Watching the wax melt >> Three months' worth of techno, house, trance and drum & bass by KRISTA Summer is just around the corner and kicking it off is the Grand Prix, which rolls into town this weekend. But fast cars aren't the issue here. This Friday, June 16, British duo Groove Armada (pronounced "ar-mah-da," not "ar-may-da") and their nine-piece orchestra will be performing live at Le Studio (a last-minute venue change). Joining them is Nuphonic's jazz-funk-house fusion band Faze Action, also playing live. This could be one of the best shows of the summer, which will be a busy one for 514 Productions. There's the Prime soirées with Luc Raymond every Tuesday, starting at 8 p.m., at China Club, who also host Intense with Laflèche every Sunday. This Saturday, June 17, is the Bossa Mundo night of Brazilian beat-matching with DJ/producers Anthony Nicholson and newcomer MKL, representatives from Francois K's esteemed Wave Music label making their Sona debuts. On June 30, Canadian mini-tech maven Richie Hawtin hits Sona's main room (rumour has it Hawtin may become a monthly fixture there). On July 8 Terry Francis returns to the bar, and July 15 sees the Oasis at the Molson Centre, with Perfecto Record's big-headed DJ Paul Oakenfold (more trance). August 4, Moonshine's breaky-trancer Adam Freeland hits Sona's main room. And there may be a few more surprises... Stereo has a few tricks up its sleeve as well, starting with a very special appearance by Danny Tenaglia playing a non-stop, midnight-to-noon set on Sunday, June 25 (St-Jean-Baptiste weekend). Tickets are $30 in advance, $35 at the door. The following Saturday, July 1, Grammy Award-winner Peter Rauhofer plays with Mark Anthony for Ritual. On July 29, NYC's Def Mix DJ/producer "Baby" Hec Romero returns to Montreal, and August 6 Victor Calderone drops in as part of Gay Pride Weekend. On August 11 the legendary West Coast Wicked Crew, which is DJs Jeno and Garth, finally comes to town. Release me On a more local level, Montreal record labels are popping up like dandelions and all of them seem to have a busy summer roster. Turbo Records are set to release Fred Everything's debut full-length entitled Everything Under the Sun, as well as Jesper Dahlback's second efforts for the Montreal Mix Sessions series and 12" remixes of two tracks from the recent ADNY album. Dune's Double A & Twist have a few test presses floating around of their next three releases, and they have just released the brilliant debut album from local keyboard wiz Jaffa on their Nude downtempo sublabel. Bombay are releasing numbers four and five on their label, Miguel Graca's "Speak My Mind" and Roy Davis Jr.'s "Sonny" respectively, and they've just released Angel Moraes' In Stereo mix CD, the first in a series of DJ mixes. Juno Award-winning producer and all-around great guy Graca launches his new album on Bombay, Soulnotmind: Shining Stars, on June 27--location of launch party TBA. Les Couch Potatoes have just released their debut album Cool Ride on Haute Couture, and new label Oral has just released its slamming first 12" by Akufen (aka Mark OD). Saboteur Records have a new EP out by Paul Berken and Haute Couture's sublabel Hautec are planning releases, including an album from Mateo and Pheek, the latter of whom is also planning a release on Hybrid Structure. Last but not least, following the success of the Elsoniq release, Centre Records has a few tunes cooking as well. New nights Now, here's a few new club nights heating up for summer. Living has started a new Tuesday night called Electric Sundial Circus, headed by Circo de Bakuza's Noah Kole and Eye of the Moon. The theme of the night is to "be mysterious to the point of soundlessness." The resident is DJ XL and projected guests include Ram, Nivoc and Arkin Allen. Living has also launched a Monday night called Renaissance with DJ Mathieu Goddard in the main room and drum & bass boys Sase-One and Spinal in the lounge. This Monday, June 19, Sase-One will be celebrating his birthday with an open-deck DJ night of sorts (I might even get to play). $6 at the door. There's a new resto-bar open at 701 Mont Royal E. called Folies Ludiques where DJs Kobal, Sebj and guests provide a house and funk ambiance from 11 p.m. on, Thursday through Saturday. Sunday brunch features Sebj playing morning-after grooves from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. I'm sure there are countless other things happening that I have failed to mention or wasn't told about, but I have faith that you all will figure it out. Happy partying, and watch out for those UV rays. :  <