by JOHNSON CUMMINS

The Festival Internationale Musique Actuelle Victoriaville, which takes place each year in not-unreasonable driving distance from Montreal, has been heralded as one of the world’s most progressive music festivals, showcasing the best in improvisation, musique concrète and modern composition—and deservedly so. FIMAV artistic director Michel Levasseur has definitely taken composer John Zorn’s catchphrase “jazz snob eat shit” to heart, pushing the envelope by including people from all spectrums of experimental music. This year, the fest’s eclectic agenda could not be better illustrated than by the booking of Sunn O))) for an all-too-rare performance. Sunn O)))’s current record The Black One continues in the tradition of devastating doom, but also shows the band going back to their roots by including black-metal vocals hovering over their thick drones. The Mirror talked to Sunn O))) guitarist Stephen O’Malley over the phone from his New York home.

Mirror: Would you agree that the current underground scene has never been stronger?

Stephen O’Malley: Definitely. It’s the exact same thing that the mainstream was in the early ’70s, or at least that mindset is the same. The underground scene is really healthy right now, and has grown into a really strong space because there is a lot more crossover happening that’s really cool. We’re getting a whole generation of people who grew up listening to all sorts of underground music, and are now making music, who aren’t afraid to explore new places.

M: Victoriaville has always avoided booking exclusively highbrow musique actuelle performers, which has mucked down certain similarly-themed festivals in Europe, and has been booking bands with very different backgrounds. Was this an attractive element in Sunn O)))’s agreeing to play it this year?

SO: Oh, yeah, we’re probably the most dinosaur band of the entire line-up this year. I mean, we play full stacks of amps with Les Pauls. In that sense, I guess we would be considered pretty lowbrow, but this gives us a chance to play to people who are probably more open-minded. We also get to play with Keiji Haino, which is exciting because he’s just a guitar god to me.

M: Is it more interesting and challenging for Sunn O))) to play these festivals, as opposed to just playing doom-fest type of shows?

SO: Oh, yeah—you’ll get a different answer from any member of Sunn O))), but for me, it’s more in my character to do something like Victoriaville. We’re actually playing a doom-fest kind of thing in Ohio, and I feel much more akin to a festival like Victoriaville. When it’s a bill with similar bands, you play for people who are just down for one thing, and I like to think our audience is a little more open-minded and into musical challenges. I don’t think our fans are people that are likely to quickly identify and understand music, and that’s how I like to make music.

With Keiji Haino at Colisée Desjardins, Victoriaville, on Saturday, May 20, 10 p.m., $30

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