High-gloss finish

>> Mixed Emotions, the latest Montreal Mix Sessions CD, shows us Tiga again for the very first time

by KRISTA

"Back from the future, to save the past--that was his mandate." This is a tale of stolen secrets, broken hearts, forgotten legends and a man named Frank Pistone.

Who is this Pistone, you ask? He's a good cop with a bad reputation who'll do whatever it takes to get the job done, regardless of the law. Living in the underground, trying to uncover his past, save the girl, and save himself all at once. Will he succeed, and at what price? No one knows, especially Pistone, but what he does know is, against all odds, he has to try.

Whoa, hold on. Are we talking about a mix CD or a drugstore paperback here? Judging by the liner notes, one would think the latter. But a mix CD it is, albeit not your conventional, run o' the mill mix CD slapped together overnight in someone's basement studio. This is Tiga's Mixed Emotions, the fifth installment in Turbo's Montreal Mix Sessions series.

You know Tiga, Montreal's electronic music kingpin, techno philanthropist, Sona's original star. The man who's been at the forefront of this city's underground dance scene since the early '90s, whose DJ career started before he even owned two Technics turntables. Tiga played a key role in the birth of Montreal's rave scene, and is credited with opening both DNA records, the first techno-oriented record store, and Sona, our first techno-oriented afterhours club.

But do you really know Tiga? Think hard, because one look at his latest offering will make you question your preconceptions of the man who made techno in this city.

The face peering from the cover of Mixed Emotions certainly looks like him--even with the glossy lips and the hairpiece. Inside, there's Tiga in a bath full of pink water, there's Tiga's shirtless, waif-like frame perched on an office chair, and there's Tiga donning a sassy blue fedora. Brilliantly styled images of Tiga as the rock star he knows he is, a side of him that few have likely ever seen before.

So what exactly is going on here? Is this Tiga's alter-ego, a fantasy fabrication sprung from his love affair with '70s glam-rock icons like Brian Eno and early-'80s nu-pop bands like Alphaville, or just a comic indulgence?

"Well," Tiga says hesitantly, "while to the partially initiated this might appear to be an alter-ego, this is in fact probably more me than anything I've ever done. Believe it or not, there was no deliberate inspiration out of specific characters--and it's not meant to be ironic."

Building character

Admittedly, it is a little hard to believe that the styling and concept for this project has nothing to do with the recent revival of the indulgent, glamourama fashion of the early '80s, right down to the typeface. It's even harder to believe that Tiga's "really me" photos are not at least a tad tongue in cheek. If for no other reason than because the image of Tiga portrayed on the cover of the Mixed Emotions is the antithesis of the image he has been portraying publicly for the last six or so years. The image of serious DJ and money-minded businessman, cunning, diligent and choosy. And beyond that, if this is the real Tiga we're seeing, then why is he baring his soul for a mix CD compilation featuring other artists' work instead of saving himself for his own, very personal studio creations?

The mind swells begging for answers to these questions and more. And only one man can give us those answers: Tiga--or is it Frank Pistone?

"It's simple. I wanted to do another mix CD and thought, I'm going to put a lot of me into it, even though it's not my music, so I have to make some part of me come through. I owe it to myself to go out on a limb and do something that reflects a little bit of character. The bottom line is that there are so many mix CDs, and so much of the [electronic music] genre is done really generically, under the guise of being innovative simply because of the nature of the medium. But the truth is that it has become a bit devoid of character, and formulaic."

Powderpuffs and pirate hats

Tiga's new look (Frank Pistone), then, could be seen as the poster-boy for the revolt against banal electronica and lone soldier fighting to revive the forgotten, but not lost, art of expression.

The inspiration for this project's concept doesn't come from any one musical legend of a past era, but from the era itself. From the beautiful naïveté that fuelled close to two decades of unashamed, all-out, no-holds-barred performance without irony. From the energy of artists like Roxy Music, T-Rex and Soft Cell.

"The inspiration for the artwork came from the real art album covers from back in the '60s and '70s," explains Tiga. "Stuff like Pink Floyd used to do that really had nothing to do with musical style, and yet still so much effort was put into them. This album is not meant to appear influenced by an '80s revival so much as it's meant to reflect a feeling that was probably last felt back in that time. But if I had to give an example of a particular person, then take Adam Ant. I mean, in the '80s he went around dressed like a pirate!" Tiga starts getting very excited. "Next time, I want to be a pirate."

Now that we've established that the images and artwork of the CD are meant to recall a sentiment hearkening back to a time before a large number of DJ Tiga's fans were even born, let's move on to the hidden meaning in the music on this double CD of dreams. Where do techno beats and glam-rock-electro-pop meet?

"That's kind of why I did a double CD, but that's also just a luxury I afforded myself. It wouldn't have happened if I wasn't the label boss," he laughs.

The final product is nothing short of brilliant. A double mix CD that perfectly represents the double-edged sword that is Tiga: part Sona techno DJ, part superstar sex symbol. The first disc sounds like what you would expect to hear from him, a set of rough yet minimal, driving techno beats for the punters, featuring the crème de la crème of underground electronic musicians like Stewart S. Walker, Adam Beyer and DJ Hell.

The second disc, the "bonus electro-funk CD," is a 22-track back-to-the-future mega-mix echoing shades of Devo, Miami Vice, A-Ha, boys wearing eyeliner, Herbie Hancock and Beat Street, from the pioneers of Europe's new-new-wave explosion, people like Heiko Laux, Mike Inc and Steve Bug. It's quirky, bleepy, freaky and infectious.

"I knew that I had to do a CD that would be a continuation of the first Mix Sessions, more on the techno side of things, but what I really wanted to do was something different, musically, that showed where I'm at now. So the second disc is like the first step in opening up the audience to the other side of 'Tiga the techno DJ.'"

All in all, Tiga's Mixed Emotions is a lesson in personal introspection. A testament to the "no risk, no reward" way of life, and to the importance of fearlessness, the way Frank Pistone would do shit. As for why Tiga didn't want to hold out and save it all for his first original album: "Why save anything?" he asks, matter-of-factly. "I'll be a different person then, anyway. I want to approach everything as if it is the last thing I do."

CD launch with guest DMX Krew at Sona on Friday, Dec. 15, 1am, $20