Before the Taliban, before the Americans, before the Soviets, there was an Afghanistan that dared to think about a future of nightlife, cinema, music and peace. Like Eagles (or Mānand-e ‘Oqāb in its original title) is believed to be the very first film shot in Afghanistan, in 1964. In a surprisingly symbolic and modern production, it follows a young girl who sets off from the countryside to attend national celebrations in Kabul, the “city”.
It was from this film that Afghan-Canadian author and comedian Shaista Latif came up with the idea of offering a reflection on these broken promises, and above all on our own relationship with modernity, identity and nationalism. With the help of Montreal composer Sam Shalabi, the film in question becomes the subject of a total spectacle in which text, music and image are turned upside down in their discursive relationships. I met the two artists, as well as Isak Goldschneider, clarinettist and co-organiser (with Le Vivier) of the evening thanks to Innovations en concert, which he directs. Together they tell us all about this totally unusual adventure, which promises to be a great evening for the curious.
As part of the Semaine du Neuf festival organised by Le Vivier, the percussion ensemble Sixtrum will be giving a concert entitled Transformations on Monday 18 March at the Conservatoire de musique de Montréal. On the programme are works inspired by, and even played IN, water! In complementary contrast, two pieces by Pierre Jodlowski, who will be making his first appearance in Montreal. I met Sixtrum’s Deputy Artistic Director, Fabrice Marandola.
THÉÂTRE ROUGE | CONSERVATOIRE DE MUSIQUE DE MONTRÉAL
Program :
Dominic Thibault: Célérité , 2020
Léa Boudreau: Jeux d’eau , 2020
Samuel Bobony: À grand fracas , 2020
Juri Seo: Shui , 2017
Ondřej Adámek: Fishbones , 2007
Pierre Jodlowski: 24 Loops , 2007
Pierre Jodlowski: Mécano 1 , 2004
SIXTRUM
FABRICE MARANDOLA
KRISTIE IBRAHIM
PHILIP HORNSEY
JOÃO CATALÃO
CHARLES CHIOVATO RAMBALDO
HUIZI WANG
As part of Semaine du Neuf 2024, the Paramirabo ensemble will present a concert on Saturday, March 9, dedicated to three compositions by Jimmie Leblanc.The main theme is the haptic experience, in other words, the experience of touch.To put together this program, the composer revisited and reworked works composed nearly 10 years ago.One ofthese, Ice, was created in collaboration with artist Fareena Chanda and physicist Stephen Morris. At the heart of this project, therefore, is a strong interdisciplinary focus on the active experience of music and art.PAN M 360 spoke to Jimmie Leblanc and Fareena Chanda about the conception and rehabilitation of Ice.
The three pieces on the program for Saturday’s concert all follow the same continuity and logic of writing. First, there was And the Flesh was made Word, then Ice, and finally Clamors of Being, the latter presented as a diptych with the former. These three works are part of the same continuity, responding to the same objectives, but where Ice nevertheless stands out as a separate piece.
Ice was created in 2015. The trigger was Toronto’s Subtle Technologies festival, which brought together composers, artists and physicists. Jimmie Leblanc explains: “There were several events in that festival that involved technologies and all that… Then the project was to pair composers with artists and scientists. There were meetings where everyone presented their approach, and there were groups that were made.” Leblanc, Chanda and Morris’ shared interest in haptic experiences led them to meet, and then create together. “There was the idea of working on the sensation of the work, whether visual or sonic, on a kind of energy or the immersive principle of the work,” adds Ice‘s composer.
As the title suggests, the piece is about ice, and more specifically, how it forms: Stephen Morris was interested in how ice cubes form. It was after a visit to his laboratory that the creative work began. Fareena Chanda sought to visually represent the physicist’s experiments, while Jimmie Leblanc wanted to musically convey a range of textures. As he explains: “The textures were thought out in terms of the different states of ice that can be found. More or less fluid, more or less rough, more or less abrupt, all sorts of sensations you could find. The visuals went a bit with that too.”
For the concert, we had to adapt the work a little so as to be able to present it in a different context from the one in which it was created. “Originally, the installation had been imagined as U-shaped, as an environment you could sit in, with three screens and a metal floor to add that haptic, sensory aspect, to allow the audience to be immersed by appealing to all the senses,” Fareena Chanda explains. That said, the work will be presented on Saturday at the Centre PHI, whose layout and modalities differ greatly from the original creation site. “We wanted to maintain the haptic and immersive experience of the piece, particularly the way in which you find yourself integrated into the work. We researched materials on which to project the video elements that would also convey the textural element of the piece. I think this place will be a bigger immersive environment than the first time,” adds Fareena Chanda. The scores of the three pieces on the program have also been revised by Jimmie Leblanc, and we will then witness the creation of this new version.
