestinian Sama’ Abdulhadi.
Meanwhile, what’s going on back home? The truth is, many artists have already been flourishing for several years! Nevertheless, their visibility remains far below their dynamism and talent.
Take the Laylit collective, for example. Founded in 2018, it establishes itself between New York and Montreal in the Middle Eastern and LGBTQ scenes. Dance parties promoting the musical diversity of the Middle East and North Africa region are regularly organized by the Wake Island duo, among others. The Ausgang Plaza showroom on Saint-Hubert Street, run by general manager Malick Touré and DJ Mr Touré! was their place of subterfuge in Montreal.
In less than 5 years, the collective has exploded onto the international scene with well-deserved recognition due to the fruits of their hard work and talent – New York Times, Pitchfork, Boiler Room, touring Europe/North America/Middle East.
When a city has a pool of energy and talent like this, we’d like to see it programmed much more often in a wider variety of venues, concerts and festivals, and given more visibility in the Quebec media. Last May, the RADAR series, presented by M pour Montréal and Mundial Montréal in collaboration with QUB Musique, programmed them for the release of their new album.
When you look at the Montreal electronic music scene, it’s clear that artists from non-racial backgrounds are taking center stage, and their careers are exploding in the space of a few months, without exaggeration. Everyone is aware of it. Everyone sees it. But few are willing to put the debate on public record.
More than ever, in 2023, it’s totally legitimate to question the mechanisms leading to this type of differentiated, out-of-sync career path, knowing that quality, creativity and skills are not in question here, at all.
Sweet Swana Montréal: For A Fair Share of Arab Electro (Part 2)
by Salima Bouaraour
2. A constantly evolving scene
The Arab population makes up 20.6% of visible minorities in Greater Montreal, ranking 2nd after the black population, which is close to 30% (1). Visible, they say? Perhaps not so much. The fact is that they are poorly represented in many areas of society, including the electronic music scene.
And yet, Swana electro artists are on a roll in every major metropolis in the world! Montreal, however, is no exception to the trend. The city is full of little treasures, but they are more often acclaimed abroad or outside the province than on the island. Their visibility in the media or on the big stages or at major events is still rather minimal here.
With this feature by our contributor Salima Bouaraour, PAN M 360 shines the spotlight on this thriving pool of artists involved in the development of Montreal’s cultural and nightlife scene, as well as promoting and defending the values of equality, justice, creativity, inclusivity and the celebration of Arab beauty.
In this festive spirit of coming together, a compilation will take you into their respective universes.
The Montreal electronic music scene has made, and is still making, great strides compared to other scenes around the world. So-called non-dominant individuals such as women and marginalized categories – queer-bipoc-trans – are enjoying greater accessibility and visibility on the scene.
However, to ensure that we continue to make progress towards a brighter future, there are still complex entanglements of systemic discrimination and issues linked, for example, to the representation of people of colour and/or queer women, as well as problems of access to decision-making positions, leadership and access to the media.
In fact, so-called “racialized” people or people from indigenous nations have had more opportunities, even if the situation is still glaring in the face of the many challenges linked to history. In addition, a huge amount of work has been done to remedy the difficulties faced by black artists in gaining access to the stage. The demographic weight of visible minorities is 28.3% (1) of Greater Montreal.
It is clear that accessibility to all spheres of public life, including the music scene, must be paramount. Taking all these factors into account, a debate needs to be brought to the table: the under-representation of Arab artists on the Montreal electronic music scene. Although this group represents one-fifth of visible minorities (Statistics Montreal 2016 (1 and 2)), it remains underground like a well-kept treasure. Collectives are trying to rectify the situation, but as best they can, often on their own initiative. The challenges are huge!
Sweet Swana Montréal: For A Fair Share of Arab Electro (Part 1)
by Salima Bouaraour
Confined to the folklore of the collective imagination
The Arab population makes up 20.6% of visible minorities in the Greater Montreal, ranking 2nd after the black population, which is close to 30% (1). Visible, they say? Perhaps not so much. The fact is that they are poorly represented in many areas of society, including the electronic music scene.
And yet, Swana electro artists are on a roll in every major metropolis in the world! Montreal, however, is no exception to the trend. The city is full of little treasures, but they are more often acclaimed abroad or outside the province than on the island. Their visibility in the media or on the big stages or at major events is still rather minimal here.
With this feature by our contributor Salima Bouaraour, PAN M 360 shines the spotlight on this thriving pool of artists involved in the development of Montreal’s cultural and nightlife scene, as well as promoting and defending the values of equality, justice, creativity, inclusivity and the celebration of Arab beauty.
In this festive spirit of coming together, a compilation will take you into their respective universes.
