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Will Montreal fly to the two-step flame before it gets blown out?
by SCOTT C
I guess it's been a little while now that I've listened to friends of mine (and the odd random person) go off about how they're "disenchanted" with the sorry state of hip hop, making it imperative that they find something else to get excited about. It's also become increasingly clear that people are clamouring to jump on the bandwagon that spells demise for drum & bass, a genre that everyone and their mother is saying has stagnated to the point where it's all but dead. While I firmly believe that there is indeed some truth to both of the previously mentioned points of view, there is definitely dope music out there. It's just a matter of digging it up.
Which brings me to two-step. Ahhhh, two-step. The happy medium and fresh meeting ground between dancehall, hip hop, drum & bass, breakbeat, R&B and good, old-fashioned, four-on-the-floor rhythms. The genre they said wouldn't last a year has all but had its way in the U.K., where it was spawned, and has already taken a firm hold in the U.S., for God's sake! Those keeners among you will scoff at this article, knowing that this two-step thing is really nothing new, but what you should really be thinking about is whether or not Montreal is ready for a U.K. ga-ridge onslaught.
Where's the Montreal massive?
Cooler-than-cool Toronto has had a couple of longstanding nights dedicated to this sound for a few years now, run almost exclusively by people who helped establish drum & bass in the same city. Where is the Montreal massive?
"I know that people are ready for something else," says two-step man DJ Senyo with a smile. "They just have to hear in the right context." With names like Artful Dodger, MJ Cole, Wookie, Zed Bias, Stanton Warriors and Oxide Nutrino providing remixes for songs dripping with pop appeal, as well as a multitude of sick, dark and funky tracks, an intro to this world of music might take some navigation. But, from the jiggy-jerk R&B treatments to the ruff-rugged and raw sub-bass bangers, I think that this summer might hold a few things in store for two-step in this city.
There's Jacob Asher, the self-proclaimed two-step godfather in Montreal, who settled for a few one-off parties earlier in the year. There's DJ Senyo, a Washington transplant with records for days and love for ga-ridge, speed ga-ridge and two-step. And there's frequent visitor DJ Floss. "It's the kind of shit that's fine to listen to at home, but you've got to hear in the club," explains Floss. "I'd love to go somewhere in this city and hear the stuff the way it's supposed to be heard."
Floss, who often makes the trip from T.O. to party in Montreal, has been playing this stuff for two years and wonders why we still haven't caught on. "It's very surprising for me to come to Montreal and not be able to check out a U.K. garage night. You would think that if it would be anywhere in Canada, it would be Montreal, right?" Famous last words.
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