As such, this concert promises to be truly interdisciplinary. This aspect manifests itself in different but complementary ways in the artistic approaches of both artists. For Fareena Chanda, interdisciplinarity is an integral part of her creative process: “I work at the intersection of conceptual and installation art, and use mixed media as much as traditional methods. I practice research as art, where sketches and drafts become part of the final work. And sometimes, the work becomes a kind of amalgam, for example, an installation, as in this case, where I want the public to retrace the same creative journey as I did.”
“For my part, as a composer who mainly makes instrumental music, I’d say that interdisciplinarity comes from my work with performers. Their specialty is performing, mine is composing, but these are two disciplines that are in constant interaction, to the point where it becomes normal and you stop thinking of it as interdisciplinary. On the other hand, when I come across projects like Ice, there’s a real interdisciplinary relationship that develops, where you have to create with other artists who potentially have different conceptual paradigms,” adds Jimmie Leblanc. In his work, interdisciplinarity is an element that has the potential to nourish his creative approach and that of his collaborators, and vice versa.
The public is invited to take part in this immersive concert experience, in which we’ll be immersed from the moment we enter the auditorium. As Fareena Chanda explains, this event also touches on some more abstract concepts. “There’s this relationship between what’s hidden, the passage of time, and this work that invites the public to enter this space as active participants. Very active, in fact. Active with the body and all the senses. In all my works, my goal is to invite people to embark on a journey, without it being done in a prescriptive way.” The installation will also be open and accessible on Sunday, with a recording of the instrumental part of the performance.
The Iceconcert will be presented on March 9, 2024, starting at 6 p.m. at the Centre PHI, with Ensemble Paramirabo.As part of the Semaine du Neuf from Le Vivier.INFO AND TICKETS HERE!
A raconteur writing at the borderlines of where country meets chaos, Nora Kelly sings endearing tales of heartache and rebellion. With her sharp and soulful songwriting Nora has charmed the hearts of many on the local alternative-folk scene, releasing her first LP, Rodeo Clown, with the the support of BC based label Mint Records. Now six months after the fact, after seeing her performing at a house-show, we caught-up with Nora to see what she has been up to and how the music is going.
PAN M 360 : Your set last week was really great and I’m happy to have the chance to talk to you Nora.
Nora Kelly : Thanks, that’s sweet.
PAN M 360 : So how long has it been since Rodeo Clown came out now?
Nora Kelly : It came out on August 25th, 2023. So, six months about.
PAN M 360 : Well that’s an interesting time to be at with a release. How do you feel, looking back at your first album launch?
Nora Kelly : Of my life it was the most energy I’ve ever put into a release and I think because of that, on the other end, it was the most sad I’ve ever been once it was over. It was a crazy emotional roller coaster. It was just so much fun, we were touring and making all these videos and then… then it’s just over and you start from scratch essentially. So I feel like at this point now, six months out, I’m back to being sane. But there were a couple months, September and October especially, that were kind of rough. I was like an empty nester mom whose kid just went off to college or something like that. I don’t know…you do everything to build it up and then you’re at zero again basically for the next wave of putting out an album.
PAN M 360 : Well, that’s led to these great songs that I heard at your performance, right? So you’re not doing too bad!
Nora Kelly : No, I’ve been cranking them out. That was the medicine I needed. I needed more children to raise.
PAN M 360 : And so what kind of direction are you taking here?
Nora Kelly : I kind of want to lean into outlaw country vibes. I feel there’s a lot of amazing outlaw country artists like Waylon Jennings or Townes Van Zandt or something, but they’re all men and there aren’t that many female outlaws to aspire to. Maybe Lucinda Williams is a little bit of an outlaw, in her spirit. So I kind of want to channel that, because my background is in punk, but also lyrically kind of exploring more of a storytelling approach. It’s not all super based in my personal life and growth now, but I’ve taking inspiration from friends’ experiences and stuff. I mean it’s a little bit all over the place. It’s everything but the kitchen sink, this next album, but I think that with the band it becomes coherent.
PAN M 360 : So then really leaning into the punk influences as well as the country.
Nora Kelly : Yeah cow-punk.
PAN M 360 : Well, I mean actually after seeing you perform I really checked out a lot of artists that I hadn’t really heard of before, and it got me thinking, what is country? Where does the line between folk music and country music become blurred?
