Fête de la musique de Tremblant 2024 | Sophie Faucher and Callas in symbiosis

by Frédéric Cardin

The Fête de la musique kicked off last night with an off-site presentation (in the village church of Mont-Tremblant) of the play Callas : une voix pour être aimée (Callas : A Voiced to be Loved) starring Sophie Faucher as the divina at the end of her life, Marc Hervieux as Giuseppe di Stefano, tenor and companion on her final years, and Dominic Boulianne as pianist and coach Robert Sutherland.

I won’t go into the details of this play, which tells the story of the singer’s last (plausible, but fictitious) moments before she was found dead in her Paris flat. For that, I invite you to listen to the interview I conducted with Sophie Faucher and Marc Hervieux (in French).

I have to admit that I hadn’t yet had the chance to see this play, written by Sophie Faucher and Anne Bryan, and which premiered in autumn 2023. What I saw and felt yesterday was above all a Sophie Faucher inhabited by her role. Here we are, with a gracious lady who is no more than a shadow of her former artistic self. And yet she still has greatness. We’d like to tell her so. We’d like to get up on stage and retort when she says that her voice was everything, that her voice made her. To tell her that no, it was she who made this voice, who gave it its unique character. It was her passion and extreme artistic integrity that built an instrument that has become iconic. That’s how much we believe in it. Marc Hervieux (tenor Giuseppe Di Stefano) is sunny, the polar opposite of the depressed star. But he has his dark side. He loves Callas with all his heart, but he too clings to the past. To the time when she still had her powers, and with whom he could reign on the stage. This forthcoming tour of Japan, which he has come to rehearse at his friend’s house, is a lifeline to which he is clinging after a family tragedy (he has lost his daughter). So he is only partly attentive to Maria’s despair. As for the pianist, he doesn’t really know what to say, other than generic platitudes most of the time.

It’s a shame, then, that Maria Callas’ last moments (if they ever took place like that) were weighed down by the inability of two men to understand the pain of a woman torn apart. The inability to commune with her tragedy, and to pierce her dark shell of regret, absence (maternal love) and resignation (she will sing no more). In fact, Callas’ final moments in this play are the story of a failure. A failure of communication. Perhaps it was possible to break through the defences behind which the exhausted diva had repressed herself, this certainty that she was no longer of any use without singing? She says: ‘The best way to serve music from now on is to keep quiet’. But serving music could have been a matter of passing on the knowledge she had acquired, of giving inspiration to another generation, and so on. Who knows, perhaps with the right words, the right arguments, Maria could have survived ‘Callas’ for a while longer. She could have avoided the trap of having to die out like one of her much-loved characters, Traviata, Mimi, Tosca, Aida.

All these things run through our minds during the hour and a half of the show. And it’s the proof that Sophie Faucher’s acting is so strong, because we dream of intervening, of finding the right arguments, where these two gentlemen fail.

Hervieux is also good and fair in the role of Di Stefano. We can forgive him a few stammerings, but he is genuine in his outpouring of tenderness and love for his friend. The same feelings that drive him to become harsh and even cruel when she doesn’t (or no longer) live up to the idol he still holds her up in his mind. The advantage he has is that he can sing, too. Which he does very well indeed, and with generosity.

Dominic Boulianne plays pianist Robert Sutherland, caught off-guard by this rehearsal that goes nowhere.

The staging, by Marc Hervieux, is very classical, in the form of a three-person huis clos in the realistic setting of a Paris flat with hints of faded luxury. The movements and set-up are designed to help us understand the emotions of the protagonists.

If you understand French (there is no English translation yet) and especially love opera, I encourage you to dive into this play with all your heart. You will be moved.

DETAILS AND TICKETS FOR THE NEW CALLAS : UNE VOIX POUR ÊTRE AIMÉE TOUR

FME DAY 1 I Orchestra Gold, BODEGA, Bouge Pas, TVOD, Last Waltzon,

by Rédaction PAN M 360

The PAN M 360 team is crisscrossing the entire FME 2024 program, picking up as many artists as possible during this 22nd edition in the beautiful Rouyn-Noranda. So get ready. First off we have Orchestra Gold, TVOD, Last Waltzon.