Before that, there’s an analysis that deserves your full attention. Here’s part 1!
Numerous cultural events celebrate Arab beauty and a wide range of its flourishing music. These include, of course, the Arab World Festival, which has been running for 23 years and has become a not-to-be-missed event, the Moroccan Cultural Centre, which has been based here since 2014, and which contributes to interculturality, the interaction and coexistence of different civilizations and cultures, as well as promoting convergence and rapprochement between them, and micro-festivals such as the Palestine Festival (to be launched in 2023).
But what about the fragmented electronics area? Some would say nothing! If we’re talking about the representation of Arab electronic artists programmed at more institutional events or renowned festivals. The number is tiny. And yet these artists from the community are numerous, extremely prolific and extremely creative! In some cases, they are better known abroad than on the island.
As always, data is lacking or sparse when it comes to issues that are nested or possibly considered subaltern by some. Numerous studies corroborate this phenomenon of invisibilization (2).
Sources (in French):
1. Minorités visibles. Visible minorities. Population in private households per visible minority group, Montréal agglomeration, 2021
• Portrait et témoignage de Saïd Taghmaoui Poitrait and testimony of Saïd Taghmaoui. (actor, testimony to the desynchronized career paths linked to systemic discrimination in the film industry)
• Rokhaya Dialo (freelance journalist, columnist and film-maker. Debate based on recent research into the intersectionality of women of colour in all spheres of society) (In English)
After a long, pandemic-induced hiatus, Australian indie pop rock outfit Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever has come out swinging with their third album: Endless Rooms (2022, Sub Pop Records). Bandmates Fran Keaney, Joe White, Marcel Tussie, and brothers Rob and Tom Russo (as well as co-producer Matt Duffy) have achieved fantastic sonic success with this album, with meandering, nostalgic melodies meticulously layered with more focused, punchy rhythms and highly evocative lyrics.
Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever has spent the better part of 2022 touring songs from Endless Rooms as well as their prior album, Sideways to New Italy (2020, Sub Pop Records), and other hits from their catalogue. We caught their show in Montreal on August 2nd, and the band’s live performance did not disappoint.
Rolling Blackouts CF was supported by Toronto-based Skye Wallace, who put on a fantastically energetic show harkening back to the pop-punk traditions of the 2000s. Skye Wallace and her band couldn’t be more in sync, exuding onstage confidence and ease that made them a joy to watch.
When Rolling Blackouts CF took the stage, the energy was palpable. The passionate emotion that is so clear in their recordings wasn’t lacking in their performance. There’s a new confidence in Rolling Blackouts CF’s latest album. Each member has indeed come into their own as a master of their domain – especially White on lead guitar, whose sections tend to become the main statement of any given song. And when paired with refined composition and incredibly tight performance, it’s clear to see why this group’s success is growing.
All of this came through in their show, whether they were performing tracks of Endless Rooms, Sideways to New Italy, or from earlier in their catalogue.
Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever and their unique mishmash of indie rock, dreamy pop, and sheer frantic, psychedelic energy is a winning combination.
Three electric days at the Distorsion Théâtre Plaza Takeover
by Stephan Boissonneault
Dark Disco and Flowery Sea Monsters: Our account of the Distorsion Théâtre Plaza Takeover series
This past weekend in Montreal was host to a number of shows within the heart of the city’s music scene, but none stood up to the spirited passion and wild experimentation of the Distorsion Théâtre Plaza Takeover series. Essentially a mini version of the beloved Distorsion Psych Fest, each night of the mini-festival had its own vibe, down to the projections (thanks to the wonderfully talented Anthony Piazza)—more on him and his work later—music, dress code, and for this writer, alcoholic pairing.
The venue choice of Théâtre Plaza was also perfect—with its ostentatious chandeliers, half-circle floor bar, and exquisite art deco ceilings, juxtaposed by metal railings and hundreds of psych-rock lovers in jean jackets and fashionista outfits. This venue used to be the premiere theatre for watching 35mm films in the ‘60s and ‘70s until it shut down and was reopened in 2003 as a multi-cultural arts venue. It’s basically Montreal’s mini version of The Beacon Theatre in New York. The timing of the Distorsion takeover also aligned with the historic theatre’s 100-year birthday.
Day 1 (Crabe, Editrix, Deerhoof)
Are you even a Montreal live music fan if you haven’t seen Crabe live? The band has been around in some way shape or form for the last 15 years (with eight albums and a few EPS) and is a staple in the Quebec experimental music scene. I arrived a little late and missed most of Crabe’s set, but from other shows I’ve seen, I can tell you they are one of the most surreal and ridiculous local bands in recent memory. Their sets are visceral, complex, and satirical, laying down what they call “present-punk,” with a concoction of bouncing guitar hooks and breakneck drumbeats. They no doubt played tracks from their latest album Sentients but also spliced in the Nintendo Wii console theme and a cover of “Baby Annette” from the Sparks musical film Annette. The perfect way to open a festival.