Nora Kelly : Yeah, I mean, I feel like you could do a university course on that question, but because there’s some discourse around Americana is what a lot of left-wing country musicians in Nashville get labelled as, and the right, more right-wing people or the more conservative people get labelled as country. It’s kind of a bit arbitrary. Members in the Nora Kelly Band will sometimes say that we’re not really that country, which is sort of true. I think in 2024 that genre has become pretty loose. To me it’s about arrangement and themes and the instruments that are going to be on the album. Definitely a lot of pedal steel, fiddle, banjo, you know. Just kind of…, we’re saturating ourselves in the sounds and essence of country, but I mean, I’m obviously not born and raised from Kentucky or something, so yeah.
PAN M 360 : I can see you’re having fun with that idea, like “Horse Girl”, you know, it seems very tongue-in-cheek. You’re using these clichés and tropes to explore more subversive ideas.
Nora Kelly : Yeah, exactly. And I think that some people in country take themselves extremely seriously so it makes it more funny to kind of mess around with the genre to me. I feel people are doing that in general, like Lil Nas or Orville Peck are kind of like spinning it, because it outrages a lot of people and because they love the genre too. But I think there is a lot of room that’s kind of being kept as this sacred space only allowed to true country stars and that’s kind of changing now, where people are feeling more comfortable to dabble in it, I guess.
PAN M 360 : That’s good. I felt more comfortable listening to it for the first time!
Nora Kelly : Yeah, and it has a bit of a dark history,
PAN M 360 : Actually, I’d never heard of outlaw country before. Is that just a subgenre?
Nora Kelly : Yeah, kind of. Johnny Cash is like a classic example. It’s that criminal cowboy energy you know…
PAN M 360 : Yeah it suits you well!
Nora Kelly : I just want more women to do crime.
PAN M 360 : Ha. So this will all lead up to a new album I suppose yeah and is that kind of slowly making its way to us?
Nora Kelly : We’re trying to secure some grant funding. And yeah, looking towards who we’re gonna work with and everything, but the album is pretty much written at this point. At least by me and then we’re still working out some arrangements. It’s been really fun, it gives me an opportunity to kind of reach out to people and ask if they would like to get a coffee with me because I want to talk about the next album. So I feel like I’ve connected with some cool Montreal musicians in the genre and the scene.
PAN M 360 : Do you have a name for the upcoming project?
Nora Kelly : No name yet. But I wish I did, but yeah, the songs are there. There’s some gender-bending kind of stuff. I’m sort of appropriating different male gender roles in some of the songs. One’s about being a miner in the salt mines of Lake Huron, Ontario, and one’s about being a boxer, you know? So kind of stuff like that.
PAN M 360 : A killer too? I remember I heard a song like that at your show.
Nora Kelly : Oh, one is about, yeah, it’s about being an asshole dude who gets murdered by his Tinder date. A Murder ballad, that’s a classic little country thing.
PAN M 360 : I gotta write me a murder ballad, too.
Nora Kelly : Yeah, you should. I know. You should, I think everyone should write at least one murder ballad.
PAN M 360 : You know, it’s great you’re having fun with all these characters and stuff. It such an interesting and creative direction to take. You know, a lot of people sing about themselves, and a lot of people have this penchant of telling stories. You must lean into that a lot.
Nora Kelly : I do. I lean into that a lot. I think the healthier I become as a human, the less I have to write about in a song. Right. When I was younger, I was just, I feel like everything was always really chaotic in my life. And I had a lot to put into songs. But the older I get, the more I kind of have to look towards storytelling. But I actually enjoy that, and I think I’m becoming a better writer for it.
PAN M 360 : Yeah, it’s really cool. And I wonder, is there some sort of ritual that you get into to write?
Nora Kelly : It’s difficult to pin it down to one thing, but one thing I’ve noticed is that a lot of the vocal melodies and lyrics will come to me while I’m walking around. So I recently gave up my iPhone for a Blackberry because I noticed I was always listening to music or podcasts while I walked around. Right. And I’ve written a bunch more songs since I switched. Yeah, I’m just walking around, raw-doggin it.
PAN M 360 : Yeah, well, I mean imagine how many people are missing out on that, you know? We all do that, you know, we’re all distracting ourselves from boredom.
Nora Kelly : Boredom sucks, so I get it. And I want to just listen to audiobooks of like fantasy elves all the time or something. But I won’t write any songs and I won’t really be as introspective as if I kind of forced myself into that. So it’s helpful, but it’s not always fun. It’s not always that fun.
PAN M 360 : So any great music that you’d want us to hear about?
Nora Kelly : You should check out Wood Andrews, who we played with at that show. I think he’s really special. He is one of my new friends, plays super good country music. What other homies can I plug? Tonk is like the best country kind of style band, very similar to R-Sound. Out of Vancouver, one of my best friends plays in that band and they’re just really cutting edge stuff. Really into Gus Englehorn, they’re kind of like the Pixies, weird stuff.