Orchestra Gold: African Psych Rock under the night sky
by Stephan Boissonneault

As lead singer Mariam Diakite walked on stage, sporting a vintage blue and yellow-striped jumpsuit, the crowd at FME’s mainstage ventured closer and closer. It was as if giant invisible arms were gathering clusters of the crowd and dropping them in front of the stage. We were all transfixed under the psychedelic night. A sizable crowd developed by the time the band was three songs in. The other members of Orchestra Gold, matching Diakite in vibe and style, jumped into an African rock n’ roll; blistering guitar work and a steady rhythm and drum section. The music felt retro, a bit of Marvin Gaye meets Khurangbin and had flourishes of modern accompaniment—superbly hypnotic. The set was healing, a sound bath of sonic medicine, sung primarily in Bambara—a fantastic start to the night.

BODEGA WAS OUR BRAND
by Stephan Boissonneault

Bodega, New York’s scuzzy anti-capitalism post-punks may have the strangest, almost pretentious marketing structure—including a video essay on the concept of consumer culture—a band could have, but their live show is pure maddening fun. Two drummers playing a few pieces of a kit, fluttering lead guitar wankery, a bass player in his own world, and the satirical in-the-red vocals reminiscent of early Pavement. The band was infectious, playing songs off the latest, cleverly named Our Brand Could Be Yr Life and Broken Equipment. The music has a wonky, metallic, and punchy quality to it and though many of the songs are about the perils of capitalism (which does sound a bit overdone 2024, if not boring), the sounds cut through over the main stage. I’d say, given the right effort and drunken motivation, Bodega is a band that could be someone’s life.

Fatal Explosion Reported in Rouyn-Noranda: Last Waltzon at FME
by Lyle Hendriks

In the lurid haze of mid-to-late evening FME, I make my way to the dark, beer-stained Caberet de la Dernière Chance. Montreal agitators Last Waltzon are already onstage, shredding and screaming their way through their cavernous, noisy blend of post- and pop-punk. Movement is everything for Last Waltzon’s stage presence, though it’s less choreography and more a matter of writhing around as they force a jagged symphony out of their instruments. It’s incredibly loud, every drum hit cutting through the room as the guitars whip themselves into a fervor. Dual vocalists trade off lines with one another, a dialogue of cryptic messaging that conveys the emotional centre of their sound. Every Last Waltzon song comes from some kind of deep-seated need, some sort of feeling that comes out in a torrent of fury or not at all. Loud, irreverent, and brimming with energy, Last Waltzon is a pleasure to watch. Each powerful track is another psalm that urges you to move. The guy did a fucking backward somersault on stage while hitting a riff. What more could you want?

Bouge Pas gets us moving
by Stephan Boissonneault

The hidden alleyway off of Rouyn-Noranda’s downtown was witness to musical paroxysm in the form of Montreal garage punks, Bouge Pas. The character of this band live is held down by the dual drummers, who synced up like maniacal automatons. The bass was thick and this band loves to jam, going on outlandish tangents of guitar riffery that are well-rehearsed. The band wants us to think it’s all sporadic and unscripted, but for a punk band, this set was unbelievably tight. A flurry of Osees-esque art punk, a veritable whirlwind that will be ringing in the ears and minds of a Rouyn-Noranda for many days to come.

Dropping a Hero Dose of TVOD
by Lyle Hendriks

Do you ever notice that some punk bands are a little serious? Sometimes, it’s nice to get primal and release my tortured soul in a catharsis of violent music. But sometimes, what I really need is to watch six people having a lot of fun as they make some really loud noise. The word on my mind as I watched Television Overdose, or TVOD in Rouyn-Noranda’s Petit Theatre is ‘perceptive’. There’s a knowing wink behind every song, even as we’re blasted in the face by a minor orchestra’s worth of instrumentation. Frontman Tyler Wright offers us brilliant lyricism that’s delivered with satisfying diction, ensuring his words always cut through the often chaotic mix. I love watching a band that’s having fun, and TVOD delivered. At one point, Wright was surfing the crowd near the front, belting plosives and punctuation into the mic as the room carried him to his FME-themed Viking funeral. A little positive post-punk never hurts, especially when it’s this rowdy and easy to love. In the end, a quick hit of TVOD was just what I needed to get through the end of my first night at this year’s FME.

