by RAF KATIGBAK

First off, house lovers will want to rush down to the SAT as FFWD, FLY, Fornarina and the SAT present the funky house of the U.K.’s Luke Solomon. Over the last few years Solomon has teamed up with some of the hottest names in house music, including Kenny Hawkes and Rob Mello, but it was in 1995 that Solomon and Derrick Carter hooked up in Chicago and decided to create a label that would define the sound of their DJ sets, providing likeminded artists with a home to release proper house records. The genre-defying Classic was born. Aside from a few shit-hot DJ mixes on labels like Distance and Classic, you may also recognize Solomon from his inventive and crisp and funky production skills as the man behind the Freaks (alongside Justin Harris) and co-founder of another label, Music for Freaks. Needless to say, this guy’s got some serious cred, so if you want to get funky on Friday then check it out! Guests include Nic B, Steve Gatsoul and Alek.

For a more introspective experience that same night, the folks down at Rad’a bring you another night of “electronically informed live music” featuring Unipolar (Simon Bélair, Jean-François Michaud and frequent collaborators Léon Lo, aka Helen of Troy, and Francis of Cian Éthrie) playing what they call “ambient systemic rainbow rock.” The performance will feature instrumentals using guitar, bass, vibes, keyboards and tapes. This is dreamy, atmospheric pop at its best, so don’t miss it. Guests include the glitchy dub of Des Cailloux est du Carbone and DJ Pinpin. $5 at the door.

Local new media collective Epsilonlab will premiere their new DVD on Friday night from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Café de l’Usine C as part of the Elektra festival. The DVD features new music by 11 musicians (including Deadbeat, Polmo Polpo, Pheek, the Mole, Ghislain Poirier and Mateo Murphy) accompanied by VJ visuals by the likes of Johnny Ranger, les Passagers, K-Projects and others. Featuring several interviews with the artists themselves, this is an insightful and altogether great cross-section of local talent. Support your local scene and pick one up soon!

Adventurous ravers should check out the Psy Paradise party over in Lachute on Friday, featuring Asaph, Nerdz, Dub and Merkan. According to one local rave Web site, the music genre is described as “psycho,” so I’m not sure whether that means “psychedelic” or “crazy Alfred Hitchcock high-pitched string orchestra”—shit, either way, you’ve been warned. Call (450) 562-0999 for details.

Finally, a happy birthday goes out to one of the queens of Montreal nightlife, Plastik Patrik, who, this Tuesday, Nov. 19, turns… ? For those of you unfamiliar with Patrik, this dude’s been part of some of the hottest nights in town since the days of Royale and Squeeze. You can say happy birthday yourself as he celebrates his B-day in style, playing a show with his glam sleaze-rock outfit One 976 at the Cabaret on Tuesday night. Tix are 10 bucks. :

Max, you big hamburger! Diskoakimbo@sympatico.ca

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