by RAF KATIGBAK

Remember when it seemed like bootlegs were about to take over? Of course, when I say bootlegs, I'm not talking about those handwritten Phish-concert cassettes that are as passed around like a day-glo skull bong, but the musical art of mixing one pop-track a cappella with another, usually completely unrelated song's instrumental. The bootleg (or bastard pop, or mash-up) was a refreshing new musical hybrid that made dancefloors all over the world suddenly stop and go, "Destiny's Child are singing on Dolly Parton's ‘9 to 5' and I'm loving it!" While Belgian brothers 2 Many DJs gave bootleggers a leg-up with their fully legal and massively brilliant As Heard On Radio Soulwax album in 2002, and despite their off-the-chain party-rocking potential, mash-ups never really quite took off into the mainstream.

Montreal, in a way, is one big mash-up, a place where European and North American cultures collide, where the most fashionable and beautiful people in the Western hemisphere can be found arm in arm with people in jester hats and zubaz pants, where cheese, fries and gravy is our proudest contribution to the culinary arts. It only makes sense then that mash-ups are alive and well in Montreal and you can thank DJ Poontz for that. Every second Monday of the month, Poontz invites a pair of local jocks to Blizzarts for a live session of a cappellas vs. instrumentals. Past guests have included Johnny Jungle, Slyde, Scott C, Dubline, Black Market, Sarcastic, the Mole and DR-One. "My roots are from hip hop," says Poontz when quizzed about the origins of Mash-up Mondays. "The first thing that freaked me out was the instrumental/a cappellas found on early hip hop 12-inches. Hearing different rhymes over different beats. Plus, when you do it live, you have to work at it." This coming Monday, Feb. 23, guests will be DJs Jordan Dare and Sean Kosa.

While mash-ups are a relatively new thing, re-edits (the result of taking an older, usually classic track and updating it with a different sound) have been around since the '70s. Hard at work in the studio for the last two months, local DJ Chris Pronovost is ready to unleash some new tracks and a few hot re-edits during his set with Bougie Soliterre this Saturday at Gravity. Anyone who remembers the duo's amazing set at the Deep Room at Aria knows what to expect. Coincidentally, Saturday night's guest at Aria, DJ Desyn Masiello, has also been known to throw down unexpected re-edits and updated pop tunes. Hmmmm…

Over at O Patro Vys on Saturday night, check out another installment of tech-house madness Soirée Risquée with DJs Vincent Lemieux and Stephen Beaupré. Lemieux will also be part of the Festival Montreal High Lights Festival's nightly DJ-stage lineup, starting tonight, Thursday, Feb. 19, with Luc Raymond, followed the next day by Stephane Cocke, then DAV, then Lemieux on Sunday. Check it!

Tokyo Bar is set to launch their new, eclectic Thursday-night weekly Good Times, featuring Johnny Jungle, Steady B, DR-One and host Murad. While hip hop is their forte, you can be sure they'll mix it up with a little bit of everything for everyone. For the finest in New York tech-house, drop by Stereobar this Friday, where Remedy special guests will include NYC's Intrinsic Design label boss Mike Bryant.

Who wants a house party?! Diskoakimbo@sympatico.ca

>> Music Listings