by RUPERT BOTTENBERG

The first reported homicide of every year is always bad news. The first in Montreal in 2006, however, had particular resonance for this writer, and for those who recall the first Mirror cover story of 2001. Flanking the title “Mumbai hi-fi” were Montreal’s Simon “Hadji” Kumarapeli and Washington, D.C.’s Amar “LMO” Laheri, the duo behind the excellent six-pack EP Indian Style on the Wikkid label.

It was a year ago, on January 12, that Kumarapeli was shot dead in a downtown nightclub at age 38. Rumours involving the odious phrase “drug-related” were countered by friends saying it was simply and tragically a matter of West Island native Kumarapeli’s famous temper putting him in the wrong place at the wrong time. Whatever the case, our city lost a remarkable musical talent, a faithful friend and devoted father, and a riotously larger-than-life personality.

“Hadji and I clicked right away,” recalls Laheri from his home in Washington. “We had a common love for music and sound. We heard what was out and knew what we liked, but also knew what we wanted to do differently with the music.”

Different and, arguably, better. Indian Style popped out as the Asian Breakbeat wave of Desi-tronica was peaking. In sharp contrast to the many mushy contenders, whose watered-down drum & bass carried a whiff of rama-rum-raisin discount spirituality (why yes, I do mean Talvin Singh), Hadji & LMO went for fun, flippant Bollywood samples and ferociously tough, funky production.

“We came from different backgrounds. He was into the speed metal and Hendrix scene, while I was into hip hop and electronica. He played guitar and bass, and I was a DJ/producer and engineer. I think that’s what put us ahead of our time, doing a fusion before people were really pushing the envelope. We pretty much finished each other’s sentences when we were making music. When we got an idea, we took it to the studio and worked it out until it was something fresh and new. We just thought about what was hot to us, and let the vibe do the rest.”

Eye-opening

There were plans to let the vibe do its thing all over again. “In August, 2005,” says Laheri, “Hadji visited me in D.C. to work with Third Eye to make tracks for the Chasing the Elephant album, which was going to be Hadji & LMO’s second album, to be released in 2006. We changed the album into a tribute, after his passing, and also an introduction to the Third Eye movement.”

Laheri offers some insight into his Washington-based music consortium, Third Eye Entertainment. “It has four primary members—myself, Will ‘One Bubs’ Franklin, Don ‘Juan’ Arnold and Jermar ‘J.Mulls’ Mullen. In all, it’s four producers and three MCs under one roof. It started when Will and I came together to start a production house. We had plans to work with producers and artists we know under one umbrella. Individually, each member has been working in music for 10-plus years, and we figured that together, as a team, we could make bigger moves with a built-in support system. We have three artists in the works—Young Vennom, T.Burns and Val Cain—with albums coming in spring.”

In the meantime, the vivid and distinctive blend of rock, rap, R&B and D&B that characterizes Chasing the Elephant and the Third Eye vision makes its Montreal debut this weekend, with an early-evening listening party for the memorial record on Friday at Lola Lounge, plus a lil’ Saturday-night fever at Vinyl.

“In the title, the elephant symbolizes Ganesh, the Hindu god of wisdom and prosperity, and Hadji, as well as Third Eye, have always been chasing the elephant. Part of what drove Hadji as a quote-unquote starving musician was providing for his son Bootsy. He always wanted him to have the best, and loved him very much, so we decided that we wanted to set a fund up in his name and donate half the proceeds of this album, and the re-release of Indian Style, to that fund.”

CD listening party at Lola Lounge on Friday, Jan. 12, 5 p.m., free. Third Eye DJ Oso Fresh at Vinyl on Saturday, Jan. 13, 11 p.m., free

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