by RAF KATIGBAK

All right, party people, I'm back! Ya miss me? Well, when I wasn't trying to hook up mad Chanel knockoffs in Manila and dodging stray ping-pong balls at Bangkok girlie shows, I was missing y'all too. Seriously, there's nothing like travelling abroad to make you realize there's no place like home. Can I just say how good we have it in this town? Okay, so maybe right now it's a frozen wasteland where the street corners are perilous, sneaker-swallowing slush pits and where snow-removal tow trucks keep you up all night with their incessant psycho-clown honking, but damn it if we don't have one of the best music scenes in the universe - and it's only getting better!

Need proof? Pick up the new releases of established leftfield locals like naw, whose Green Nights Orange Days pulsates with dub-heavy thickness, or David Kristian, whose melancholic, minimalist Sweet Bits is soon to be released. Massive! And don't miss the Vitaminsforyou EP launch this Friday at Main Hall, where the V-man will be performing with a full band and guests Some Trees and Blunderspublik!

Want some fresh new shit? Le Son 666 is a great new label/art collective that will be dropping some noisy, Krautrock-inspired electro psychedelia this weekend with artists Intercom, Gin Gin Sussex, Massive Asthma and Minibloc at l'Hémisphère Gauche. That's the first of their Electric Sundays, Jan. 16, five bucks - check www.le-son666.com for their latest releases and more info.

Straight outta my high-school haunting grounds (Pierrefonds, holla!) comes Oh! Records, a burgeoning progressive electro breaks label that is dropping their second single featuring "Juno Award nominated" artist MRZ (nobody knows dance music like the Junos, eh?). If you're down with trancey, peak-time breaks and old-school space-documentary samples, you might want to check these guys out at www.ohrecords.com.

On the benevolent tip, I'd love to see more DJs and promoters take a cue from Most Wanted Entertainment and Upperclub, who'll be donating all cover proceeds and a dollar a drink to the Red Cross at their In-Donation night this Friday, Jan. 14. Get shitfaced and boogie for a good cause, why don't ya. On the bill will be Rob Brown and DJ Dav. Cover is $5.

Friday night, it's an eviction/rent/art-auction party at 242 Young (near William and Peel). Billed as "La Régie du Party," DJs Ika Squizzla, Initial Condition, E. Victor and Perry Sound & the Penetang Machine (who reportedly spent months alone in a cabin, perfecting the ultimate '60s-soul-to-jungle mix) will be spinning records while the YPF will be slinging some art. Arrive before 8 p.m. for the open mic on housing rights and subletting horror stories. Two-dollar cover.

Anyone else get the feeling that this year's gonna be huge for Montreal? Has Montreal yet to peak, or has the international press played us out, past the next big thing and into the ex-next? What do you think the next big thing is (besides new-age-jungle-bossa wrestling theme parties)? E-mail me and let me know! The first few who write in with an honest and thought-out opinion will get to choose two discs from a list of about 100 gently used promo CDs from my 2004 collection.

One Night in Bangkok? Try two weeks. Oi! Diskoakimbo@sympatico.ca

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