Photos by Stephan Boissonneault & Jacob Zweig

Rap français

IAM: The Bosses of Marseille are in the house

by Sandra Gasana

Accompanied by Dj Daz and DJ Kheops, the legendary French rap group took to the Fizz stage to perform Petit frère. Indeed, IAM was eagerly awaited last night by a mostly French audience, but not only.

All ages were represented, even some young fans who weren’t born when the band debuted in the late 80s. For the occasion, there were four of them on stage: Akhenaton, Shurik’n, Kephren and Saïd, the group’s backing singer. They followed up with another of their hits, Samouraï, which the audience knew by heart, before continuing with Ça vient de la rue, which clearly set the crowd on fire.

All dressed in black t-shirts and jeans, they address the crowd several times, especially Akhenaton and Shurik’n, to express their gratitude to the Montreal public. “It’s a pleasure to be here,” says Akhenaton, ”the welcome’s great, as it always is, always love. And it’s off to the classic Je danse le MIA, with the famous dance step that goes with it. A return to adolescence for me. We were treated to several other tracks from their most popular album, L’école du micro d’argent, including Nés sous la même étoile, and L’empire du côté obscur. For this track, they came on stage with red lightsabers, straight out of Stars Wars, against a backdrop of red light.

“Montreal, make a fucking mess for us!” shouted Akhenaton, before the track La saga. “Tonight’s not a very long night, so let loose on all the sounds,” he advised the crowd. Indeed, the concert lasted just over an hour and started right on time, not a minute late.

Another highlight of the evening was the song Bad Boys de Marseille, which has become an anthem for their hometown. Their first concert in Montreal was in 1994, so it’s been 30 years. They also took the time to mention some of the Montreal artists they’ve collaborated with in recent years, including Meryem Saci, former member of Nomadic Massive, and Malika Tirolien, whose career is in full bloom.

As the concert draws to a close, the four of them sit on a bench for the 9-minute track Demain, c’est loin, another classic. Shurik’n and Akhenaton take turns addressing the crowd, leaving the others on the bench. “We see that not much has changed since we wrote this song, but that doesn’t stop us from thinking about tomorrow, because… tomorrow is far away,” says Akhenaton by way of introduction.

After the traditional end-of-concert photo, they leave, shouting “Palestine libre! Free Palestine! ”. IAM’s activism remains intact, even after 30 years.

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Contemporary / Drum & Bass / Dub Techno / Electronic / Experimental / jungle / Post-Dubstep

MUTEK 2024 | Kode9, One Hour With a Master

by Alain Brunet

To attend a Kode9 concert in August 2024 is to continue the electro experience with a master creator and a master thinker.

Real name Steve Goodman, this Glasgow-born London artist has been creating forms and ideas for some thirty years. A Doctor of Philosophy, the Scot has published the essay Sonic Warfare: Sound, Affect, and the Ecology of fear. However, his artistic output is better known, since he founded the excellent Hyperdub label and, above all, was one of the first designers of the dubstep movement. This was just one phase in his artistic career, needless to say.

What we were treated to on Sunday night was a conceptual universe where electroacoustics, film music and electro-jazz come into play in the groove of dub, jungle, drum’n’bass and grime, fundamental experiences in the UK.

In a context where rhythm is not continuous from beginning to end, Kode9 has chosen instead to present a succession of audiovisual tableaux (Lawrence Lek, Optigram, Bianca Hic, Mark Garlick, Plus Minus Studio) through which he illustrates his new sound treatments, very often based on rhythmic exploration, much on the insertion of random sounds, much less on the more consensual melodic-harmonic constructions.

All this is highlighted in a variety of contexts: calm, dreamy, dynamic, tempestuous, meditative, paroxysmal. The succession of these episodes was also in phase with inspired projections, whether of pristine nature or an aerospace launch pad, or the praise of Escapology, a kind of art of escape that is also the theme of his most recent album (2022).