Next was a band called Editrix, a three-piece from Easthampton, Massachusetts, that could be described as a female-fronted Primus. Their music was a ferocious blend of psych, prog, noise, and jazz. We all watched and heard the angelic falsettos from lead singer Wendy Eisenberg as she played complex math-rock guitar scales that could make your head spin. Editrix was tight and the projections of old black and white science how-to videos, mixed with superimposed images of neon green beakers and Edison bulbs added to the psychedelic hilarity. They certainly found more fans after their Distorsion set.
Editrix at Distorsion
The main event of the evening was the experimental indie pop-rock of Deerhoof, a group from San Francisco. There’s a huge childlike glee to Deerhoof’s music which is a bit shoegaze meets indie rock and they’re pros—being around since the mid-90s—of setting up an experimental ambiance. The projections for their set were quite static, focusing on a mutating sunset, and having the audience focus on the instrumentation of every song. This did change however during the last few songs when the projections turned into lips and colourful radiating teeth.
Each member looks like a bonafide rockstar with their own expertise—the combined guitar wankery of Ed Rodriguez and John Dieterich, sultry bass, dance moves, and hazy vocals of Satomi Matsuzaki, and manic batshit drumming of Greg Saunier.
“Last time we were here was 29 months ago at Sala Rossa,” says Saunier to a cheering crowd. “We didn’t know that it would be our last show for two years because of the state of the world, so this is really full circle for us.”
Deerhoof played a near 15-song set and two encores and with that, Day 1 was complete.
Deerhoof at Distorsion
Day 2 (Meggie Lennon, Paul Jacobs, Fleece)
After a glass of brief champagne and cider (and one or two shots of vodka) cheers at the top of the skybox in Théâtre Plaza—made up of the performers, their friends, and the Mothland label—the people responsible for the diverse musical lineup of Distorsion and some of the best experimental music coming out of North America right now—it was time for some Meggie Lennon.
The sweet psych-pop, what she dubs “make-out dream pop” comes in waves, pairing nicely with the buzzing nature of the champagne. She and her band took the audience through a halcyon journey, playing many songs from her 2021 debut album, Sounds From Your Lips,as images of toucans, various fruits, summer waves, and floating eyes took up the screen behind her. Meggie has a bewitching quality to her. She comes off as coy and aloof when performing, cracking little jokes about being a “professional,” after starting a song too early, but she is 100 % genuine and she and her band are a marvel to witness when they’re in the zone. There’s a bit of pageantry—to one of the guitarists sporting silk pajamas, somewhat matching Meggie’s baby blue dress—but not too much. The show is about music and Meggie plays the role of as somewhat of a spiritual leader, inciting everyone to dance and feel the love. For that 40 minutes, we were all part of her imaginary cult.
Meggie Lennon at Distorsion
Paul Jacobs took the stage next, a perfect replacement for the booked Spaceface (you win again COVID), and played his wonderfully animated set of songs from his Pink Dogs on the Green Grass album. Much like Crabe, Paul Jacobs is a key figure in the Montreal psych scene, so this was my fifth or sixth time seeing him. Still, his show does not disappoint and the acoustic synth psych-jams he has carefully crafted with his band are incendiary. I still think of the dumb stupid grin I had when I saw him at FME last year for the first time and know some at Distorsion had the same.
Paul Jacobs
Fleece took the stage sometime later, a band I had no real knowledge of besides their “How to make an alt-J song,” video that went viral, but I can say that their performance was one for the books. My colleague, Louise Jaunet, who was running around taking photos and grooving to their music, described Fleece as “generous and playful pop-rock a la Fleetwood Mac songs, exploring childhood memories or something. It is as if the unexpected meeting of a scary but funny monster hidden in the closet helped a little weird queer flower to bloom.”
The scary and funny monster she is referring to appeared once before Fleece took the stage and during the encore. The outfit looked is supposed to be a sea monster, but looks more like a nightmarish flower (who is the centre of the band’s 2021 Stunning & Atrocious album), who appeared with real flowers and began passing and throwing them into the crowd. This was after the Fleece members themselves went through three costume changes (tie-dye jumpsuits) as they played their lo-fi indie psych. By the end of the show, much of the crowd had their own flower and waved them in unison. Truly a magical night for the flower children.
