Curds of wisdom

>> Omnikrom are Quebec’s court jesters of crunk

POUTINE SPIRIT: Omnikrom

by SCOTT C

If people didn’t know the name Omnikrom before, this Québécois rap-crunk-electro trio is well on their way to underground celebrity in Montreal and beyond. With friends like Ghislain Poirier and Big Dada artists TTC, Omnikrom have been able to jump-start their own mini-scene here in the city. Signed to Montreal label Saboteur Musique, who’ve just released the trio’s new album Trop Banane (as well as efforts by DJ Champion and numéro#), MCs Jeanbart and Linso Gabbo and producer Figure8 continue to cultivate a following with playful, self-deprecating, laugh-out-loud party raps like their future classic “Danse le poutine.” The Mirror spoke to Jeanbart right here in Montreal.

Mirror: A lot of things have changed for you guys since you first pushed some music out. It was hard to see where you would fit into the Montreal hip hop scheme, but you’ve carved out your own little spot and seem to be doing just fine. Is this something that you’re proud of?

Jeanbart: Yeah, we’re really proud of that. With this new album too, I think we’ve finally found our sound. It’s a little bit more pop and electro, a lot more polished and professional, but we’re really proud because we built it. At first it was kind of hard to fit with the hip hop scene because there was nothing like what we were doing in Montreal, but now we’re getting a lot more respect from people, and it’s a lot easier.

M: How has the response to your live show changed since you took the stage for the first time?

J: When we first started, it was more of a scenester crowd that came to the shows, and now there’s a new audience that is building. With groups like numéro# and us, it’s kind of a new scene that’s building, and we’re happy to be a part of that.

M: I know you guys have played in Toronto, and I’m curious about how that audience responded to Omnikrom.

J: We played at the Drake Hotel, and there weren’t that many people. If we had been at a Toronto electro event, it probably would have been better for us. It was cool to play in Toronto though. We’ve also been to Europe twice and played in France, and just this month went back to Switzerland. It was a good response, and people knew the words to our songs.

M: Do people in France associate you with TTC?

J: Only in the place where TTC are from, they associate them with us. We played a few other places in Paris where they don’t know us so well, but it was still very cool.

M: I know that the link with TTC is there, but can you go and play the same parties as Kid Sister, Thunderheist and Spank Rock? Is this a scene that you could tap into, or does the language make it difficult?

J: I think for sure we can do that. Now, it’s a little harder with the cities that are only English-speaking, but we’re all part of the same scene, only we do it in French.

With numéro# at Foufounes Électriques
on Wednesday, May 9, 9 p.m., free