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Blinded >> Montreal DJ/producer Fred Everything's latest album is all that |
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by RAF KATIGBAK
"I never really thought there was a Montreal sound," says Everything humbly when I share that virtual tidbit, "and if there was one, I don't think I'm it. I'd say people like Akufen and Deadbeat are what people think of as the Montreal sound." While it's true that Montreal's brainier beat-heads have made their impact on highbrow punters across the ocean, Everything has been just as busy destroying dancefloors from the Main to Moscow with his infectious, funky and precise mixing style. Now, with the U.K. press already heralding his new album Light of Day as "the best house album of the year" (IDJ magazine), Everything will soon be able to check that "global domination" box on his weekly "to do" list. But taking over the global dancefloor is never easy. In fact, his album almost never even came out. Thanks to his hectic touring schedule and a music industry that in 2003 had as much vivacity as an American Idol rendition of "Ain't No Mountain High Enough," finishing his critically acclaimed full-length was an uphill battle. "It's been a really long trip. It's been four years since my last album and a lot of things were working against me." Thankfully, Everything's perseverance has paid off and his dedication can be heard in every note on Light of Day, an album that effortlessly glides from house to dub to deep soul and lounge in one sultry breath. "There are so many different styles on the album, to put it together at the end was a real puzzle." Wrangling with disparate styles was a welcome challenge for Everything, who longed for a house-tinged release with a variety of flavours. "People don't take the time to make good house albums anymore. Most of the house albums I hear are really just a collection of tracks, they sound so disposable. "I'm always influenced by what I'm listening to," he continues. "The original idea for the album has always stayed the same - it's an album you can listen to at home." With Manitoba at Club Soda on Wednesday, July 7, midnight, $16.50
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Fred Everything has been repping this town's deep and soulful side for the better part of the last decade. Just drop by any of Montreal's online clubbing forums and do a search for "the Montreal sound." Everything's name is bound to come up time and time again.
Catch a double dose of New York underground grooves on Friday, July 2, as drum & bass artist and son of Grammy award-winning jazz producer Joel Dorn (did I mention he was also a Roch Voisine session bassist?), Adam Dorn, aka Mocean Worker, returns to Montreal for a special performance back to back with NYC club legend and Deee-lite femme fatale Lady Kier (whose demise by heroin overdose, according to urban legend, has been greatly exaggerated). Expect some fierce beats and oodles of New York attitude. 
Thursday, July 8, new-school big band Jagga Jazzist bring together the Norwegian tendency for electro-jazz exploration and the ferocious sonic onslaught of Norwegian black metal. Okay, so maybe it's a stretch to call these guys Nils Peter Molvaer meets Gorgoroth, but hey, some British bloke already said these guys were, I quote, "Delectable - like Charles Mingus with Aphex Twin up his arse." So there. Local Mutek favourites and laptop lovers EGG brings up the rear with their upbeat and quirky click-house sound.  |
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