What to watch
This Sunday, February 2, at 3pm, the Conseil québécois de la musique (CMQ) presents the 28th Gala des Prix Opus. No fewer than 32 prizes will be awarded to artists in the fields of composition, performance, dissemination and other practices inherent to concert music. The Opus Prizes not only reward Western classical music, but also jazz, experimental, contemporary and traditional music. The Gala will be broadcast on this screen. Be on the lookout from 3pm!
David Rourke, the Montrealer-turned-New Yorker offers a glimpse of his forthcoming LP Apple Hill with the release of his latest single, “The Gambit.”
The track fuses bouncy, Prince-inspired basslines with the pop sophistication of Todd Rundgren, Brian Wilson, and Donald Fagen, transporting listeners straight back to the dancehalls of the 1980s. A Juilliard-trained jazz performer, Rourke seems to be pivoting back to his roots, embracing artful, pop-driven anthems. Yet, his knack for slick harmonies and sly rhythmic accents remains undeniable. Adding to the charm here, the song features a fun saxophone solo by Abdias Armenteros.
The wonderful indie glam pop songwriter, Art d’Ecco is back with a new vibe and sound, shifting into a darker, more demonic look with this single “True Believer.” The track sometimes feels like a deep-cut Bee Gees song, mixed with Sparks and more modern production, under an orchestra of glam rock.
It’s an intensely catchy track that, seconds after listening, you want to flip back on. The track also comes with a horror-inspired music video that follows the journey of the Serene Demon, the alter ego of Art, as he torments Art’s mind until the video’s peak transformation, which features Art in an all-black gothic look dancing on a table in a neo-century house. As with most Art d’Ecco outfits, this video does not disappoint.
“True Believer” is a single off of Art d’ECCO’s upcoming LP, Serene Demon, set to release Valentine’s Day via Paper Bag Records.
Sounding a bit like it comes from a reincarnated Johnny Cash mixed with Nick Cave and a dash of Hank Williams III, “Ride On,” is the new single from the Kentish singer-songwriter, Evan Williams. With a gritty new Americana lick and motorik drum precision, “Ride On,” feels like one of those old lost country records as the singer laments about a mythical person lost to history.
The music video also features a blast from the past with the Sinclair C5, the first commercially electric vehicle—basically a go-cart with speed. Williams rides along with his band, in their Sinclair C5s as cuts to a lo-fi film video are interspersed throughout the song.
“Ride On” is a single from Williams’ upcoming record, The View From Halfway Down, out via Peter Doherty’s Strap Originals in April—a coming-of-age record about my stumbling into the first steps into adulthood and pondering about the future. future.
PAN M 360 innovates once again, this time by hosting the excellent podcast of our new collaborator, Sasha Ömer. Together we agreed that his Creative Mood podcast fits perfectly into our eclectic and expert offering, whose essential purpose is to elevate your music-loving experience.
Renowned for his concept of “exposing songs”, Sasha Ömer delves into the creative process of his guests through sincere and profound conversations. These exchanges reveal key moments in their careers, and bring to the fore the human side behind the artist. For Sasha, getting to know others means understanding oneself better. The quest for meaning is central to her exchanges, and it’s in this spirit that the conversations unfold.
Since 2020, the podcast has racked up nearly 100 episodes, sometimes accompanied by live events, such as the Festival MURAL, where he talks to internationally renowned muralists.
His guests include Adib Alkhalidey, Jorane, Lou-Adriane Cassidy, Pony, Elliot Maginot, Matt Holubowski, Karina Gauvin, Gayance, Robert Robert and Alexandre Désilets.Fans of heartfelt, intimate and revealing conversations, this podcast is for you.
Here is the first Creative Mood podcast, broadcast on PAN M 360. Sasha Ömer interviews Adib Alkhalidey.
ACCESS CREATIVE MOOD YOUTUBE PAGE HERE
One of PAN M 360’s mandates is to promote creative music through encounters. One of the most successful since the platform went online in 2020 brings together Le Vent du Nord, a flagship of Quebec trad music, and L’Oumigmag, a jazz group led by Sébastien Sauvageau and very open to different influences, including American minimalism and… Quebec trad! That’s why Alain Brunet decided to bring the two groups together for a truly creative encounter. Here’s the film shot at Studio 110, Studios de Rouen, and directed by Sylvain Marotte, completing our Vent du Nord triptych as a hinge between 2024 and 2025. We wish you a happy new year!
Quebec’s orchestral post-rock songwriter, Alex Henry Foster, releases a lot of music and can definitely fall under the category of “prolific.” This year alone he has released two full-length albums, Kimiyo (which we interviewed him about here) and A Measure of Shapes and Sounds.
He is now rounding out the year with his third release, the EP, A Whispering Moment, featuring one new song, the title track, and three versions of a live fan favourite “Shadows of Our Evening Tides.”
The track has had many different incarnations but also features the words from the American poet and writer, Allen Ginsburg, before unleashing into full post-rock fury.
Along with the release comes a live rendition video of Alex Henry Foster and his band playing the track at the Brückenfestival in Nürnberg, Germany. The video feels more like a play than a song, with theatrical imagery and Alex Henry Foster commanding his band and the crowd from the stage.
The minute I heard Montreal’s experimental prog psych group Atsuko Chiba’s standalone single, “Quick Infant Guilt,” I craved more hip-hop—more hip-hop under their darkened kaleidoscopic lens.
