Karkwa’s rise was meteoric and set against the backdrop of an increasingly bilingual Millennial population playing and attending gigs in Montreal. The group toured extensively and recorded two more full-length albums before going on hiatus in 2011, focusing on other endeavours.

Quip sat down with keyboardist François Lafontaine and drummer Stéphane Bergeron to discuss their thoughts on a 20-year evolution before their set at FME. The pair oscillate between English and French, often finish each other’s sentences, and laugh in a way that conveys a vast shared experience, culminating in their most recent studio release, Dans la seconde. It marks the first time in over a decade that the band has written, recorded, and toured.

Ben Lemieux: Les tremblements is going to be 20 next year. That was a big time for music in Montreal and in Quebec. A lot of big artists came up during that time. It was also a moment when the lines between Franco and Anglo music in Montreal were blurred a bit more. How is it to reflect on that time and your place in it?

François Lafontaine: It was a movement. We were young at that time: 23, 24. People our age were tired of what was going on musically. We did things differently, the way we would record indie stuff, the way of promoting music was different.

Stéphane Bergeron: We met the Patrick Watson band at some point, we shared a rehearsal space, and we became friends with them. We felt very good about that and about making music with them.

FL: St. Laurent was the main street where the anglophone and the francophone [communities] would cross over. We started doing [shows] with Marie-Pier Arthur. We met the Barr Brothers, we met the Dears, Arcade Fire.

SB: In some events like M Pour Montreal and SXSW, anglo and franco [musicians] doing showcases together made stuff happen after that.

FL: In the end, it’s just about music. We stayed close with Patrick. One of my best friends is Joe Grass, who also played with Patrick – we have a band together. We made a record maybe 4-5 years ago.

BL: Fans from that era are still coming to shows, they obviously have a nostalgic relationship with your early work and Montreal in that era. Do you see new, younger demographics at your shows now as well?

SB: We see that at some of the shows and we’re very touched by it. Even before playing shows, we see some of the comments on social media coming from [younger fans]. It’s also wild to see the younger generation come to shows and sing the lyrics [to our older material].

FL: The greatest thing about that is when you start a band, you cannot imagine how it’s going to be 10 or 20 years later. So to see that happen, it’s very touching, like Steph said. It’s [bigger than] us, at that point. The music speaks for itself. It’s almost like the music has made a path to somewhere we didn’t expect when we started.

BL: A big change since you started making records is the gradual disappearance of record stores. Most of the market is digital streaming now. How do you find that has changed the way that you distribute or release albums, or the response you receive?

FL: It’s pretty difficult to have an opinion on that. The only thing I know is that there are more ways today to discover music. Back then, you had to go to the music store, and sometimes the album wasn’t there. But now, there are a lot of ways to discover music, and people are overwhelmed. There’s [so] much stuff.

SB: I would say [steaming] comes with a lot of competition, but that’s not the right word. We’re kind of privileged, I would say. Because we didn’t have to think a lot about marketing strategy. We booked M Telus [arena] for one night and ended up selling out five. We didn’t have to struggle, but I can imagine [it’s challenging] for people who aren’t as established. It’s been easier for us.

FL: The only way to put out your music is to go on the road. Even if you put out a lot of studio clips on Instagram –

SB: It’s a drop in the ocean. [Laughs] You need many drops.

FL: You can see a lot of musicians playing in many projects. I think that’s the way to make a living. Back in the day, we used to only concentrate on Karkwa. Like 90% of our time was dedicated to Karkwa. Now people are all over the place in so many different projects.

BL: 13 years between records is a long time. Your new record sounds like a Karkwa album. It feels familiar. But obviously, there are things about your playing or your approach to composition that have changed in that time. What are the things about playing as a band that you find the most familiar and the most different?

FL: We approached each record differently.

SB: For Dans la seconde we decided to come into the studio with absolutely nothing. Nothing every day. Let’s start with a tempo. Some days, something happens. Some days, you think something is happening, and at some point, you say, “Oh. That’s… shit.” [Laughs] We did so many days of improvisation and came up with an album like that. That’s the first time we did this. What’s familiar is [the sense] that we’ve been lucky to meet each other. It’s just easy when we play.

FL: For the album we opened maybe 26 or 27 different sessions or different songs.

BL: Over what period of time?

FL: A year [intermittently]. A week here, a week there. At some point, we sat down and said, “We have to focus on the things that everyone wants to do,” and went from 20-something sessions to nine songs.

SB: There was some good stuff too that we didn’t choose. Sometimes we say: “The vibe is cool, but can we end up with a song out of that?” The fun part is when we ended up with those nine or ten songs, we moved into Wild Studios.

FL: It’s the kind of vibe that Morin Heights had. You’re on a lake, secluded in the woods. After the 7 or 8 months we spent [on composition], we went there for a week and wrapped up the whole album there.

