by RAF KATIGBAK

When I chatted with Fred Everything last week, we touched on a range of subjects from his new album to what it's like DJing in Moscow. We also talked about the current club situation in Montreal, and he raised some interesting points.

One is his disappointment with the lack of creativity of promoters in Montreal. He said that while Derrick Carter and Mark Farina deserve all the support they get from building up their following in Montreal, promoters should get more adventurous with their bookings and that they have a responsibility to the crowd to expand their musical knowledge with more varied acts.

For the most part, I'm inclined to agree. It's true that for a while, afterhours promoters were caught up in the "my club is bigger than yours" sausage-fest and were more interested in who could outbid who for the next Global Underground circuit DJ, but things have started to change. Clubs like Circus have realized that the crowd is more open to new sounds than most bookers think. Ideally, someone with enough clout will follow in the footsteps of London's Fabric club, whose mandate of quality DJs spinning quality music of all different styles (Michael Mayer, Eddie Richards, Akufen, Jacques Lu Cont, Nitin Sawhney) has made them one of the top-rated clubs in the world today.

At the same time, promoters can't often afford to take risks and Montreal's record with non-A-list circuit DJs is not that great. Countless DJ friends of mine have attempted to bring amazing talent from Europe and the U.S., only to face disastrous turnouts. What's a music lover to do? Well, I suppose all you can do is keep trying to support people trying to make a difference.

But as we all know, out-of-towners aren't the only game in town and kudos go out to all those supporting local talent these days. Salon Daomé is a great place to catch some house choons in an intimate atmosphere and this Tuesday, July 6, is no exception. Catch local the Mole as he performs live alongside residents Vincent Lemieux and Mighty Kat. For those of you who didn't catch him at Mutek, his disco-tinged, scratchalicious, loop-based performance was completely off the chain, so make sure you see him this time!

DJ Corey K will be busy this week, as tonight he welcomes special guest DJ Krinjah at Saphir then rocks O Patro Vys with Soundshaper on Saturday for his monthly Shake and Break night.

Attention all junglists! The U.K.'s Congo Natty Recordings Crew will be hitting Rainbow-Ites tonight, Friday, July 2, for their Montreal premiere. That means U.K. deejays Tenor Fly (remember the Freestylers' hit "B-Boy Stance"?), Top Cat, Rebel MC, DJ Congo Dubs and Montreal's Rcola will be flexing it till 8 a.m.! Fifteen dollars in advance, tickets are available at DNA and Fly Boutique.

Alternately, tonight (Friday), why not catch a flick at the Nest space (3673 St-Dominique) with a "tastefully remixed" version of the b-boy classic Breakin' at 10 p.m., and Gregg Araki's PVC-soaked epic Nowhere at midnight. Three-dollar cover with music galore.

Woo woo! Moskow Disko… Diskoakimbo@sympatico.ca

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