Two writers from PAN M 360 are currently in Rouyn-Noranda for the 21st edition of the Festival Musique Emergente (FME) Festival, a musical takeover of the city to witness some of the best and brightest upcoming bands from Quebec, Ontario, and the international scale dabbling in alternative rock, shoegaze, new wave, dream pop synthpop, art rock, psych, and more. So without further ado, here are a few acts we wanted to shed a little spotlight on for Day One.
Photos by: Stephan Boissonneault
Laurence-Anne makes magic at the Agora Des Arts
After a moving set by PAN M 360 favourite, N Nao, Laurence-Anne appeared on stage in a wispy purple cloak to open the set with a few tracks off her upcoming full-length Oniromancie. It’s a fitting title for the spooky dream pop of Laurence-Anne, that utilizes an array of dealy pedals, synths, vocalizers, and at one point, a few gongs. The song “Flores,” Laurence-Anne’s second song in Spanish, is absolutely gorgeous live and her falsettos and powerful sustain vocal tones left us in awe. I got crazy vibes of The Mars Volta during the spacey looped vocals.
The venue was beautiful but it was a seated show, and you could tell the crowd wanted to get up and move as Laurence-Anne led us all through her dream world. At one point she walked off stage and into the crowd to get a better vantage point. It was all very theatrical, much like a heavier rendition of something like A Midsummer Night’s Dream, but with way more hazy synth-wave instrumentation.
– Stephan Boissonneault
Margaret Tracteur is cut short too soon
I wish I could say I heard more of the folk-punk yodeling sensation, Margaret Tracteur, but the start of their set was cut quite short due to the headliner of the main stage, the uber-popular Québec Redneck Bluegrass Project, playing way over their allotted set time (about 30 minutes). The main stage crowd was definitely into it, but a small phalanx of people near the entrance alley of the main stage was ready to groove to the tunes of Margaret Tracteur. We got one song from the album L’heure du thé avec Margaret Tracteur, and it was a drunken ol’ time before the band was told to wait until the main stage headliner was done. This was just poor form, and I don’t know whose fault it was, either the Québec Redneck Bluegrass Project for deciding to play way longer than anticipated, or the main stage planning team, but you could tell Margaret Tracteur was a little irritated—and I don’t blame them. They did get to play after all, but to a much smaller crowd, due to the fact that everyone needed to hop between shows at different venues. But who knows, maybe they’ll get a secret show a recompense.
– Stephan Boissonneault
Myst Milano Brings Bad Bitch Energy to FME’s First Night
Toronto-based rapper/DJ Myst Milano described their sound as ‘bad bitch music’ last night, and I’m hard-pressed to think of a better way to describe it. Oozing with attitude, but never losing their essential playful attitude and apparent joy onstage, Milano’s set was irresistible in every sense of the word. Milano effortlessly flipped between hard, aggressive bass tracks paired with fierce vocals a-la Rico Nasty, all the way to more intimate, sexy numbers complete with ample instrumental breaks for them to show off their dance skills. Whether you’re doing crimes in the street or getting freaky in the sheets, Myst Milano had a track to fit the vibe.
Perhaps most impressive was the sheer confidence and energy that Milano brought to the stage. Despite being all on their own up there, they performed with complete and utter commitment, as if we were an arena of adoring fans who’d been lined up all day for this. And if this relatively new act keeps up like this, it surely won’t be long until they truly are tearing it up stadium-style.
– Lyle Hendriks
Emma Beko Tears It Up at the Poutine Joint
Dripped out in an NBA jersey, massive camo shorts, and the essential pair of Timbs, Emma Beko’s semi-lo-fi, half-sung half-rapped performance felt oddly perfect against the backdrop of Morasse Poutin. The red light, rich DJ textures, and vulnerable bars contrasted nicely against the fluorescent lighting and throngs of hungry cheese-curd-devourers behind her, emphasizing the not-too-serious, not-too-goofy approach that Beko brought to her set.
