by RUPERT BOTTENBERG

Originally intended as a transatlantic bridge for artists using electronics as a starting point rather than a final destination, the Montreal Electronic Groove festival has burst the seams of its limited Paris/Montreal connection. Now in its seventh year, and rechristened MEG Montreal, the fest draws in diverse talent from Europe, Canada, the States and South America, with quality and originality as the basic requirements. Kicking off this Wednesday, the four-day MEG offers too many great acts to list them all—but consider this a start.

Jackson: Parisian “antique futurist” Jackson Fourgeaud titled his recent Warp album Smash, and while it hasn’t shattered the charts, it’s certainly kicked some ass in electronic circles. An occasional collaborator with Mr. Oizo, Jackson announces his intention “to mix unmatchable elements, to slash boundaries and create tension between opposites.” Dramatic stuff, but his ruthless grinding together of pop flourish and rock raunch with the dyslexic digi-funk of IDM and glitch-core has certainly revitalized the latter. With Tes and Steve Beaupré at SAT, Wed., Oct. 19, 9 p.m., $20

Der Plan, Sister Iodine: Often inaccurately timelined alongside Teutonotronic pioneers Kraftwerk (could be the Düsseldorf connection), Der Plan are more appropriately regarded as the missing link between the aforementioned showroom dummies and the mid-’80s Neue Deutsche Welle (literally, “new German wave”) of DAF, Peter Schilling, Nena and so forth. Their e-pop, distilled to perfection, benefits to this day from a far snarkier and more subversive sense of humour than that of the big K. It also sits in strong contrast to the chaotic cacophony of France’s Sister Iodine, returning now to their mid-’90s noise-rock routine after detouring into electronica for a few years. With Adult., Optimo, Genders and Satan Belanger at SAT, Thurs., Oct. 20, 9 p.m., $25

DJ Marlboro: While the beardos and hoser-hipsters are downstairs in the main hall of Metropolis, having their social scene broken, beat freaks will be bunkered in the fumoir upstairs, checking out this founding figure in favela funk (with a tag synonymous with rich smoking satisfaction). He’s been DJing at Brazilian bailes for a quarter century, producing records fusing rap, Miami bass and local flavour since the turn of the ’90s and now oversees the Big Mix funky-livin’ merch ’n’ media conglomerate. With Ghislain Poirier and Omnikrom at Club Savoy (Metropolis), Fri., Oct. 21, 10 p.m., $15

rinôçérôse, Panico: Yeah, Bertrand Burgalat bailed from the big Saturday show, but in his place, MEG Montreal has slotted in not only local wunderkind Tiga, but also the long-MIA rinôçérôse from Montpellier, France. Their forthcoming album Schizophonia indicates a momentous shift from their previous fusion of house and shoegazer rock to a more au courant electro-rawk racket—and includes singers to boot. Moreover, the band’s core couple, Patrice “Patou” Carrié and Jean-Philippe Freu, bring their day jobs as psychologists to the fore with a over-arching theme of mental pathologies—paranoia, perversion, psychosis. What about panic attacks? For that, turn to Panico, the Chilenos-cum-Parisians whose jagged, dirty funk-punk excellence (witness their underground hit “Transpiralo”) will jangle nerves as it motivates posteriors. With Tiga, Jeans Team and Rory Phillips at Metropolis, Sat., Oct. 22, 8 p.m., $25

Superpitcher, Ada: Two key figures in the latest wave of electronic music out of Köln, Germany, this pair have both, in their own ways, located the sweet spot between the tunefulness and swooning romanticism of featherweight synthpop and the solid, three-dimensional click ’n’ thump of techno. The Kompakt label is one of the hottest in club music right now, and in Aksel “Superpitcher” Schaufler, they’ve got the dreamy, doe-eyed, emotive poster boy that’ll bump them up from the XLR8R crowd to the Teen Beat set. But Schaufler’s no flaky pretty boy—the guy’s a shit-hot producer, and DJs like a motherfucker to boot. Michaela “Ada” Dippl, meanwhile, was a singer long before she dove into production, and knocked the scene for a loop with her gorgeous, diverse debut album Blondie. Her version of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ “Maps” went over so well, the band themselves intend to return the favour with an Ada cover. With Metope, Yuksek and Jesse Somfay at SAT, Fri., Oct. 21, 9 p.m., $25

Peanut Butter Wolf: Often mentioned in the same breath as Cut Chemist, Q-Bert and DJ Shadow, Chris “Peanut Butter Wolf” Manak has been in the hip hop game since his teens in the mid-’80s. After something of a false start at the turn of the ’90s (the untimely death of his collaborator Charizma put matters on pause), PBW cemented his rep with the amazing Peanut Butter Breaks instrumental album and productions for Kool Keith, and followed that with the establishment of the celebrated Stones Throw label. Running said label, the Left Coast’s beacon of sweet beats, has taken Manak away from production, but he can’t be torn away from the decks, where he truly shines brightest. With J-Rocc, Puppetmastaz and Skratch Bastid at SAT, Sat., Oct. 22, 9 p.m., $25

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