SB: There was also a process of layering parts.

BL: Do you ever think some of these lost tracks may show up on a future album?

SB: Mostly from Chemins de verre (2010). We were touring a lot in France and that means sometimes you have 4-5 day breaks. We had a friend who worked at a studio called “La Frette,” a big house with a studio in it. We thought instead of spending five days in a bar in Paris we could live there. We saw the studio and thought –

FL: Let’s write some music.

SB: We just started recording. We said, “Let’s do a song a day.” So [unused material] mostly comes from Chemins de verre and a bit of what we did lately.

BL: Have you always written as a group?

FL: No. Most of the time, I was bringing in music and we were developing arrangements around that. But like Stephane said, for the last album, you weren’t allowed to come into the studio with anything prepared. Changing our ways of working really helped. There were even times where the root of a song was a drum beat. We started with a tempo, like 125 bpm, and said “Let’s go.” In some cases, we recorded three versions of the same song.

It was a luxury to be able to do this. The studio belongs to Louis-Jean, I’m a partner. To spend this much time in a recording studio, composing, arranging, recording, it doesn’t happen often.

To reconnect, musically, I think it was best for us to get back in the studio. Work differently, put that kind of energy and moments on stage afterwards. It kind of glued the band in a way.

SB: This live set is the best version of the band.

The post Looking back at Karkwa’s evolving career with François Lafontaine and Stéphane Bergeron appeared first on Quip Magazine.

Karkwa

The band was one of the bigger headliners for the festival, wrapping up a year-long reunion tour following the release of their 2023 album Dans la seconde. Playing at the large outdoor Fizz stage, the storied Quebec rock quintet delivered an energetic, crowd-pleasing performance spanning their 20-year archive. The enthusiastically attended set oscillated between newer hits and their early noughties anthems, all presented with a markedly psychedelic slant. It was a delight to watch the local indie darlings approach the set with such aplomb, drawing out their songs with instrumental interludes and solos.

A great headliner to kick off the Festival: the perfect blend of energy and nostalgia.

Mossaï Mossaï

One of the better bills at Le Paramount this year, French prog-rockers Mossaï Mossaï made a big impression with their first overseas gig at FME. Playing selections from their debut, Faces, the quartet wasted no time in getting the walls shaking. The group’s thundering rhythm section and psychedelic guitar work were propulsive in a way that every band opening a rock concert should be, while also never gratuitous or at the expense of musicianship. This band plays its ass off, but also makes time for poetic keyboard & voice interludes, keeps the audience guessing throughout the set. A group to watch.

Galaxie

Headlining Le Paramount, Montreal rock supergroup Galaxie delivered an hour of sheer fun. The members are all veterans of the Quebec indie scene with numerous concurrent projects on the go. From watching Galaxie play: this is the garage rock band they all go to as an outlet. Try new motifs, rock out, play for the joy of it. After 20+ years and six albums, watching the playfulness and zesty youthful energy of the Fred Fortin-led ensemble is infectious and still brings the house down. The set was replete with fuzzed-out guitar solos, cosmic synths, wrapped up in a tight blues-rock parcel. A rare treat for Quebec audiences, who were also pleasantly surprised by the band’s release of À demain peut-être earlier this year.

Peter Dreams and Moonriivr

Best known as one of the driving forces behind Toronto’s July Talk, Peter Dreimanis’ recent collaboration with Moonriivr sees him shifting into a more brooding gear. His husky baritone and black garb invite Cash, Cohen, and Cave comparisons, although these feel facile and reductive. These songs live in smoky, damp, dimly lit clubs. Propulsive rhythm backbone, dynamite guitar work: this band is dialed. Where there’s a roof to blow off, they will. Dreimanis forgoes instruments during the set, his vocals focused, passionate, fearless in their intensity. Nominally, this is an alt-country set, but the group’s stage tightness and range of influences lend a gravitas to the proceedings that eschews genre.

Bearing mention: their 2024 collaborative release is among the top Canadian records of the year. Nocturnal, poised, dramatic, Peter Dreams and Moonriivr lives at the crossroads of country, blues, folk, with the occasional cabaret flourish. Musically and lyrically adventurous, self-produced, a sonically warm album that properly sounds like it’s recorded on tape: there’s so much to love about this record. Go find a copy today.

Haviah Mighty

Although Quebec is home to a hardworking hip-hop scene, FME skews prog heavy in its lineup. Mighty, one of Canada’s foremost hip-hop talents provided a welcome change of pace at the main outdoor stage. Leaning into a spare stage set (just herself and a DJ), Haviah Mighty played an hour of uptempo greatest hits to the opening night crowd. As ever, her set was animated and moved with gusto, leaning towards poppier, festival-friendly fare. In an environment less produced and more theatrical, the mastery of her flow and wordsmithing was front and center.