FleeceFleece “Sea monster” handing out flowers
Day 3 (Celebrity Death Slot Machine, Pelada, The KVB)
In terms of attire, day two of the festival was all about colour (plaids, multicoloured dresses, shiny tube tops—you know, festival wear. But by Day 3, 80 % of the crowd was in black. It felt like a too cool underground German club inside the Théâtre Plaza. This is probably because this was the no-wave, coldwave, post-punk night of Distorsion and black has always seemed to be the outfit of choice. The merch table was full of The KVB albums and t-shirts, but behind, on a separate table was a multi-coloured toy slot machine and a bunch of t-shirts adorning crazed characters and smashed disco balls. This was the merch of Celebrity Death Slot Machine or CDSM, a new-wave, experimental dark disco group from Atlanta, making their international debut tonight.
As the band took the stage, a man in a white tank top with a blonde bowl cut grabs the mic and starts singing in a gothic baritone swagger about Joe Pesci, (the song’s version of the boogeyman) kidnapping you for some torrid affair. It’s called “Fresh Catch,” from the debut EP Hell Stairs and the crowd was clearly not expecting it but danced into the madness of a disco-synth inferno. One synth player looked like a funkier Weird Al Yankovic, one bassist/guitarist looked like a ‘70s porno director with his shining gold pants. The drummer also wore a blood-red speed suit and cheetah print cowboy hat, because why not.
CDSM at Distorsion
CDSM unleashed an onslaught of grooves that are on paper, farcical, and abstractly bizarre, but they work. They create a truly absurd atmosphere kind of like watching a surreal play unfold. This is in part thanks to the mesmerizing projections of Anthony Piazza—which played off of pentagrams, burning scenery, hypnotizing kaleidoscopes, slot machines, scratchy rats, and more.
CDSM would change up vocalists between songs, each with their own style. Much of the crowd was transfixed, watching the members switch instruments with ease—most notably Tyler Jundt holding the mic between his legs as he discharged a raucous saxophone solo. This band, although relatively new, could easily headline their own festival. They’re that kind of band that will achieve cult status and steal the show from many of the headlining bands they’re opening for. They’re hard to follow up.
CDSM burning down the house
But the local Spanish acid techno house duo, Pelada, did with an unrivaled fury. The scenic backdrop was a carpet of flames as vocalist Chris Vargas called out systemic racial oppression, sexism, sexual harassment, and surveillance—donning, at first, a fuzzy purple coat and then becoming scantily clad in hard black leather. At one point Vargas told all of the men in the crowd to go to the back and make way for all of the women in the crowd. “
“I want this to be a safe space for all of my bitches in the crowd” Vargas chimed into the microphone.
Many men, out of respect did move to the back for a song or two, and Pelada launched into “A Mí Me Juzgan Por Ser Mujer (‘I Am Judged Because I’m a Woman’).” It was both a terrifying and gratifying set.
Pelada
Last for Distorsion was The KVB, a Manchester, UK duo known for their distinctive blend of post-punk and shoegazey psych. Their set was grand and electric, filled with reverb and staircases of synthesizers playing old songs and new from the Unity album—a true performing band. A highlight was the visuals for the “Unite” single, where a futuristic industrial city blared as the band chanted “modular factory living.” At one point, the mixing washed out the guitar and the set was significantly quieter, or maybe that was the gin and tonics—it’s hard to say, but The KVB left the crowd feeling lighter.
The KVB close Distorsion
After the shows ended, many journeyed to l’Escogriffe Bar for the after-party, and into the wee hours of the night, the after after party at Mothland HQ. The whole series was an experience curated by knowledgeable music lovers who know how to set a mood. They have essentially curated not only a festival but a community of miscreants hell-bent on discovering the weird sounds ultra-talented musicians have to offer. Be lucky to be part of it, or if you’re not already, do yourself a favour and sign up.
Much like everyone on Earth, Ukraine has been on our minds as of late. It’s quite easy to get caught up in the vicious cycle of doom scrolling through the latest casualties—where statistics like “at least 23,000 dead, and 10 million displaced,” according to Reuters—bombard the news and the names Volodymyr Zelensky and unfortunately, Vladimir Putin, are commonplace in the brain lexicon.
But one entity that we have become much more aware of in the last month is the music scene in Ukraine—specifically their past and current punk music scene. A band like Gogol Bordello probably comes to mind when you think of Ukrainian punk music, but the gypsy punk group is actually based in the Lower East Side of Manhattan, New York. We wanted to find recent and past punk music actually birthed in Ukraine.
We also have Bandcamp and Spotify to an extent to thank for this, as we discovered various playlists through their platforms, but also the North American and European musicians who have taken it upon themselves to share a bit of their knowledge of the Ukrainian underground punk scene.