Throughout her performance, Beko’s love for what she was doing was completely apparent. And despite absolutely cheesing it at the parking lot crowd after each track, her demeanour shifted to one of armour-clad confidence as soon as the beat for the next song started. And with an incredible singing voice to compliment her more lyrically focused rap sections, it was clear that Beko and her DJ/partner in crime, (who sang along to every single word) aren’t planning on slowing down any time soon.
– Lyle Hendriks
Population II – The Queb Doom Prog Act You’ve Been Waiting For
Brooding, boisterous, at times, belligerent—Population II was nothing short of a sensation on Night 1 of FME. With an expansive sound that far exceeds their apparent capacity as a three-piece, this young trio brought an energy, intensity, and a closeness to each other and the music that couldn’t be ignored. Population II was unbelievably tight despite the massive, blown-out tones and frenetic changes in time, tempo, and style that they’ve clearly become accustomed to. Beyond the clear and apparent passion that all three have for their creation, each track seemed to evolve and shapeshift before us, like unfolding a piece of origami to find a brutalist watercolour painting within. And at the centre of it all was singer/drummer Pierre-Luc Gratton, the literal beating heart of the group and the driver of each song, delivering meticulous percussion work all while providing soaring vocals over the mix. With Population II’s sophomore album, Électrons Libres du Québec on its way in October, this is one act to pay attention to as we enter the fall release season.
– Lyle Hendriks
YOCTO Brings a Sci-Fi Sopa-Opera to the Cabaret de la Dernière Chance
One of the bands newest to the Montreal art rock, post-punk, jangle pop scene is YOCTO (somewhat of a supergroup made up of members of Chocolat, Jesuslesfilles, and IDALG) and they absolutely crushed their 1 a.m. set at the Cabaret de la Dernière Chance. Taking us through their debut LP, Zepta Supernova, a sci-fi tale of megalomania, ray gun rivals, and late-stage spacey totalitarianism. The theme is a loose one, meant to glue together the wild sounds of YOCTO, which bring to mind the ’70s new wave bands of Talking Heads, The Human League, and the 80s flavour of someone like the Tom Tom Club. Though the lyrics were conceptualized by member, Jean-Michel Coutu (bass, guitar, synths), vocalist Yuki Berthiaume-Tremblay is a marvel to watch as she runs around the stage, perfectly jumping into the staccato vocal lines as the band jumps from heavy prog rock to a more poppy new wave. I have to give some notice to the drummer, Félix-Antoine Coutu, for keeping the madness on time. The record sounds great, but this is a band meant to be experienced live.
– Stephan Boissonneult
Pressure Pin’s in-the-red feedback art punk
Pressure Pin, the solo project of Kenny Smith (drummer and sometimes synth player of La Sécurité) has been playing a ton of shows around Montreal as of late, and this has to be why they keep getting tighter and tighter with every set. The early morning FME set at Diable Rond was easily one of the loudest of the night, but the band’s chemistry is fun as hell to watch. Smith had intermittent and frenetic-shredding solos on his Flying V guitar only to be followed up by crunchy and well-calculated chord changes and post-hardcore vocals; like Devo and Scream on a healthy dose of powerful stimulants. They played most of the tracks from the previously released Superficial Feature and had a few maddening instrumental jams. Population II is a hard act to follow up, but Pressure Pin was happy to oblige.
The bassist, Danny Howse, played some of the most disgusting bass pops and ripping riffs in near-perfect timing as the drummer, Luca Caruso Moro, absolutely thrashed the kit—I wonder what the toms looked like after. The pageantry of Pressure Pin was also on point; Smith dressed like an Italian ’80s greaser biker, and Howse’s whole face was painted a shiny chrome for the entire set, adding to the collective madness. Though the sound levels were kind of all over the place in Diable Rond—it’s hard to sound perfect with punk like that and honestly, it’s better a little gritty—Pressure Pin showed how much conscious noise you can make with three dudes.
– Stephan Boissonneault
