by ERIN MACLEOD

The musical mixture of Kevin “Moonstarr” Moon has been described as “very Torontonian” in its eclectic eccentricity. Broken, bossa, Brazilian, whatever—it’s an awesomely danceable blend that might just as well be referred to as “very Montreal.”

Given his 2003 move to our fair city, I think we might have rights. And we really should take him in, since the innovative sounds of the new Moonstarr Remixes CD (check the Ivana Santilli, Povo and Jazzanova revisits for evidence) were not so well received by Eye Weekly.

Furthermore, Moon’s taken Montreal dans la peau. His eight-year-old Public Transit Recordings (PTR) label has been scouring our city for talent. There’s a lot to be found—a selection of jazzy goodies as chosen by Andy Williams and a collection of future classic niceness culled from Scott C’s monthly Turf Builder sessions are on tap, alongside a Soltribe 12-inch. PTR’s worldwide distribution, combined with a homey, grounded, conscious ethic (the label’s known for raising cash and awareness for various causes—“We’re not treehuggers, but we’ve got a political bent,” explains Moon), will ensure that Montreal’s music gets into the right hands from Kirkland to Kyoto.

The Mirror called Moon for his take on the clash between the big smoke and our lovely island.

Mirror: Let’s get right down to it. How do the transit systems compare?

Moonstarr: The subway system here is dope, but Toronto has a lot more cash linking to the public transit system.

M: How do you feel about our mayor wanting to establish a Toronto-style tram up Parc Avenue?

KM: It’s dope. Think about the last municipal election and how many people voted for that party whose platform was transit issues. That’s how people get around—people who don’t have cash to afford a car or choose not to for environmental reasons. We need to support those ideas.

M: PTR is working on a lot of Montreal-based projects. Is the label shifting east?

KM: I’ve been a big influence on the sounds that have come out on the label. I’m checking all these sounds and I’m sending them back to my labelmates Mano Narayanan [DJ Dialect], Rob Manne [DJ Archive] and Rose Kazi [of LAL]. They’re pretty open-minded. We are releasing some Toronto stuff, we’re going to be working with this MC More or Les and we’re also working on some more LAL stuff.

M: Has anything changed since you moved to Montreal?

KM: I feel like I’ve lost a bit of my false Toronto identity. When I was in Toronto, it was all about Toronto, you know—“This city is so great!” But when you step out of it and look back and really assess what was going on, why did I think that? I experience new things here in Montreal—music and people and culture. It’s just as ill as Toronto. But it’s more of a challenge for me here because I’m still virtually unknown and fuck, I don’t speak French, so that’s totally working against me.

M: But you’re working on it.

KM: Yeah.

M: And how was the launch in Toronto last week for the remix collection?

KM: There were older heads in Toronto that came out. It’s more of a challenge for me there to convince people that I still got the chops.

M: There you’re the old guy and here you’re the new guy.

KM: (laughs) Somewhat.

CD launch With Soltribe, Tashish, Etienne Champagne and Dialect at Café de Lima on Friday, March 17, 9 p.m., $5 ($15 with CD)

>> Music Listings