PAN M 360 : Right on. And any upcoming shows?
Nora Kelly : Well we just got into Sled Island today! In Calgary.
PAN M 360 : Well congratulations, thank you so much for taking the time to speak to PAN M. We wish you all the best and we hope to cover you more in the future, Nora!
Nora Kelly : Appreciate y’all.
Originally from Chicago, Matana Roberts, whom we must recognize as a non-binary person, has become a clear and powerful conceptual leader of this music at the confluence of contemporary writing and improvisation. They return to Montreal, one of their favorite ports of call and a former resident, to report (among other music) on the 5th chapter of her ambitious Coin Coin project, released last fall on Constellation Records.
Each part of Coin Coin explores radically different musical settings, from the free jazz and post-rock eruptions of Chapter One to the solo noise collage of Chapter Three. Featuring a new ensemble steeped in jazz, improvisation, new music and avant-rock, helping to expand the project’s existing sonic palette, Chapter Five is no exception, we can read on their Bandcamp page.
On their most recent recording released in September 2023, Matana Roberts were joined by fellow alto saxophonist Darius Jones, violinist Mazz Swift (Silkroad Ensemble, D’Angelo), bass clarinetist Stuart Bogie (TV On The Radio, Antibalas), alto clarinetist Matt Lavelle (Eye Contact, Sumari), pianist Cory Smythe (Ingrid Laubrock, Anthony Braxton), vocalist/actor Gitanjali Jain and percussionists Ryan Sawyer (Thurston Moore, Nate Wooley) and Mike Pride (Pulverize The Sound, MDC). The album is produced by TV On The Radio’s Kyp Malone, who also contributes synths.
Before their Montréal concert on March 8 2024, Matana Roberts answers to PAN M 360 questions.
PAN M 360 : Coin Coin Chapter Five: In the garden…is your latest installment as a composer, improviser, saxophonist, and visual artist. An album has been released on Constellation, a few months ago. So how is this installment « transcripted » in a live performance? Instrumentation? Interaction? Gesture?
Matana Roberts: The work is not transcripted. It is a combination of western notation, graphic notation, improvisation, and a series of directives. It really depends on the chapter that we’re talking about. The current chapter has not been performed, so there is a lot I can’t really answer yet, but we’re looking at opportunities to do that. All the chapters represent a sound language I’m trying to codify called panoramic sound quilting, and that comes with a series of information, notation and knowledge around improvised and creative music.
PAN M 360: How would you briefly describe the evolution of Coin Coin vast project after 5 chapters done?
Matana Roberts: All I can say is that it has been a real journey that is still unfolding. I feel very privileged to have been given the space to create this work, and see no end in sight yet!
PAN M 360: Has the first motivations of the Coin Coin project been preserved from point A to now?
Matana Roberts : Yes, pretty much. The Coin coin work is a monument to the human experience, regardless of where we come from, what blood runs through our veins, we are all connected through the emotions, trials and tribulations of humanness.
PAN M 360 : How new styles and musical influences has also shaped the recent chapter of your creative life, as a composer and multi-disciplinary artist?
Matana Roberts : I don’t feel I have witnessed any new styles or new influences, rather than just life, living, trying to have a holistic existence, staying connected through art and community.
PAN M 360 : How your own human being and artistic identities have changed since the beginning of this project and how can we perceive it as listeners and observers?
Matana Roberts : I’m evolving just like any human. The only dependable option that we have is change. I’ve had many experiences in many ways to consider an art existence. I feel very privileged that I’ve never had to corner myself in to be one type of person or one kind of way.
PAN M 360 : : The musicians gathered ont your most recent record is quite an eclectic crew! It also reflects your own great eclecticism and interests to many artistic sources. Can you talk about those different collaborators backgrounds and tell us the way you made them interactive and creative?
Matana Roberts : When this project is done, it will represent a very wide community across genre, medium and just life experience. Many of the people on the Coin Coin records represent people who I really admire and who have also shown me a great deal of support through my time of growing and changing and exploring creativity.
PAN M 360 : Of course, a recording session is not a live performance. You can invite people in the studio that have other activities, other solo careers or engagements. So who is traveling with you? Who are your key collaborators in 2024?
Matana Roberts : This is a very difficult question in 2024. Many networks for music are struggling. Some are dying. It’s not much better in the visual arts. So I don’t really think about who is traveling with me. I just think about opportunities I can create so that more musicians and artists can survive. There’s no one I can specifically say, as the list would be too long, and I would leave too many people out, but I feel very grateful that I have a large pool of people to choose from, to create with, and to collaborate with, who represent many different places, perspectives, and proclivities.