So why punk specifically? Since its inception, punk rock has been a means for liberation, both musically and politically depending on the band. It’s been the very essence of calling out unjust governments, racism, sexism, a general disregard for human rights, and of course, war.
There’s also a website called Neformat, run by journalist Yaryna Denysyuk, that covers the underground music scene of Uzhhorod, Ukraine which we used to learn about the history and context of punk music in Ukraine. A quote from her Denysyuk is below.
“The post-Soviet era was one of total poverty whilst the national economy was restructured: there was no internet to share and record the music made, no creative economy to support young talent, and no music industry to speak of. It was only in the 2000s that a wider underground scene started to appear [in Ukraine].”
During our online sojourn into the Ukrainian punk scene, we found something interesting. Punk has always been a political requiem, but much of Ukrainian punk music tends to look inward at aspects like depression, anxiety, and trauma. There are heavy songs about the damnation of war, and you can be sure that new bands will form, creating songs about the Russian invasion, but up until now, much of the punk in Ukraine has been a form of cathartic release for its musicians without any links to politics. It could be called Apolitical punk.
Also, the word “punk” may have a different meaning in different parts of the world. In Ukraine for example, because the scene is quite small and DIY, many bands are looped into the punk genre. Aspects of speed metal, hardcore, post-hardcore, doom, black metal, psychobilly, alt-rock … they all fall under punk.
This list is in no way shape or forms complete, and it just scratches the surface but should give you a small idea of some old and new punk music from Ukraine.
Vopli Vidopliassova – Experimental ‘80s punk rock
It’s difficult for us in North America and even Western Europe to imagine the chokehold the Soviet Union had over Ukrainian cultures, including music. “The Soviets saw hippies and punks as manifestations of “harmful bourgeois culture,” but there was a great burst of creativity in the late 1980s and sometime after the country got its freedom,” Denysyuk says.
Underground metal and punk rock or experimental electronic bands started appearing during the late 80s and early 1990s, but most of the bands from that period are forgotten.
One that was crucial for pushing the punk sound in Ukraine is Vopli Vidopliassova or commonly referred to as VV. VV played rock n’ roll primarily but had a bunch of punk and early post-punk songs that debuted around 1987 at the Kyiv Rock Club. One song, the 1989 “Танцi,” was an immediate hit, showing the obscurity of Ukrainian rock and punk music.
HOMESICK – Hardcore skate punk based in Odessa
HOMESICK has been active since 2010, delivering an intense version of Ukrainian hardcore skate punk. Their music sounds like a concert taking place in an abandoned swimming pool, full of skaters, punks, and society’s other reprobates.
The members go by the names Crank, Left, Hump, and Wise, and their sound fits nicely with a band like Dayglo Abortions or even some later Black Flag. After the invasion of Ukraine by the Russians, Homesick released an acoustic song called “ПОД ЗВУК СИРЕН” or “Under The Sirens,” about the fear, unity, and freedom destined for Ukraine. The song takes its title from the air raid sirens the singer heard at 6 am.
Cios – Gritty street punk from Khmelnytskyi
Cios has the UK Oi! punk sound that reverberates the walls in the local pub. Their sound is gritty, unpolished, the kind of music you’d drink your face off during an underground house show.
It’s dirty working-class punk about the toils of modern life, and while not overtly political, their songs are clearly about the corruption within society. Reminds us of old Minor Threat or some Bad Brains, but throws a few curve balls like a saxophone solo to make the listening experience all the more enjoyable. Their latest release is 2021’s Біль. Гніт. Бруд, in English: “Pain. Abuse. Dirt.”
Dymna Sumish – ‘90s – 2000s punk from Chernihiv
Dymna Sumish was founded in 1998, in Chernihiv, and generated considerable resonance in the musical circles of Ukraine due to a high-quality mixture of punk rock, hardcore, and psych-rock. They played all over Ukraine but didn’t record until the mid-2000s.
Much of their music is only on CD, but a few songs exist on the obscure side of YouTube. The band publicly stated that they were calling it quits “because of inability to cope with the situation in Ukraine—when a culture isn’t valued, but instead, all the power has policy, social experiments and “totalitarianism.” Keep in mind that this was in 2012, before the Russian invasion of Crimea in 2014.
Dymna Sumish, Circa 2007
Death Pill – Riot Girl Hardcore Metal Punk based in Kyiv
Last but not least is Death Pill. The self-claimed Riot Grrrl band, Death Pill, is terrifying. Their music sounds like a raw open wound being quickly lacerated. An onslaught of vitriol and anger next to a wall of heavy fast paste guitar, bass, and warpath drumming. At times it sounds like pure thrash metal, but the lyricism grounds it in that DIY punk ethos. They come from Kyiv’s underground punk/hardcore scene, a place where the lines of genre are blurred.
