Home sweet Om

>> A refreshed Stereo hosts a left-coast monthly


by RUPERT BOTTENBERG

As you may have heard, Stereo, the club with one of the best damn sound systems in the world (thank you, Angel Moraes), got fresh wind under its wings with a recent change in ownership. The puntishly inclined will appreciate that. NYC transplant Raj Hungund and the ubiquitous, partytime-perfectionist Thau Weva, both of Make Media, certainly do. They’re producing the new Om Records monthlies, promising dope tunes, wicked visuals, cool vibes, beautiful people and regular guests from the respectable West Coast label’s impressive roster (newbie Om-ster Fred Everything will be the resident).

“We’re really happy to introduce this to the Montreal market,” explains Weva, “because it also represents what Montreal is, in the sense that Montreal is a hybrid city. You’ve got influences coming in from every corner of the planet. Om Records are a hybrid as well. They’re quite eclectic, everything from deep house and broken beat to hip hop and drum & bass. But no matter what they’re putting out, it’s always quality. Look at some of the guys that are signed to Om—John Howard, Mark Farina, Fred Everything, King Britt and Soulstice.”

Coming from a straight-outta-Queens perspective, Hungund agrees. “I’d been coming up to Montreal every so often to check out the clubs and see what was happening. In the summer of ’98, when I graduated, I moved up to Montreal and fell in love with it. It’s a European city, but six hours away from New York. One difference that particularly stood out was that the young people here who are into good music aren’t into one style of music. You’d go to a party and there’d be a drum & bass DJ, and then it would switch to house and then hip hop, and people would keep dancing. In New York, you switch up the music like that and people start throwing bottles.”

Silly rabbits, bottles are for drinking from, so drink away when Hungund joins Bombay’s Nav Bhinder behind the decks in the Stereobar. “Stereo’s a great space with a world-renowned sound system, but it seems like the bar was under-utilized over there, totally separate from what happens at the afterhours. We want to start off in the bar and roll it over into the afterhours, and in the bar, we’ll host some of Om’s more eclectic artists.”

Weva and Hungund proudly point out that these nights will be an East-Coast first. “Om do a monthly out in San Francisco,” says Hungund, “with Mark Farina as the resident DJ and a crowd of about 1,000 people each time.”

“They’ve recently started in Seattle and L.A. as well,” adds Weva. “It’s an honour for us because we’re starting it off on the East Coast. It’s great to start it in Montreal—the market is totally ready for it. Weekends, you’ll always find the same kind of hard, hard, hard music. A lot of DJs kinda sound the same, which is why we partnered up with Om. Their DJs each have a particular sound to themselves. You listen to John Howard and you’ll know him. There are certain things he’ll do—his way of mixing, his selection, what he’ll deliver to the dancefloor. Same thing with King Britt, Mark Farina and Fred Everything.” :

With John Howard, Fred Everything, Raj Hungund and Nav Bhinder at Stereo on Friday, June 7, 10pm, $15 ($20 after 1am)