PAN M 360 : As a composer, Roberts draws upon strategies associated with the post-war avant-garde, including John Cage and Fluxus member Benjamin Patterson’s conceptual approaches to scoring and performance. The immersive work of Maryanne Amacher, in which “sound and the body almost collaborate” is another key influence.
John Cage, Benjamin Patterson and Maryanne Amacher were visionary artists at their time. We understand that their post-war avant-garde legacy is crucial for your own creative approach. Can you give us some examples of their compositional visions within yours?
Matana Roberts : I’m not able to specifically point to anything that would make sense to anyone else but me. Overall, I really look up to the way that these artists lived and the way that they carried themselves and moved through their work. I find their presence in and outside the canon deeply inspirational and compelling even so many years later, after so much of the work was created. To me, it seemed that they really lived their truths and it sat squarely in their work.
PAN M 360 : Matana Roberts’ visionary project exploring African-American history through ancestry, archive and place. Weaving together elements of jazz, avant-garde composition, folk and spoken word, Roberts Porn tells the story of a woman in their ancestral line, who died following complications from an illegal abortion.
Since many decades, the re-discovery of African-American history remains highly important for so many afro-descendant visionary artists. It’s still crucial and we want to know how that is for you, as a human being living in North America?
Matana Roberts : I have lived all over the world and am a constant traveler. I can’t really relate and just claim North America in my worldview about my work. It is where I was born, but it is not where I remain emotionally, personally, and spiritually. I’m not an American citizen as much as I am a global citizen and I take that very seriously. Also, it’s very important to stress that regardless of what people continue to say about the Coin Coin work, the focus is not just on African-American history. I get offended when people try to keep it in that corner, the Coin Coin is about the American experience but from a deeper globalist perspective and it’s important that it is shared. I use my own ancestry as jump off points into areas of human concern that affect all of us, regardless of where we come from. My interest in history is no different than anyone else’s, and should not be cornered culturally in the way that some are asking. Thank you for your understanding.
History is cyclical. Everything that is happening now we have seen before in different layers, different times, different rhythms, and we must look to history to constantly learn how to move forward instead of continually moving backwards.
PAN M 360 : At a time when reproductive rights are under attack, her story takes on new resonance. Can you please give us some more elements of that issue through your own comprehension and your artistic response to that issue ?
Matana Roberts : The issue is very clear on the record, and also in the record liner notes that I personally wrote. It would be worthwhile to give that a look, but basically a person‘s bodily agency belongs to them regardless of sex, gender, race, social economic status. Your bodily agency should not be dictated by the state, and that is the issue.
PAN M 360 : By unpacking family stories and conducting extensive research in US public archives, Roberts has created a rounded portrait of a woman who is, as their lyrics put it, “electric, alive, spirited, fire and free.” You are going to perform on March 8, what does it mean for you being on stage that day in Montréal?
Matana Roberts : Well, until you asked this question I didn’t realize that March 8 was international women’s day. That’s very interesting! But overall Montreal is one of my favorite cities in the world. It was my home for a time, it has given me special things, time and time again that has allowed me to think about my own creative ethos, and just my place in the world as a human. It is one of the few cities in the world that when I visit, I feel like I am at home again, so I love playing Montreal. I love coming to Canada. and I hope it will remain that way for many years to come.
PAN M 360 : Thank you so much for your answers, Matana!Matana Roberts : Thank you very much for the wonderful questions, all the best to you!
Growl? Scream? Fry? How does one navigate all the vocal techniques heard in punk, metal and adjacent genres? Writer and radio host Jolène Ruest has mapped the women who practice these techniques across the spectrum of underground music, and created the online platform that could well become the ultimate reference tool for fans, artists and show programming teams alike: Gueuleuses.
A seasoned observer of Quebec’s underground music scene, Jolène sat down with Pan M 360 to answer a few questions about the platform, which will be officially launched on Friday, March 8, 2024.
PAN M 360:Your gueuleuses repertoire will be released this Friday, March 8. Is this project a natural extension of your former radio show Jolène jase de gueuleuses on CISM? In what way?
Jolène Ruest: It was just a Jolène jase de gueuleuses season, it’s funny the impact… It’s really more personal. I feel that Gueuleuses fits in perfectly with my artistic and professional career, because it was born out of Spectacles Bonzaï, who produced the project. After the season of Jolène jase de gueuleuses, I kept archiving lots of scream and growlsingers. When Colin saw my Excel file, he sent it to the webmaster of Spectacles Bonzaï, then said “I’d like to do a website with that.” And the webmaster, he was a big fan of Québec Punk Scene in his teens, so he was like “yeah, let’s make a directory!” At Spectacles Bonzaï, we’ve also listed all the independent venues in Quebec. We like listing things, obviously! It was the timing between working for Bonzaï and what I do artistically. You know, in all my books, there are mentions of punk, metal and mosh pits. It’s like there’s a meeting point between that kind of thinking, that kind of research, and the job.