The singles “Die for Vietnam” and “Расцарапаю Ебало,” which with a rough translation means “I’ll scratch your fuckin’ face,” in English, are both dedicated to the Ukrainian army and all proceeds for the tracks are going to fund the war effort.
“Расцарапаю Ебало” by Death Pill “
Today we dedicate this release to everyone who defends our country. We are ready to tear the face of every freak who encroaches on our freedom and independence with our manicured nails,” states their Bandcamp. Drummer, Anastasiya Khomenko, recently told Rolling Stone that Death Pill’s music will only get heavier saying they are “filled with anger and hatred.” Adding “we will never be able to forget and forgive them all the evil they have done to us.” Do not mess with these Ukrainian women.
Techno and politics: a look at the Kyiv counterculture
by Elsa Fortant
No matter what you say, dance floors – whether institutional or underground, legal or illegal – are eminently political, especially when it comes to electronic music. An aspect that Melvin Laur, artist and co-founder of the collective project Vertige Records, highlights in a thesis entitled “Ethnographic analysis of the Kyiv rave community: the post-revolutionary context”. His research work, carried out as part of a master’s degree in management sciences at HEC Montréal, presents the rave culture of the Ukrainian capital through the discourse of the actors who carry it out, mainly members of collectives organizing parties and artists, taking as a starting point the party as a political act.
Without going over the whole history of the rave movement throughout the world or even in Ukraine, it is important to know that after 2014, rave culture in Kyiv experienced, with a ten-year delay, a lightning development, to the point of becoming a popular destination for “techno-tourists. Why 2014? It was the year of the Euromaidan revolution, in response to the refusal of Viktor Yanukovych, the pro-Russian president at the time, to sign the agreement for Ukraine’s entry into the European Union. The movement was launched by the students who saw their future slipping away before their eyes. They protested peacefully by occupying the Maïdan square, in the heart of the capital. Then, the forces of order arrived. The repression was violent, with 125 deaths. The clashes lasted 93 days and ended on February 22, 2014 with the resumption of control of the country by the army, the exile of Yanukovych and new presidential elections. For those who are curious, the documentary Winter on Fire, produced by Netflix and available for free on YouTube[1], traces the history of this struggle of the Ukrainian people for freedom.
For Melvin Laur, this revolution catalyzed the Kyivian rave culture: “This culture was born from repression and political demands. It lasted and became professionalized until it became something really cultural, he explains. In fact, before the Maidan revolution, from the early 2000s until 2014, there was a huge drum and bass scene, really important. The genre predominated alongside commercial music and Ukrainian, Russian-speaking or international pop. Then there was this revolution and techno became very popular in Kyiv, taking precedence over the rest. Nevertheless, the early years of the techno scene in the post-revolutionary context are still marked by police raids and repression.
At the forefront of the movement were collectives such as the pioneering Rhythm Büro, Cxema, VESELKA and Laboratorium. Kyiv seemed to nurture a certain interest in raw and violent techno, “saturated to death boxes”, while offering a more conventional offer to please European tourists. There’s quite a heterogeneous scene there and that’s what was interesting to watch,” Melvin continues. Closer, a club located in a former Soviet factory, is very tech-house oriented, while places like O’tel – formerly Metaculture, but no longer existing – were really much more gabber and fast music, 160+bpm. In between, you had Kyrilliska with more industrial techno. And more to the west, on the Donbass side, it was the Shum collective that was the talk of the town, with a partnership with Boiler Room some time ago. The ephemeral parties organized by the collectives are also a way for young people to reappropriate their territory, by taking over disused buildings, former textile factories and vestiges left by the USSR.
Since the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, several Ukrainian techno artists, directly affected, have turned their social networks into platforms to relay information on the situation, like the DJ Daria Kolosova. Etapp Kyle participated in the “Support Ukraine Fundraiser Compilation[2]“. Stanislas Tolkachev has launched a label, Rudiment[3], whose profits – music and merchandise – will be donated to Ukrainian humanitarian organizations. Nastia, the most internationally known Ukrainian DJ, continues to tour (which has earned her criticism from some of her collaborators on the NECHTO label). She is taking on an ambassadorial role through the creation of a “Stand with Ukraine” fund and by organizing an auction, in collaboration with the brand Sennheiser[4]. Finally, an open letter[5] calling for the banning of Russian artists was signed by more than sixty actors of the Ukrainian electronic scene.
“It is really touching and impressive to see the different forms of resistance that are being put in place, there is the one on the ground but also this other part of the resistance, much more artistic and cultural, and that we perhaps often tend to forget and rightly so in these difficult times and which can be very dark. Creation is an escape and a way to resist”, concludes Melvin. To donate, check out this list of verified Ukrainian foundations.
