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 Three.
Photos: by Stephan Boissonneault
Vanille Brings the Sun and Takes us Where we Need to Go
Vanille’s performance at La Guinguette chez Edmund at FME might have been one of the most beautiful of the festival, with her sunshine ’60s pop bringing in the actual sunrise over Osisko Lake. She played much of her old album
Soleil ’96 and a few more rock n’ roll versions of her baroque-medieval songs from the latest album, La clairière. The vibes and atmosphere were fantastic, and everything seemed to be in a sepia-toned haze. Kids were running around, a metalhead was relaxing, looking at the sky with sleepy eyes. There’s really not much else to say other than it was a fantastic sun-soaked start to the mid-day.
– Stephan Boissonneault
AMMAR 808 and his Thundering Tunisian Dance
One artist who was only scheduled for killing time before Blesse, with my group, was Sofyann Ben Youssef aka AMMAR 808, a Tunisian DJ making his home in Denmark with a penchant for heavy, heavy bass and European electro that reminds you of dim-lit German clubs. we ended up staying for most of his set as we were pulled from his electronic tractor-beam beats. There was a point when AMMAR’s mic cut out, but he basically said ‘Fuck It’ We’ll do it live and started mixing on the spot, improvising, but still controlling the crowd’s energy. What separates AMMAR 808’s sound has to be his live mixing of aggressive, unrelenting beats and the Pan-Maghreb voices. It’s trippy and heavy, perfect for the dancefloor when you want to dissociate, which, by this point, many of us were well on our way to doing.
– Stephan Boissonneault
TUKAN Post-Everything Jazz Electro Bliss
Day 3 of FME was graced by the analog electro-jazz mania of TUKAN in a basement, but their secret show set on the train tracks in front of the Horne Foundry was the true magic hour. TUKAN has the same energy and aptitude as say an electro-trance producer, but uses live instruments to create their dancy soundscapes. Floating Points, BADBADNOTGOOD, Wetpaint, Popul Vuh; these influences and more can be heard in TUKAN’s set. Though the fact they are recreating everything live makes it an exhilarating experience; especially for the two men fronting a catwalk fashion show during the train tracks set. The basement set was definitely more of a club setting, but this scrappy band from Brussels is not one to be missed. – Stephan Boissonneault
Night Lunch (Served at 3PM)
There’s nothing like a generously-cut grey suit, dark shades, and a little analog synth to instantly transport you to an ideal world of yesteryear—one of carphones and glittering city skylines. This specific moment of time was brought to life last night by Montreal art pop outfit Night Lunch. Featuring a cool, calm performance from lead singer and human ice cube Lukie Lovechild, he was backed up in style by rock-solid bass grooves and soft, cushiony chords and melodies coming from synth player Wesley McNeil.
Despite the pop influences that Night Lunch so proudly wear on their sleeves, there’s a darker, sexier side to their sound than you might first expect—just as at home in the dusky, subterranean venue we saw them in as they would be at the front a cigarette haze nightclub. In each track, ’80s-style synths and lead guitar come together to create passage after passage of resonant, endlessly satisfying changes that simply make you want to boogie the whole night away.
– Lyle Hendriks
Truckviolence – Violence As Community Service
The boys from Truckviolence aren’t really all that scary or threatening, but you’d be forgiven for thinking otherwise after watching this thrashed-out three-piece take the stage. Thunderous and aggressive, Truckviolence burrows its way into your skull like a 12-gauge slug, with powerful, almost incomprehensibly intricate drum work courtesy of Ryley Klima, throaty, driven guitar, and of course, the absolute sheer fucking willpower and intensity of lead vocalist Karsyn Henderson, who wasted no time in stripping down to his underwear and jumping down into the pit for a little violence of his own.
Despite the violent persona that this act embodies so completely, they’re not without their hidden intricacies, or indeed, their softer moments. At one point, Ryley took a much-needed break from the drums for Henderson and the guitar player, Paul Lecours, to enter a surprisingly sombre, beautiful country jam with nothing but gentle banjo and the soft tones of a tattooed man wearing nothing but his heart on his sleeve. And when that was done, we got right back into it—slamming into one another, headbanging to the point of whiplash, beer spraying this way and that—such is the utterly captivating duality of Truckviolence. – Lyle Hendriks
Les Louanges Tosses Out the Rulebook
Many artists claim to defy convention and genre—few achieve it as truly effectively as Les Louanges did at FME’s mainstage on Saturday night. Armed with flutes, saxophone, synths, and huge emo pants, Les Louange’s show was all over the map in the best way possible. At times, I had to double-check that a new band hadn’t taken over without my realizing it—but in every case, it was simply a new, adventurous tack. Striding with ease over countless genres, from jazz, to funk, to R&B, to a touch of Latin dance, there was a profound sense of confidence and joy emanating from the whole band, but in particular from lead singer Vincent Roberge.
A part of my joy in live music is always watching other people enjoy it, and from my vantage point, I had the pleasure of witnessing countless young people having what might have been the best night of their lives so far, crowd surfing, jumping, throwing glowsticks to the band in appreciation. At one point, Roberge had to take a moment—seemingly overwhelmed by the 1000-odd audience members belting every word of his song as he just smiled on. With so many elements swimming and shapeshifting in the music of Les Louanges, this is one act to pay attention to.
– Lyle Hendriks