PAN M 360:How did for an online directory format come about?
Jolène Ruest: It’s really because this is our third digital project at Spectacles Bonzaï. So from the outset, we wanted it to be digital. But it’s funny because Roxanafrom Your Last Wish, even though she can’t be at the launch, still wanted to talk about it, and that’s exactly what she said to me: “But now, is this going to be a book?” Oh no, that’s it! But it’s a good idea. But I’m already working on other writing projects. I already had a writing project linked to the Quebec scene.
PAN M 360:Are we talking about a directory that can be built up by the Internet community, a bit like the Encyclopedia Metallum (metal-archives.com)? Is the aim to be exhaustive?
Jolène Ruest: We can’t be metal-archives because of the way it’s computerized. It’s really complicated to make a Wikipedia or to make a site where there can be more than just one content manager. What I’ve done as a compromise… On the one hand, I go to people. I write to them when I have doubts, for various reasons. Having written to several vocalists, I’ve already bridged the gap to get the content from the source, even if I haven’t necessarily done so for everything… Then I’ll do it mostly afterwards because it’s easier to explain with the site and visuals. But to better answer your question, on each card, there’s a “suggest a modification” button. For me, it was really important, whether it was your favourite singer or yourself, to be able to make modifications. But it’s really more of a computer issue. You can’t get involved in such a complex project. But at the end of the day, it’s still very niche. Just the question: what is gueulage? It’s very subjective and will surely evolve over time.
PAN M 360:So you’re the main moderator when it comes to finding new data?
Jolène Ruest: Yeah. It’s clear that there’s going to be a shortage, in the end. When I was talking about questioning the notion of gueuler, the webmaster said to me: “Ah, the singer from Against Me?” and then I was like “she’s shouting, isn’t she?” She sure sings loud… and since then, I can’t stop thinking about it.
But you see, it’s all part of the internal conversation. Louise Girard helped me at the time. And since she’s going to be present at the launch, I sent her the list again. She referred me to a band from Estrie with only one album on YouTube. It has come to a point of very narrow discovery. I hope that people will turn up to take part in the project, because every time I’ve hadresponses from the vocalists, they’ve were very positive and very, very generous. But I’ve also tried to surround myself with people. There’s Christine Fortier too, who made suggestions.
So many other blog sites that have done it in the past, then stopped updating, others that are doing it now, others that are only doing it in punk, those that are doing it in metal, etc. It would be very ungracious of me not to be grateful for all the work done by so many other fans. For me, it’s about highlighting a collective web and human effort in the field too.
PAN M 360:What role do you hope this new platform will play in the extreme music scene?
Jolène Ruest: Discovery, quite simply. As we’ve just said, there’s no shortage of discoveries. It’s true that we touch on different musical genres that don’t necessarily meet, so I think that also allows us to reach out to a wider audience. It’s true that you can like punk, but you don’t necessarily like it when it screams either. There are a lot of interesting intersections in terms of music lovers and then convergence towards a somewhat unusual common point: female screaming.
But otherwise, having more representation of women and people from gender minorities can certainly become a tool for any programmer, radio station or festival. It’s a desire to have more women. There will be fewer and fewer excuses for saying we couldn’t find them. In fact, you’ll be able to find plenty of them in a very niche field, so that’s cool.
PAN M 360:What can you expect at Friday’s launch party at Quai des brumes?
Jolène Ruest: A lot of fun! I have the impression that they’re all going to be friends, so those who aren’t will become my friends. There are going to be punks, metalheads, and vocalists who don’t know each other at all. I’ve invited every gueuleuse in Quebec to be there! After that, it’s like sending a letter to a pigeon: sometimes it’s returned, sometimes it’s not! I think there’s going to be some unprecedented encounters. Maybe metal singers know each other, but you know, they don’t necessarily know punk singers. I think this is going to be a very unique moment.
Otherwise Kapitur, I have a feeling it’s going to be a good show. The meeting with Louise Girard will also be interesting. She’s getting ready, she’s gone back into her research and we’re trying to figure out who are the first loudmouths? Maybe we won’t get an answer, but that’s the fun of the evening. It’s a moment where we build the story from a female angle. You know, it’s not written! There’s a little bit of that going on in the evening, I think.
PAN M 360:Finally, where can we hear you, Jolène Ruest, screaming?