VR Concerts: A future for Quebec’s music industry?
by Stephan Boissonneault
“In the midst of every crisis, lies great opportunity.”
Whether many in the music industry know it or not, they have been reflecting on this ethos by Albert Einstein constantly. Promoters, venue owners, and other industry folks alike had to remain optimistic after Quebec ended its first lockdown, and unleashed a deluge of concerts and live events. Things were good and the worst seemed like it was over. Then Omicron made its way to Canada … and I don’t have to reiterate what happened next.
Two festivals that were caught in the middle of Quebec’s second lockdown are the past Taverne Tour in Montreal and the upcomingLe Phoque OFFalt music festival in Quebec City. The teams behind both festivals could have cancelled their February festivals and no one would have faulted them; cancelling or rescheduling live shows has been a two-year reality for promoters. I think Lucy Dacus has been rescheduled three times? And really, who knows what’s going to happen? All we can do is live with optimistic hope.
Hopping into the Matrix
Still, Mothland decided to persevere in early February, switching their Taverne Tour into a virtual reality “Matrix” experience with sprite avatars and a digitally-recreated world of Montreal. It kind of felt a bit like Habbo Hotel meets a Gameboy version of Pokémon Yellow or something of that nostalgic videogame ilk.
Taverne Tour festival was free, with shows pre-recorded, and an amalgamation of festival attendees, some who had their video on continuously, and others who remained black screens. There was a digital merch table of the artist playing and you also had the option to watch the shows on Youtube alone. If you missed Taverne Tour, not to worry. The generous team at Mothland is leaving the concerts on the Taverne Tour website here for some time.
There were customizable attire options for your avatar and private chat spaces so you could watch the shows with your friends or alone in peace. The streams were, for the most part, without any latency issues or lag and the sound quality was quite superb. People were pretty respectful (you never know in this world of online trolls) and everyone danced in unison by pressing “z.”
It was a chance for many, like myself, to discover artists that I had been itching to see “live,” like experimental rock wizards, Atsuko Chiba, psych-rock darling, Alias, the freak psych-folk legend, Gus Engelhorn, or new to me, synth-pop crooner, Andy Jon.
Did it replace the live music experience? Of course not, but that was not the point. It was an enjoyable VR concert alternative and much more community-focused than watching a concert stream at home.
Metaverse Music
Next on the list is Le Phoque OFF on Feb 21 – Feb 25, boasting more than 50 artists of different genres like Les Lunatiques, Érika Zarya, Charlotte Brousseau, Zouz, La Fièvre and Émilie Landry.
“We had the festival ready to go with some big names playing, but with the Quebec government restrictions, there was no feasible way. So we looked to our friends at NOWHERE to create a Metaverse festival experience.”
Festival co-founder and managing director of Le Phoque OFF, Patrick Labbé, says this to 15 or so media personnel during a mid-afternoon media visit, within the metaverse. What does that look like? The digital room is tinted in blues, purples, and pinks and the main wall says “WELCOME TO THE NOWHERE LOUNGE,” “NOWHERE” being the 3D metaverse platform that has worked with Nine Inch Nails, SXSW, Red Bull Music, etc.
Everyone is on a webcam attached to a floating hexagon moves by using their keyboard. You can also jump with the space bar to get a birds-eye view of the digital landscape.
There are three virtual stages, or “scenes,” each with its own colour tone and background.
The main Sirius XM room has glass platforms you descend to get to the stage and in the distance, there are floating mountains and a star system. Another room, DOZE, looks like a synthwave album cover while the quiet room is mostly dark and opaque.
I bounce in and out of these scenes with ease as we all watch a pre-recorded show of Quebec City’s, l i l a. Who knew that soft indie rock in the metaverse would really fit?
“The problem is many people hear about a show in the metaverse and have no idea what it will be like,” says Labbé. “We have to get people in this headspace that this really is the future.”
Labbé knows virtual shows will never replace live music, but he does envision them becoming more commonplace, especially if the pandemic continues.
“We’re not even done with this year and we’re already thinking about having a hybrid model for festivals down the line,” says Labbé. “Think, you could watch a show with friends in different timezones while being at a festival. The possibilities are endless.”
Virtual concerts are here to stay and while they will never replace live music, during this time of confusion, they could be an alternative to echo the live experience.
The full week pass of Le Phoque OFF is 28$ or you have the option of choosing a 10$, one day pass, modest prices considering many stream shows are usually in the 20 dollar range. So if you have nothing to do during that week—as I’m sure you won’t because Quebec isn’t fully “opening” until March—give Le Phoque OFF a try.