Lead singer/guitarist/synth player, Karim Lakhdar must have heard my desire, or perhaps he always new he wanted to spit rhymes because he is now delivering his spin on the genre with his solo project, Boutique Feelings, signaling the first-ever hip-hop artist on Mothland.
Today we are welcomed by his debut single “Sundried Autumn,” a track that feels a bit like A Tribe Called Quest meets Mogwai, if fronted by someone like Rage Against The Machine’s Zack de la Rocha. The song dabbles in psychedelic trip-hop but contains a few classic boom-bap samples. It’s weird, but not too weird for any casual hip-hop listener, and it has enough interesting instrumentation to hold your interest. The thematic impetus focuses on proving oneself to the masses and yourself—a perfect debut saying “I am new, and here to stay.”
Photo by Aabid Youssef
“Sundried Autumn” comes with a trippy music video made up of AI-generated imagery, a 3D kaleidoscope, and analog effects, edited together by Atusko Chiba’s insane drummer and projectionist extraordinaire, Anthony Piazza. As with every release from Mothland, there are extensive plans to release follow-up singles and a debut EP from Boutique Feelings sometime in the new year.
Naomie de Lorimier, better known as the experimental pop songwriter N NAO, has gone full electro on her latest, freaky autotune-led synthscape single, “Pleine Lune.” Dropping on Nov. 15 is no coincidence since it is in fact a full moon, and this follow-up to the fragmented dance bop “Corps,” feels like it should be reverberating off the walls of SAT during an energy-fuelled 3 am MUTEK night.
Being inspired by an essay on women in film titled The Monstrous-Feminine (because nothing is ever straightforward with N NAO) “Pleine Lune,” has a post-human quality to it, following the story of a cyborg woman’s love for nature. N NAO even adds in a few screams and whispers for an atmospheric effect.
The single comes with a video on analog footage by Charline Dally that sometimes feels like it’s in the world of Phillip K. Dick’s rotoscoped A Scanner Darkly.
SAMWOY has been busy since the release of his debut album Awkward Party last summer, briefly going into remission to work and record the next batch of songs for the upcoming follow-up, Even Sad Boys Like to Have Fun (don’t we all?) SAMWOY has emerged from my solo effort into a full-fledged band—one that has sent their fusion of post-punk, electronica, and hip-hop triptychs through a shockwave and nestled firmly into the Montreal scene.
This latest single “Poison,” builds upon those darkened, self-deprecating songs that make SAMWOY such an enjoyable listen. We all have our own shit, but SAMWOY (Sam Woywitka) isn’t afraid to display it from the rafters. A song like “Poison,” is relatable, really diving into those thoughts and feelings that make us think we hate ourselves. Much like the message of the song, sometimes it’s good to “die a little on the inside,” so we can move on.
SAMWOY Live
This song is both a satirical stab at the memory and one person’s garage rock diary entry with lyrics that feel like they could be from an angsty Chuck Palahniuk novel, but SAMWOY’s delivery emerges as completely genuine. It’s grungy, and bassy, and doesn’t stray from peaking in the red, something missing in lots of garage rock these days. “Poison” also arrives with a little music video derived from studio sessions, live shows shot like a ’90s home movie, and a psychedelic visual landscape. We can’t wait to see what SAMWOY has cooking next.
Our favourite musical vagabond, Gus Englehorn is back before the next year release of his album The Hornbook, this time with a tale about a strange entity called One Eyed Jack. Perhaps inspired by Englehorn’s own concocted folklore or Twin Peaks, maybe both, the song trilogy (that’s three) play with time and perception as a strange acoustic anti-folk blues ensues describing the powers and sinister influence of One Eyed Jack.
Apparently, this man, no this essence, can fuse through walls, become intimate objects, and groove to a surreal garage rock. In typical Gus fashion, he and his wife drummer Estée Preda have made a wonderful lo-fi video, but this time with some production value in Gus’ dad’s garage in Maui.
Gus plays every character and Preda makes an appearance as a maniacal woman mining rock with a pick axe. There’s no real explanation as to who or what One Eyed Jack is, and that is the point. He’s a conduit for Gus’ wild imagination. There’s even a small part three that continues the story. A perfect track in an upcoming album called The Hornbook. Gus’ songs always feel like they are being read from a medieval scroll lost to time.
The experimental pop songstress known as N NAO is back with “Corps,” this time running into more of a minimalist synth dance pop realm. With her enchanting music, Naomie de Lorimie loves exploring the beauty and harsh reality of life, as she did in her last two works, L’eau et les rêves and the Miroir EP.
On “Corps” she seems to be enjoying the freedom to dance, symbolized by the genteel and inviting percussion cadences mixed with samples and psychedelic synthesizers, bringing to mind the ambient work of someone like Caterina Barbieri. The song is partly inspired by the real-life dancing epidemic in Strasbourg way back in 1518 when a village of people danced uncontrollably for two months. N NAO wrote the initial idea for the dance beat on a 4-track recorder while staying at a convent in Baie-Saint-Paul.
“Corps” arrives with a fun music video that follows Naomie on a trip to the La Ronde amusement park. As with all of her video work, it was shot DIY (this time with spy glasses for the POV effect) and is quite experimental with its editing. The single is also to announce her third LP, Nouveau Langage which drops in January next year via Mothland.