Last night was the first evening of showcases for Mundial Montréal 2023. Broadcasters and producers from Quebec, Canada and around the world gathered at the Lion d’Or to witness the performances of four bands vying for the attention of guests in the hope of securing professional engagements (or simply forging new relationships and expanding their networks).
Two big “winners” emerged, if we accept the term in terms of their touring potential and public appeal both here and internationally: Toronto’s Bruno Capinan and Montreal’s Dumai Dunai.
Capinan is Brazilian and makes post-bossa tinged with MPB and Bahiatronica. His high-level musicality (what a beautiful voice!), the melodic ease of his compositions and his magnetic, hyper-communicative queer stage presence (he seduces the audience as if he were the little brother everyone loves) made him a superb discovery for your humble reporter. I sincerely hope we’ll be seeing him again in Montreal!
Dumai Dunai is better known back home, as the Ukrainian Slavic dub-punk ensemble that has been inhabiting the Montreal music scene since its formation in 2021. While Russia’s invasion of Ukraine helped propel the fiercely energetic band into the public eye, their growing fame and popularity have nothing to do with strictly geopolitical circumstances. The band is driven by boundless energy, fertile originality, hyper-honed group coherence and the individual musical and technical quality of its members. They have what it takes to tour the world.
We enjoyed the Mi’gmafrica duo, made up of Valérie Ivy Hamelin, a multidisciplinary artist from the Micmac Nation of Gespeg in Quebec, and Sadio Sissokho, a Montreal griot originally from Senegal. A fine blend of indigenous influences and Mandinka culture, with a clear influence of the latter. The uneven quality of the vocals, sometimes very beautiful, sometimes weaker (tonally speaking), will merit particular attention in order to refine the product adequately.
Finally, we were left (like some other members of the professional audience)… perplexed, by the product offered by Second Moon, a South Korean ensemble of traditional chants set to a Celtic musical and harmonic structure. K(eltic)-Pop? Not really, as the traditional melodies lack the simple yet direct appeal of true K-Pop or Celtic instrumental music. And, artistically, although the violinist, accordionist and other musicians are excellent (except for the voice, which is also uneven, capable of both impressive features and approximations), the final result doesn’t give the impression of a perfectly harmonious fusion, nor one that’s all that interesting. Once the curiosity has worn off, and the initial pleasure of seeing the colourful costumes over, one wonders if one really wants to listen to this for more than 10 minutes. Too bad. That being said, some people present seemed to have a lot of fun listening to Second Moon’s act. Maybe it’s just me…
Photo credit: Alain Brunet
