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Sub-zero heroes
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by JACK OATMON The folks at Piknic Électronik are Montreal’s undisputed masters of conjuring thematic festival atmospheres and luring all walks of life into their enthralling fantasies to enjoy a comprehensive spectrum of electronic music. Indeed, no other group about town can be said to have converted so many listeners of all ages to the visceral joys of a good old-fashioned techno dance party. It’s certainly no surprise either—year after year, Piknic events get more ambitious and complete in both conceptual genius and raw fun factor. If you haven’t been to a Piknic jam, Igloofest is arguably their pièce de résistance, generally one of the very best dance parties of the calendar and an excellent place to start. If you have, you already know that the madness metastasizes at every interval, and this year is decidedly going to be one for the books. Over 15,000 people showed up last year over four nights, to give you an idea. For this year’s Igloofest at Quai Jacques-Cartier, impresario Nicolas Cournoyer promises wider spaces, bigger igloos, more outrageous décor, three full weekends of partying and an improved photo-booth set-up for the famous one-piece snowsuit competition that forms the backbone of the event. And, of course, all the mulled wine and Irish coffees you can bother to swill. But he need make no promises about the artistic programming, because I can guarantee you it’s going to be downright insane this year. I ask you, what kind of frigid hell would January be without these guys? Check it out. 
CASA MASTER: Housemeister Cold callsThe festival kicks off on Jan. 16 in classic Piknic style with a solid line-up of hands-in-the-air progressive club house DJs. This is your Piknic meat and potatoes, the perennial appeal of funky, mid-tempo, big-room house slammers with those huge, meaty beats that draw flocks of muscular men clad in khaki and camo to the regular summer events. Locals Maher Daniel and Olivier Saint-Germain warm up the Old Port for the U.K.’s celebrated Lee Burridge, who takes the esteemed slot of opening-night headliner. The first Saturday night, Jan. 17, will be an invigorating evening of technological testosterone to jar the senses. Keep an ear out for locals Banditos, who’ll steal the stage with some eerie, up-tempo techno beats layered with all manner of mangled samples, buzzing noises, interference and static. Following that, Dutch drum ’n’ bass trio Noisia will keep the aggressive energy high before Brooklyn’s excellent Drop the Lime hits the scene and hammers out a set of bassline/fidget/whatever-you-call-it house with enough bending bass, epic breakdowns, glitching, garbling and grinding for even the most ADD-afflicted blog subscriber. The second Friday, Jan. 23, will be a guaranteed meltdown, dominated by the presence of Germany’s Modeselektor, reigning dons of modern glitch and one of the very best producer duos in the entire world, not to mention killer live performers. But keep your ears peeled for fellow Berliner Housemeister who, as the name suggests, is a fantastic specimen of the gritty, glitzy, arty, hammering world of German underground house and electro. Saturday, Jan. 24, should be one of the most interesting nights for regular Piknic fans, as a few exciting experimental live acts hit the scene. Both Brooklyn’s Tony Rohr and Spaniard Damien Schwartz will bust out the gadgets, Rohr rocking the pared-down, Aphex Twin-inspired analog IDM and Schwartz answering with repetitive microhouse and throbbing, hypnotic bass to lull the forebrain into submission. For the record, that’s my prime pick for you audiophile geeks out there. Friday, Jan. 30 features returning favourite James Holden from the U.K., backed by locals Greg Pidcock and Alix for a night of steady rockin’ house and techno. The festival then rounds out on Jan. 31 with a wicked, young and modern roster of fashionable electro artists. Dig the sleazy, PVC-sporting, whip-cracking basement electro rockabilly of the U.K.’s Adam Freeland and the heavily Danzig-influenced horror glam of Brighton’s delectably cheesy and melodramatic Evil Nine. AT QUAI JACQUES-CARTIER ON |
