MUSIC:
View to a chill

Families meet fun-fur at Parc Jean-Drapeau's Piknic Electronik

by RAF KATIGBAK

It's said that the three most important things to look for when investing in real estate are location, location and location. Apparently, this same rule also applies to Sunday-afternoon outdoor electronic-music gatherings. Last year, when Pascal Lefebvre saw Parc Jean-Drapeau's expansive waterfront view of the downtown core, and explored the lush greenery offset by a gigantic modern-art sculpture, he knew he had found the place that he and partners Michel Quintal, Louis-David Loyer and Nicolas Cournoyer were looking for.

Their plan was simple: bring electronic music out of the clubs and to the public. After a whirlwind two weeks of organization, with help from sound system guru Alexandre Kano, Piknic Electronik was born. While only in its second season, Piknic Electronik continues to draw more and more people every Sunday afternoon (1 p.m. to 8 p.m.) to explore the picturesque Parc Jean-Drapeau to a soundtrack of thumping electronic music.

According to Cournoyer, the weekly event was set up not only to give electronic music fans a sunnier alternative to dark, sweaty clubs, but also to help expose a wider public to electronic music in a non-club context. "We're really fans of electronic music," says Cournoyer, "and we think that people aren't open-minded enough to it, there's still some prejudice. It seems that electronic music is always associated with raves and drugs, but we want people to discover it in a different way."

Lucky for Cournoyer and his partners, the plan seems to be working. Over the last three weeks, Piknic-goers have grown from an impressive 650 people to last week's MUTEK-sponsored event of over 1,200 people, numbers that Cournoyer considers with equal amounts of joy and concern. "We want to make sure not to get too big too fast. We don't want to lose the family aspect. We want people to want to come here with their kids and to enjoy this music in a relaxed atmosphere."

While the family-friendly outdoor weekend musical gathering shares some common traits of Mont-Royal's Sunday tam-tam tradition, Cournoyer is quick to make a distinction. "It's a question of mood. I'm a tam-tam fan, but at a certain point it always sort of sounds the same. Here we try to diversify the music, and we try and open people up to different kinds of electronic music, so that even techno fans might discover something new." In the past, the Piknic's open musical mandate has included DJs Mini, Kobal, Fred Everything, Vincent Lemieux and Robert de la Gauthier spinning everything from house and electro to breaks, ambient and techno.

"Above all, the site is different." Continues Cournoyer. "The water brings a different element. People feel like they're not exactly at the beach, but still in nature. Here you have good music, good DJs, an amazing view of the city and sunshine - that's perfect!"

Due to this weekend's Grand Prix activities at Parc Jean-Drapeau, Piknic Electronik will resume next Sunday, June 20, 1pm, $5, children under 14 free.