When Music Hurts: Learning and Spreading Resilience
by Elsa Fortant
At Pan M 360, we’re looking at the health of music and its practitioners through our “When Music Hurts” article series. In this article, our contributor Elsa Fortant looks at distress and resilience in the music business.
GA survey conducted by the Quebec Musicians’ Guild (GMMQ) in 2020 revealed that 57% of musicians were considering changing jobs[1]. After a second complete shutdown, the curtain falls… and for some, never rises again, as we were reminded during Suicide Prevention Week, held from January 30 to February 5. Through the storm and despair, can we identify resilience factors? That’s one of the questions Morgane Bertacco, a doctoral student in neuropsychology at Université de Montréal, is asking. For more than a year, as part of the research program “Musique en temps de pandémie au Québec”[2], she has been conducting a survey of Quebec musicians. It is hoped that this unique project will allow the cultural community and the government to better understand the effects of the pandemic on the mental health of artists.
The music business is fragile, and that’s nothing new. However, the COVID-19 crisis and its management–in other words, the total shutdown of musical activities on two occasions–have exacerbated already precarious working conditions: endangerment of the on-demand or task-based economy model (freelancing, self-employment), job uncertainty, and normalization of unpaid work. One thinks, for example, of the videos of confined musicians that flourished at the beginning of the pandemic and for which the artists were not necessarily paid.
To date, no data exists on the mental health of Canadian musicians. Morgane Bertacco is determined to fill this gap. The young researcher, who was studying performance anxiety, has completely changed her thesis topic to focus on the mental health of musicians in the face of the pandemic. “When I submitted my dissertation proposal in December 2020, the only literature we had on COVID-19 was the early studies that looked at mental health in the general population. We knew that anxiety was starting to seriously rise, depression was starting to seriously rise,” she explains.
As early as 2021, the surveys conducted by the GMMQ and the report with the evocative title “Pour que les arts demeurent vivant[3]“, prepared by the Fédération nationale des communications et de la culture (FNCC) and published in March of the same year, offered us a first glimpse of the gravity of the situation. If it was a question of taking the pulse of the cultural milieu, it was found to be weak: high presence of depressive symptoms, psychological distress among artists, suicidal thoughts among 11% of artists compared to 7% in the Quebec population…
The research conducted by Morgane Bertacco focuses on musicians over the age of 18 residing in Quebec during the pandemic, both students and practicing professionals who meet the GMMQ definition. It is an online questionnaire that covers the themes of depression, anxiety, stress, resilience and well-being. The 160 responses obtained so far will be supplemented by individual interviews. The interest being to be able to compare the results of the study, the team selected those of a British study conducted in 2016 among professional musicians. In that study, it was reported that 71% of musicians have experienced anxiety and panic attacks and 39% had depressive disorders.
“Since it’s an online survey, we’re not allowed to use the tools we would use in a clinic, so we took screening questionnaires that are available to everyone,” says the doctoral student. “We have the PHQ-9 (Patient Health Questionnaire) to screen for the possibility of a depressive disorder and the GAD-7 (Generalized Anxiety Disorder) to screen for a generalized anxiety disorder.”
The goal of this research is also to identify resiliency factors, i.e., the elements that have enabled musicians to cope and bounce back. Until the data analysis is complete, there is a freely available resource published by the Mental Health Commission of Canada, “A Guide to Building Resilience through Self-Care[4]“. A report entitled “Innovation and Resilience in Arts, Culture and Heritage Canada”[5], funded by the Government of Canada, has just been released. It draws on 29 examples of artists and organizations that have innovated to find resilience during the pandemic. This tells us that we are entering solution mode. We also welcome the creation of a Psychosocial Support Fund administered by the Artists’ Foundation, allowing for the financial support of psychological health care up to $850 per person.
“I want to be able to come up with a real solid assessment, with recommendations that I hope to be able to take up with the government to say, if it ever comes back, this is what the musicians went through and this is what they would have liked to have seen put in place,” the student concludes. “I hope to be able to find the resiliency factors that helped the musicians who got through the pandemic the most, so that I can offer a program to the musicians themselves, that they can say to themselves that others were successful because of it.” Let’s not lose hope.
Morgane Bertacco has decided to reopen the survey to get a snapshot of the situation one year later. To participate, just click on this link in French and in English.
If you or someone you know needs help, call1 866 APPELLE (277-3553), 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
[2] Program conducted by the Observatoire interdisciplinaire de création et de recherche en musique (OICRM), in collaboration with the Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM), the International Laboratory for Brain, Music and Sound Research (BRAMS), the Laboratoire de recherche sur la musique, les émotions et la cognition (MUSEC) and HEC Montréal.
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