There was plenty to feed on in this abundant offering, that of a superior intelligence, capable of varying its proposition and softening it, as was the case with his very good DJ set given earlier on the quiet Esplanade.

Photo credit: Bruno Aiello Destombes

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Contemporary / Electronic / Experimental / expérimental / contemporain

MUTEK 2024 | After The Pole Position…

by Alain Brunet

It sometimes happens that established, recognized creators have little to say after their “peak hour” has passed. In many cases, this is true, and in others, it’s not. In the case of POLE, it’s not true. Here’s an artist who’s still fervent, who reached his peak of coolness at the turn of the 2000s, and who hasn’t stopped searching since.

Invited to perform as part of Nocturne 6, the final program on the MUTEK Montréal 2024 menu, the German artist is one of the originators of glitch, a Germanic alternative to dub, an electro sub-genre then immersed in an electro-acoustic perspective and an inclination for minimalism in expression. As POLE points out in an interview, glitch was an important influence on the founding artists of dubstep, such as Scotland’s Kode 9, who took over from POLE at the SAT on Sunday night.

To make a long story short, there was nothing nostalgic about POLE’s program, recent material far outweighed old sounds, and there was no formal repetition. Low frequencies were deliberately exacerbated, to the point of generating vibrations on all the plexuses close to the stage. Technical problems broke the rhythm of the performance a little, but POLE took matters into their own hands and got their set off to a good start. Aside from the special use of infrabass, we also detected a number of small details in their sonic quest and a real expertise in rhythm and the synthetic percussion that generates it – notably those rather jazz-like cymbal effects.

In short? Fashions and generational tensions are the enemies of creation, and this is the counter-example. After pole position, there’s life, and it’s good to live it.

Photo Credit: Bruno Aiello Destombes

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Electronic

MUTEK 2024 | Synspecies, an Absolutely Magnificent and Edifying Work of Art

by Salima Bouaraour

Synspecies: mesmerizing cosmogonic sculpture

SYNSPECIES ES+SL – ASBU

Live A/V | North American premiere

The A/Visions 1 series came to a close with Synspecies, an absolutely magnificent and uplifting work. A cosmogonic myth flavored with posthumanity, algorithms and lasers. This sculptural performance from another universe was an absolute, divinatory success.

Mutek has left its mark on the history of electronics, developing its trademark over the past 25 years. With this presentation, we were in the Mutek spirit more than ever.

Perfect symbiosis and synchronization between a beam of light forging evolving visuals and a powerful, devastating soundtrack. This is how the process of creating the universe came to the fore, and the wonder of life was born. Walls trembled and infernal red shadows penetrated our souls.

This concert of abstract algorithmic music and creative coding by Elías Merino and Tadej Droljc was bewitching and diabolically beautiful. Scripted by a powerful luminous laser, the universe came to life through geometric shapes, spirals and lines, offering up ghostly-looking characters.

Slovenian artist Tadej is accustomed to fusing sound, image, light and sculpture, and his work has been awarded the Lumen Prize Student Award and the Dennis Smalley Scholarship. His work has been presented at prestigious festivals such as Ars Electronica, the Biennale NEMO in Paris and the Brighton Digital Festival. The Spanish Elías explores abstract algorithmic computer music, unusual electronics and instrumental compositions.

Synspecies: a definitively futuro-speculative, cosmogonic and post-eugenic work.

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Electronic / House / Techno

MUTEK 2024 | Rhyw’s Final Bouquet

by Sandra Gasana

After giving a big hug to Data Plan, who preceded him on the decks, Rhyw takes over the Piknik Électronik National Bank stage for the special Mutek show. He got off to a gentle start before picking up the pace a few minutes later. The rain didn’t affect Rhyw’s set, which benefited from late-night sunshine and an ever-growing crowd as the evening progressed.