Delightful to see such an important Canadian voice headlining a smaller regional festival like FME. A worthy reminder of why Haviah Mighty is a national treasure and a joy to watch.

Li’l Andy: The Complete Recordings of Hezekiah Procter

A fixture Montreal’s country scene, Li’l Andy’s latest set was easily the boldest at the Festival. A pitch-perfect pastiche of 20s/30s folk, jazz, and bluegrass, The Complete Recordings of Hezekiah Procter was an enchanting, immersive period exploration that generated a lot of buzz among festival-goers. With glimmering harmonies, period garb, and humour by the shovelful, Proctor is a love letter to dustbowl Americana that straddles music and performance art. Andy’s quartet had their small club audience rapt for a set equal parts playful, surprising, dexterous, meticulously researched, and fun. A highlight for many.

The Brooks

The Festival closer at Le Paramount did not disappoint. Before a room of music industry professionals, The Brooks delivered a technical clinic in jazz-funk. This masterclass had every audience member eating out of their hands and wanting seconds. A tour de force.

Look out for their latest album, Soon As I Can, released on 4 of October (the official launch November 8th at Café Cleopatre in Montreal).

The post Highlights performances from FME are a spectacular showcase of talent appeared first on Quip Magazine.

“I’ve been coming here since I was a teenager,” one attendee shared with me, “it’s my favourite event in the city,” she continued while bopping along to the music.

The moment you land at the QC airport you are greeted by FEQ posters. Temporary bike lanes are placed along the main festival road and festival staff can be seen on every corner, answering questions and directing foot traffic. Grande Allée E, which cuts through most of the city, turns into a pedestrian street, furnished with FEQ performance highlight posters and a row of sponsor activation booths. Want a foot massage? Chevrolet got you. Need a makeup refresh? Sephora is also there.

The global artist lineup is an array of genres from 50 Cent to Nickelback, J Balvin, and Mötley Crüe. Attending the entire 11 days might feel somewhat overwhelming so most people chose a handful of days to immerse in. Much like the previous years, Quip attended three nights of showcases. Much like the previous years, the rugged Canadian weather stole one of the nights from us. This time, however, the extreme gusts of wind and rapid heavy rain were courtesy of Hurricane Beryl rampaging its way through North America. But even in this rainy, somewhat tropical weather, fans came out by the dozens and for electro night danced through the showcases in non-stop drizzle.

Baltimore’s Future Islands played one of the medium stages to a packed and extremely loud crowd. The frontman Samuel T. Herring is a very theatrical performer, adding layers to each track with both vocals and dance moves. From kicks and exaggerated facial expressions to bear walks and polka breaks Herring took very few moments to rest during their 70-minute set. “We are Future Islands. This is what we do,” he proclaimed addressing the screaming fans.

The inner-city stage housed a lot of melodic performances from guitarists to singers/songwriters and alternative bands. Gabrielle Shonk took the stage mid-day with a sunny Sunday morning type of vibe that progressively grew into an instrumental and vocal showcase. Quebecer Elliot Maginot followed her set with a highly anticipated melancholic performance.

After the storm closures in the early evening, Montreal indie rock band Karkwa took it upon themselves to make things up to the festival goers. The group built a tight mini-stage on the festival’s largest stage creating a jam session type of environment, a different approach than this stadium crowd is used to seeing. Throughout their set Karkwa invited a handful of guests to join them including electronic musician CRi, singer-songwriter Talk, and New Brunswick trio Les Hay Babies.

The above-mentioned storm had impacted quite a few hip-hop and rap sets including NAS and TOBi, who we did meet earlier that day for an interview. The night prior, however, Nicole Wray, aka Lady Wray, played a free show on the Hydro-Québec Stage. Nicole got her start in music as Missy Elliott’s protégé and that influence is certainly visible in her performance. In her own words, Lady Wray offers “Aretha Franklin-era soul matched with a Lauryn Hill 1990s hip hop vibe” and that’s honestly the best way to describe her powerful and poetic R’n’B showcase. Nicole was joined on stage by a full band – backup singer, guitar, bass, drums – and every member was bringing it.

Berlin’s DJ and electronic music producer LOVRA treated Québec City to two performances, one on the main stage and a late-night set at the Extras in The Armoury. With the consistent rain, this was not the easiest electro night but attendees came prepared decked out in rainjackets, rainboots, ponchos, and glamorously trimmed black garbage bags (Balenciaga’s take notes). LOVRA kicked off the night on a high note and each performer who followed – Mike Demero, Loud Luxury, Alan Walker –  progressively elevated the energy and volume. There was fog, there were pyrotechnics, strobe lights. The tricks were pulled, the bling was brought, and at the end of the festival, it all ended with epic fireworks. 

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