Bastante funky

by JACK OATMON

Maybe I just watched Scarface one too many times as a kid. No, I’m not talking about yeyo, but “Rush Rush,” Debbie Harry’s ode to marching powder from the soundtrack, probably does factor into this somewhere, at least musically. My old man certainly listens to a serious amount of funky Latin rhythms, and one study done by my aunt into our very blurry family lineage suggested that their parents were adopted from a Spanish family at a very young age.

Speculative genealogy aside, I have always carried a strong affinity for Latin culture of many stripes, and some of my most vivid musical experiences spring from whirlwind nights in the waterfront discotheques of Barcelona and moonlight adventures through the wild avenidas and alleyways of Tegucigalpa, Honduras, or the sauna-like seaside dance clubs of Costa Rica’s tourist backwaters. Many people like me yearn to dive into the undeniably more empathetic culture of the Latin world, and Latinos have likewise produced a plethora of phenomenal culture that draws as much from their homeland experience as it does from their integration in white North America. But it doesn’t stop at Tito Puente, Joe Cuba and the New York Afro-Cuban jazz movement of the ’60s and ’70s, nor does it stop at the recent Brazilian baile funk fad, Caribbean reggaeton, Chilean electro-punk or the enormous contingent of Mexican hip hop groups.

All that said, you should consider getting your groove on this Friday to the very funky sounds of NYC-based Colombian gem Monareta as they grace the debut Cucurama! party at Club Lambi, with heavy hits of sultry house and breaks, porros-infused electrofunk and digitally enhanced salsa. They’ll be alongside Montreal’s own Psychotropical Orchestra as well as Sonido Nordico and DJ El Nosotros.

In related news, my long-running quest to find the perfect, old-school, light-up disco dancefloor in Montreal may be drawing to a joyous close. I have recently received word and photographic evidence of what appears to be an outstanding specimen down at Salsathèque, a salsa partners club at 1220 Peel. I’ll most definitely be checking that flashy checkerboard out soon, and I’ll keep you posted on the situation, in regards to how and when we can get a crazy-ass dance party going on that baby.

Another detail of note this Friday night is the appearance of local lo-fi loco Mathias Mental, who will deal out a gamut of quirky punk, synth grooves and folky crooning, mashed up rather eccentrically. That’s alongside A/V Hot Action, Half Baked and Organ Mood at Friendship Cove, as part of the Montreal Chose mini-festival.

Also on Friday night, the sixth Saboteur Ball is at Sala Rossa with Femme, Rawalpindi, Giselle Numba One, Cosmo and A Fly Is On the Wall. That same night, KO celebrates its fourth anniversary of all things breaks, drum & bass, dubstep and beyond over at Café Campus.

Finally, I’d say the place to be on Saturday night goes hands down to Voyeur at Cabaret Juste Pour Rire. Get your fill of freaky new wave and techno vibes from Parisian producer and frequent Kris Menace/Alan Braxe collaborator Lifelike.

ALGUIEN PUEDE AYUDARME A BUSCAR MI CABEZA,
POR FAVOR? jack.oatmon@gmail.com