He soon begins to dance, as his movements on the console become increasingly brusque, setting the tone for what’s to come at the close of Mutek. The crowd doesn’t seem to have noticed the change of DJ and continues to dance as if nothing had happened, but a small group of Rhyw fans have stepped forward to cheer on their artist. We quickly switch to techno, house, with a few recorded voices heard here and there. Welsh-Greek electronic music producer Rhyw is famous for his bold, complex sounds. Mystical noises are sometimes heard, in an unknown language, blending synths and inviting travel. The same synth rhythm recurs several times, but accompanied by different rhythms each time. In short, he builds around the synth. He takes advantage of the breaks to change the rhythm and start again with a completely different, more danceable sound.

He starts jumping up and down at times, so immersed is he in his world, and you can feel the decibel level soaring. In between sips and shy smiles at the crowd, he takes advantage of the pauses between songs to see how the audience reacts, before setting off again. We’re in full electro mode, with percussive rhythms adding to the sheen.

This former member of the influential duo Cassegrain has done well to pursue a solo career that sets him apart on the electro scene. He has performed at such esteemed venues and events as Berghain, Berlin Atonal and Boiler Room Tokyo, to name but a few.

Mixing broken beat, traditional and ultra-modern techno, he adds minimal yet robust structures to his wild sets that make you feel like you’re in an open-air disco. The predominantly young audience seemed to enjoy the performance, while a mother in her sixties and her daughter in her thirties shared a cigarette while shimmying to Rhyw’s sounds, and a father and his pre-teen daughter danced at the top of their lungs throughout the set.

His work has been described as “a dialogue between the physical and the abstract, inviting audiences to experience a sound that is as intellectually stimulating as it is visceral”. Last night, he delivered just that.

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Electro-Rock / Electronic / Industrial / Minimal Techno

MUTEK 2024 | Factory Floor, Not Exactly on The Rug

by Alain Brunet

Factory Floor: Gabriel Gurnsey and Nik Colk Void, joined by a guest percussionist, were eagerly awaited around midnight on Saturday and Sunday.

A DFA Records signature in the 2010s, the British band stood out for their singular blend of post-industrial, electronic, minimal techno, acid techno, acid house, experimental and electronic rock. Understandably, many of the night owls present at MTELUS have been fans ever since, and we were delighted to discover their new percussion-based offering. Two instrumentalists devoted themselves to this, while the other piloted the electronic gear. What did we get? Not much… not exactly on the rug.

The rhythmic pulse varies little over the course of the hour, becoming long-winded after about twenty minutes. Average rhythmic figures, built around a binary techno beat. Around the rhythm, nothing exceptional either, rather basic melodic-harmonic motifs. Add to this the playing of unseasoned percussionists, which lacked firmness – if you know anything about this profession, it’s obvious.

All in all, this too continuous and homogeneous flow quickly became redundant. Nothing memorable given the expectations…

Factory floor UK
Live | World premiere

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Electronic

MUTEK 2024 | Aïsha Devi, Increasingly Pop Despite Heavy Concepts

by Alain Brunet

Nepalese-born Swiss singer Aïsha Devi was back at MUTEK Montreal to present material from her new album, Death is Home. Aïsha Devi’s powerful vocals, set against a melodic pop backdrop, contrast with the electronic muscularity of her subject matter.

More to the point, the tunes sung here on Saturday August 24 at the SAT never have time to escape into pop, but are systematically caught up by formidable synthetic processes. This (all in all) false opposition heavy/light can be seen as a kinship with artists such as Arca or FKA twigs, aesthetic descendants of Björk who are highly influential in pop culture despite their innovative approaches.

Aïsha Devi’s pieces are not necessarily chansonnière in structure, but come close, despite the electronics and radicalism of certain productions. Conceived in collaboration with director Emmanuel Biard, these theatrical audiovisual landscapes, featuring the musician and performer, add to this real-time experience. Certainly, Aïsha Devi and her colleagues involved in this production have a keen sense of ritual, which is why her audience could grow considerably with the potential success of this show and the album Death is Home , released less than a year ago.

Dark Ambient / Darkwave / Electronic / Industrial / Metal

MUTEK 2024 | Amnesia Scanner & Freeka Tet, Brutal and Refined

by Alain Brunet

In the context of the MTelus 1 series, it was an opportunity to take this nasty slap entitled STROBE.RIP, a concept by Finnish tandem Amnesia Scanner and artist Freeka Tet. For anyone interested in the rough and violent sounds of the digital nebula, the first hour of Saturday August 24 is a must.

