Forward motion

>> Local e-band Stereomovers step on up

by RUPERT BOTTENBERG

To say local duo Stereomovers have rocketed outta nowhere would be inaccurate, though it sure looks that way. With next to no plastic or stage time to their names, Alexandre Dionne and Simon Roy have snagged a shiny spot on the roster of German label Techno Gold, and the 'movers keep movin' from there.

A little history to diminish the "whoa, where did that come from?" factor. "At the very beginning," says Dionne, looking almost a decade back, "we were doing experimental prog rock, 20-minute instrumentals, inspired by all the sound effects and pedals we had. It was really based in the sounds. Slowly, we integrated beat-boxes and stuff."

"That was influenced by old German techno stuff," adds Roy, "like Tangerine Dream, Jean-Michel Jarre and Kraftwerk." That led the lads to the likes of Orbital and Underworld, acts filed under "DJ music" but clearly bands come load-in time. It's almost a full circle, notes Dionne, "from progressive rock to progressive house. It's sort of the same thing, eight-minute instrumental concepts full of sounds. Our music's sort of house and trance, but we'll use a taste of dub or a breakbeat, which is why it's hard to classify what we do. It spills over the edges a bit.

"What we wanted to do was basically an electronic band, but non-stop," he adds in approval of the DJ's continual flow of music. "The hardest job," says Roy, "is mixing our own tunes together, keeping a mood that doesn't change too much from tune to tune."

Keep in mind that Stereomovers are 100 per cent turntable-free, depending on their samplers and soundboards, Chemical-style. This means enough on-the-spot work to keep them both occupied, but it also allows for customized joints, expanded sound and even a little improv goin' on.

And the label thing? "We sent out tons of e-mails everywhere, to labels around the world," says Dionne, but a particular focus was put on techno hotbed Germany. They bit, much to the duo's delight.

"It's a childhood dream," Dionne says of the German hook-up, while tipping his hat to towns like Amsterdam. "Montreal's becoming one of those cities," says Roy. "More and more, many artists from elsewhere are interested in what's going on here."

At Wild & Wet 's Hot & Dry, Sunday, May 20, 10pm, $50