Jolène Ruest: On the song “Pardon!..” by Ultra Vedge, released in 2021. Simon Gauthier, he’s nice, he invited me, but I don’t shout very well, so I’m just very grateful. But I’m waiting for the invitations!
Gueuleuses will be launched this Friday, March 8, 2024 at Quai des Brumes starting at 7pm with presentations by gueuleuses Corinne Cardinal, Louise Girard and the band Kapitur.
Les Percussions de Strasbourg is a pioneering group in the world of contemporary music, percussion-wise as you’d expect. Founded in 1962 by Jean Batigne, the French ensemble has become a veritable institution on an international scale, simultaneously presenting several concerts across the planet, including Ghostland, for the first time in Montreal as part of the Semaine du Neuf organized by Groupe Le Vivier. This immersive work by composer Pierre Jodlowski is based on the idea of the ghost. It involves 4 percussionists performing on drums and virtual instruments, joined by a puppeteer, all accompanied by an interactive light, sound and video device. In this case, the ghost is evoked in multiple symbolic dimensions. The stage becomes not just a performance space, but also “an ambiguous place and an infinite space, essentially destined to see the birth of a kind of sound and visual ritual that itself becomes an object to be perceived”. To better understand the ins and outs of this project, the artistic director of Les Percussions de Strasbourg, Minh-Tâm Nguyen, talks to us on video about Ghostland and the institution he heads. The Percussions de Strasbourg is a unique and highly original institution.
PROGRAM
Pierre Jodlowski: Ghostland, 2017 – pour quatre percussionnistes, un marionnettiste, vidéo, scénographie, lumières et électronique
French-Colombian artist Ëda Diaz dazzled us with her debut album, Suave Bruta, described as an “intoxicating elixir” by Radio-France.From Paris, she spoke to us about her multiple musical identities and the journey that led to the creationof Suave Bruta.
“It’s an album that reflects my multi-polar identity, which I wanted to explore musically, a blend of tradition and contemporary music,” says Ëda Diaz, with a luminous gaze. Ëda grew up in France, the daughter of a Breton mother and a Colombian father.
Music has always been part of her life: “My father was a great music lover, listening to France-Musique in the morning, then Ella Fitzgerald or Joe Arroyo (a well-known Colombian singer) in the evening.”
From the age of eight, she studied classical piano for over a decade. At the same time, she regularly visited her father’s family in Medellín, immersing herself in Colombian culture.
“My first real musical emotions came from spending afternoons singing with my grandmother and cousins, over hot chocolate or aguardiente”, says Ëda Diaz. It was Latin America, rather than the conservatory, that inspired her to become a musician.
She has also developed a passion for Latin American and Spanish literature. Musically, the double bass became her main instrument, and she discovered how electronic effects could transform its sound. In 2017, she produced her first EP, entitled Ëda. “That’s when I started exploring this mix of traditional rhythms with modernity.”
Suave Bruta was a long time coming, with production slowed by the pandemic. But it was worth the wait, as this record marvellously synthesizes electronics, natural sounds, and Colombia’s multiple musical styles: valletano, bullerengue, danzón, currulao or bolero.
“Cumbia was the Colombian genre that was all the rage in France, but I had so many others in mind that I wanted to share,” says Ëda. “Among others, all the extraordinary black music of the Pacific coast was neglected because of structural racism. The mixtures between native, white and black are very special.”
Ëda Diaz adds two styles that don’t originally come from Colombia, but which occupy a very important place there: Cuban bolero and Argentine tango. Did you know that Medellín is the second tango city in the world, behind Buenos Aires?
“Suave Bruta is a dialogue between different kinds of music, but also between myself and my producer Anthony Winzenrieth,” says Ëda. “We’re as influenced by Latin music as we are by Bjork, Jeff Buckley, James Blake, Miles Davis.” Anthony Winzenrieth is a jazz guitarist, keyboardist and member of the alternative band 3somesisters.
“That’s how we came up with our version of what you might call a Colombian French touch,” says Ëda with a smile.
Suave Bruta was released at a time when Latin and Spanish music was in full swing. “The international success of Rosalia opens a lot of doors for alternative music in Spanish,” says Ëda. “In Colombia, there’s Bomba Ésteréo, Las Anès, Lido Pimenta (who lives in Toronto), The Méridian Brothers.”
Ëda Diaz also notes that attitudes in France are changing: “In the past, Spanish-language music had to be traditional, so people were closed to more modern styles; now I see more openness towards pop and contemporary styles.”
Suave Bruta has received rave reviews from many French media, as well as from the UK and Canada.
Ëda Diaz hopes to come to our latitudes as soon as possible to present her music in concert. And so do we. I’d love to hear this innovative music live on stage.
