Popping your dome piece

by SCOTT C

While Pop Montreal seems to be the closest thing to a tropical storm that will hit the city this year, I’m very happy that the Pop Montreal Symposium seems to be cementing its role in the international music festival as the place to discuss important musical topics, and learn from some of the best. The five days of workshops, panels, listening sessions and keynote presentations brings together musicians, writers, thinkers, experts, practitioners, listeners and legends to discuss the nuts and bolts of every musical topic under the sun.

SOUL STORIES: Irma Thomas

Today, Thursday, Oct. 2, starts bright and early at 11 a.m. with the Future of Music Coalition talking about Internet police and net neutrality over at the Main Hall. Downstairs at the Green Room, a workshop outlining DIY Home Recording, also starting at 11 a.m., should attract more than one curious keener. If you’re interested in the plight of the independent artist and how an indie system works differently than mainstream or corporate industries, you should check out I Will Survive: Indie Strategies at the Main Hall starting at 12:45 p.m. There’s also a keynote interview with New Orleans Queen of Soul Irma Thomas starting at 2:30 p.m., if you’re up for some classic stories from the golden age of soul music. At 4:15 p.m., join in on the listening session/discussion about Sampling, Creativity, and Open Source Culture featuring moderator Tina Piper (Centre for Intellectual Property Policy), Larisa Mann, Matt Earp, Ruby Astar and Risa Dickens.

Friday should attract a full house at Main Hall when a select group of international music festival representatives discuss their approaches to programming and booking these largely annual events. If you’re interested in an insider point of view on how bands are selected, and what’s out there for prospective Canadian artists, start your day with Move to the Music: International Markets and Festival Circuits, at 11:30 a.m. The Talk This Way! Q&A Fair happening in the Green Room and Main Hall at 3:15 p.m. is your opportunity as an artist, music lover or mogul in the making to ask just about any question you can come up with about the industry. There’ll be tables set up to help you learn about funding, media, marketing, legal issues and publishing, as well as local independent promoters and invited international delegates who are there to help you out. Make sure to visit popmontreal.com for additional Symposium events, as well as the entire festival schedule.

Seven reasons it’s time to face the music:
1. Sandy Kerr “Thug Rock” (Catawaba)
2. dâm-Funk Rhythm Trax (Stones Throw)
3. Flying Lotus “Visions of Violet” feat. Jose James (Warp)
4. Kardinal Offishall “NIna” (Geffen)
5. Aphex Twin “Avril 14” Dorian Concept Kinds remix (CDR)
6. Onra Chinoiseries (myspace.com/onra)
7. The Jacksons “This Place Hotel” (Epic)

I SEE YOU…fathead@videotron.ca