At the confluence of avant-metal, indus rock, dark ambient, electronic noise, synth-punk and techno, this head-on encounter takes place on stage in a thick haze, punctuated by flashes of light and sparse, rare images. You can’t see much, and you’re kept in the visual mystery of what’s happening on stage. Instead, you have to listen, take in the sound, contemplate the storm without asking for more. We’ll ask questions later! And here we are: this extraordinary storm is accompanied by an intense search for processed voices and sounds, tossed violently into this pit of synthesized felines. Magnificent carnage! These post-industrial landscapes are fascinating and visceral, and we take great pleasure in letting ourselves be jostled by them. And then pick out the meticulously designed details and finely chiseled ornamentation.

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Ambient / Contemporary / Dark Ambient / Electronic / Experimental

MUTEK 2024 | Tati au Miel… Burning Reverie

by Alain Brunet

At the Satosphère on Friday and Saturday, Mutekians spent a fascinating, tumultuous, brutal and no less nourishing hour. Tati au Miel presented a live set entitled Reverie, an invitation to dreams oscillating slowly between bliss, serenity, healing and trauma, nightmare, strangeness and anger.

We discovered him in the midst of a pandemic, and we can’t help but notice once again his undeniable talent for generating atmospheres where the fire within him manages to set us ablaze. Within these incandescent drones and abstract forms, the melodic cues and harmonic constructions are extremely sketchy, distant evocations of soul and black folklore to name but a few.

The track taken in Reverie is linear from the outset, but reveals often violent surprises, magical apparitions, visits from virtual spectres and other ambushes that leave us on our heels from start to finish of this brilliant performance. Intense-colored images, blazes of light and shaggy shapes dot the Sato’s skyline, while sound materials crackle in fusion.

Seemingly hardcore, industrial, drone or dark ambient, Tati’s honeyed sound world turns out to be broader and more complex than this nomenclature of referents. His vocal interventions and sound objects animated in front of us flesh out his electronic discourse, a discourse founded first and foremost on intuition and the desire to explore.

The Montreal artist has a raw talent for drawing us into a captivating audio-visual world, and concluding with a powerful jungle/drum’n’bass acceleration. We see and hear what burns. What slices. What pulverizes. What lifts. What rises from the ashes.

Tati au Miel CA/QC – Reverie
Live A/V | World premiere

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Afro-Caribbean / Afro-Electro / Afrobeats / Electronic / House / Jazz / Neo-soul

MUTEK 2024 | Glowzicombo, The Start of An Exciting Adventure

by Alain Brunet

Producer G L O W Z I, trumpeter Chudyanna Bazile and bassist Amaëlle Beuze make up Glowzicombo. This, we observed on Friday at the SAT, is yet another remarkable emergence of Montreal Afro culture in the summer of 2024, beyond the brilliant recruits Club Sagacité and Moonshine whose inspiration we savored in July.

Multidisciplinary, the soon-to-be-famous G L O W Z I repurposes sound and visual archives, creating a universe where the progressive values of black feminism and feminine creation are unabashedly asserted in the immersive environment they’ve created for the Nocturne 4 night owls.

A sensual flow of neo-soul, hip-hop, ambient, dub, house, jazz, konpa, zouk, afrobeats and amapiano vibes. These grooves are the basis of a trio performance, with bass and trumpet as organic complements to these electronic proposals. Selected images, aesthetic and ethical questions and reflections are projected on the walls. By the way!

The instrumental execution is rather perfunctory, the trumpet having to stick to simple lines given the performer’s intermediate level, while the electric bass applies itself to reinforcing the groove developed by Glowzi. But the performers’ limitations don’t hold them back, and the strength of the ideas and emotions they convey outweigh these technical considerations in this case. Super vibe!

These young women are bright, inspired and brilliant, and they’re still in the early stages of a project that could make a real impact. If, of course, we make every effort to bring it to full maturity over the coming years.

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