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.

Publicité panam
Afro House

DJ Karaba at the turntables: Guaranteed fun!

by Sandra Gasana

That’s it, I’ve had my first experience at Piknic Électronik. I’ve been hearing about it for ages, and I’m delighted to have finally been able to unravel the mystery and attend a set by the great DJ Karaba, who has made a name for herself on the Montreal and international scene. She arrives dressed in a black top and jeans, wearing sunglasses and a scarf covering part of her braids.

Right from the start, she throws in a remixed version of Water by South African sensation Tyla, to blow our minds from the very first minutes. She seems to know the words to every song she revisits, dancing and interacting with her audience, with a smile on her face. She continues with sounds of Amapiano, a musical style that has just celebrated its 10th anniversary. With her subtle transitions between tracks, it’s not always clear when she’s moving from one to the next. With catchy choruses, she varies the intensity within the track to give it depth, and all the while living her music to the full. She does several dance steps throughout her set, sometimes even samba steps, reminiscent of her past as a dancer for American stars. She mixes old sounds such as Michael Jackson’s Thriller and Crystal Waters’ Gypsy Woman (She’s Homeless), with more recent ones like Rihanna’s Please don’t stop de music. It’s always very gradual: we detect a melody that reminds us of the classic, and slowly the song reveals itself to us with DJ Karaba’s signature touch. In this case, she gets the crowd dancing as soon as she adds the famous big bass that forces us to move.

“The last time I was here was during COVID. We were all separated, but it’s good to see you all together today,” she adds between songs.

A step back in time came when she remixed an old 80s classic, Yeke Yeke by Mory Kanté. In fact, she gave the song a new life without distorting it. During certain tracks, she would take long pauses, making it seem as if the song was over, only to resume again, doubling in intensity. These suspenseful moments were appreciated by the audience, who had a great time as the evening progressed. Another pleasant moment was the Portuguese songs she integrated into her repertoire, from Brazil but also from other Portuguese-speaking countries, with the Kuduro touch she managed to bring out. As night falls, we come to the end of the show. She puts her glasses back on, she got rid of the scarf and it’s as if we’re in an open-air disco, with lights all around her. The atmosphere was at its height, and she took advantage of the opportunity to remix a Nelly Furtado track, Say It Right, which the crowd knew by heart. The only hitch was that the microphone she used to interact with the audience at times didn’t work very well.

Before her set, DJ Karaba shared the National Bank stage with Mr Touré and DJ, musician and producer Poirier, who each played for around two hours. While the former mixed a number of African rhythms to danceable instrumentals, the latter took us on a world tour through his set. We went to Colombia with Agua Oro, a collaboration with Ramon Chicharon, to Brazil with Flavia Coelho’s Café com leche, and to Haiti with Teke Fren by Waahli, from the legendary group Nomadic Massive. We were also transported to Nigeria with remixes of Burna Boy, to Jamaica with some good dancehall and to the Ivory Coast, with the hit Coup de marteau. There was something for everyone.

Publicité panam
Electronic

Piknic Électronik : Fideles, Crescenzo, Julian Muller et plus encore!

by Rédaction PAN M 360

Fideles

Formant ensemble Fideles en 2010, Daniele Aprile & Mario Roberti ont façonné une musique qui mélange le mélodique et l’épique pour offrir un son mature et contemporain. Puisant dans leurs influences de toujours, les productions du duo italien ont attiré l’attention de certains des plus grands noms de la musique de danse moderne.

Forming together as Fideles in 2010, Daniele Aprile & Mario Roberti have been shaping music that blends the melodic and epic to deliver a mature and contemporary sound. Drawing on their lifelong influences, the Italian duo’s productions have peaked the attention of some of the biggest imprints in modern dance music.

Crescenzo

À travers des constructions colorées de sous-genres house, Crescenzo accompagne ses auditeurs dans leur propre voyage, les conduisant à travers des sets à haute énergie pleins de découvertes et de joyaux opportuns. Des morceaux ascendants de deep, melodic, prog et tech house se retrouvent dans son univers, pour former des expériences uniques sur le dancefloor. H

Through colourful builds of house sub-genres, Crescenzo accompanies his listeners on their own journey, driving them through high-energy sets full of discoveries and timely gems. Ascending pieces of deep, melodic, prog and tech house find each other in his world, to form unique dancefloor experiences.

Julian Muller

La progression de Julian Muller sur la scène techno a été marquée par une odyssée éclectique à travers des paysages sonores défiant les genres. Originaire de France, en passant par Berlin et actuellement basé à Bruxelles, il a créé son esthétique sonore en tant que sélectionneur de vinyles et a depuis sorti un large éventail de musique.

Julian Muller’s progression into the techno scene has been marked by an eclectic odyssey through genre-defying soundscapes. Hailing from France, via Berlin and now currently based in Brussels, he crafted his sonic aesthetic as a vinyl selector and has since released a wide spectrum of music. (Reprise Talent Agency)

Elles & U

Bittercaress

POUR ACHETER VOTRE BILLET, C’EST ICI!

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