Photo credit: Misael Belt
Producer and musician Radwan Ghazi Moumneh is one of the founding manitous of the Hotel2tango studio, but also a sought-after artist who founded Jerusalem in My Heart and actively participated in Land of Kush, among others. A true luminary. Moumneh has teamed up with Amélie Malissard, artist and cultural project manager and founder of act-art-mgt, which guides the destinies of several artists and groups on the Montreal scene, to create a new label: Asadun Alay.
Radwan and Amélie wanted to showcase artists who have little chance of obtaining such a passport from “conventional” labels. In other words, they’re going for the niché. At PAN M 360, we agree with this vision a thousand times over. So, when we heard that two albums would be released at the same time on March 29, the label’s first two (with the exception of a first attempt, released in 2022, but which was a vinyl edition of an album previously released on another label), we thought it would be the perfect opportunity to talk to them over video about the label, the artists chosen, their albums and a launch concert at the PHI Centre. We’re sure you’ll agree that PAN M 360 is a great label to work with.
Two albums will be released on March 29 under the Asadun Alay label:
Farah Kaddour – Bada
Nadah El Shazly – Les damnés ne pleurent pas will be launched at PHI Center, March 21
Singer-songwriter Erika Angell is one half of the Thus Owls duo, formed with her husband Simon Angell. Through this ultra-Montréal indie band, she has helped create a body of work of the highest calibre, culminating in the duo’s most recent opus, Who Would Hold You If The Sky Betrayed Us? recognized world-wide as a high achievement, even an authentic masterpiece. The only problem was that the artist felt the need to return to a part of herself that she had left behind in her native Sweden, before the Montreal adventure and Thus Owls. It’s this part that she rediscovers on her very first solo album, The Obsession With Her Voice, to be released on 8 March on the Constellation label. A more experimental universe, which I have described as Dark Cinematic Cyberpunk, with the agreement of the artist. See and hear everything she has to say on this next chapter of her career in the following interview.
Avec les versions en concert de 14 jeux vidéo à succès, Game ON! associe des arrangements symphoniques inédits et de classe mondiale à de superbes vidéos HD de jeux vidéos et des illustrations jamais vues auparavant.
The 100-piece FILMharmonic Orchestra and Chorus, conducted by prolific maestro and composer Andy Brick, a true pioneer of symphonic music for video games, will delight audiences with award-winning soundtracks in a breathtaking concert experience. Fans will be thrilled to hear their favorite music from the best role-playing, action-adventure, puzzle-strategy, e-sports and combat games, including World of Warcraft, Ori, League of Legends, The Elder Scrolls, Guild Wars 2, Assassin’s Creed, BioShock, and many more.
Originally from the Chicago area, Andy Brick studied composition under Leslie Bassett at the University of Michigan, followed by graduate studies in composition at Manhattan’s Mannes School of Music. In 1990, he arranged the music for Sesame Street and wrote scores for independent films. In 1996, he won a competition sponsored by the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers. Also Andy Brick has conducted the Czech National Symphony Orchestra at the Gewandhaus. A pioneer in this symphonic subgenre, Andy Brick has composed and/or orchestrated music for games such ase Sim City: Rush Hour by Maxis, Stranglehold by Midway, The Sims 2 by Electronic Arts and Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning by Electronic Arts, Super Mario Bros. by Nintendo, Halo 3 by Bungie and the Final Fantasy series by Square Enix. His music has been used in games such as Arc the Lad by Working Designs, Shadoan by Interplay, The Far Reaches by 3DO, Tesselmania by MECC.He has also worked in film for productions such as The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea and The Music Man.
Andy Brick has conducted symphonic performances of over 70 games, including Final Fantasy, Super Mario Bros., Legend of Zelda, Halo and World of Warcraft, with orchestras around the world. Brick is Distinguished Associate Professor and Chair of the Music and Technology Department at Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, New Jersey.
Having just arrived in Quebec to conduct the FILMharmonic Orchestra twice, Andy Brick grants PAN M 360 a generous interview.
Passion, love tragedy and French melodies are on the program at the Maison symphonique with the opera Carmen. The Orchestre Philharmonique et Chœur des Mélomanes (OPCM) will perform a concert version of Bizet’s masterpiece with Wallis Giunta (Carmen) and Adrian Kramer (Don José). The soloists are accompanied by 60 musicians and 120 choristers from the OPCM and the Petits Chanteurs de Mont-Royal, directed by young maestro Francis Choinière, who, as many know, is passionate about the most unifying works in the repertoire. And that’s why the mezzo-soprano graciously offered this video interview to our contributor Alexandre Villemaire, shortly before she embodied Carmen on stage.
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