Kicking off the night was an ethereal set by d’Eon. The Montreal-based experimental producer/singer songwriter played a solo live set with his keyboard. He’s noted for his split EP with Grimes, Darkbloom, back in 2011, and is signed to the experimental underground label Hippos In Tanks, whose roster includes Arca, Laurel Halo, and other innovative artists who are pushing the envelope for modern music.

Forest Swords was the next act on the bill. Matthew Barnes (Forest Swords), manned the MPD, keyboard, and, for some songs, guitar, while his friend James Binary worked a Fender Jazz bass. Together, they had the crowd captivated by their mesmerising performance, as they synced each beat of their songs to the beautifully crafted video playing in the back. They didn’t just stick to songs off Barnes’ recent, critically acclaimed Engravings album, but also revisited a lot of his older material. Their penchant for powerful, low bass caused something in the building to vibrate against the wall at each kick.

The vocal samples they used didn’t fade, but rather cut off abruptly, only to be echoed by reverb and delay. The dubby percussion eschewed the conventional drum kit sounds of snares, toms and hi-hats for more organic, almost tribal drums. The effect was mystical and epic, transporting you to lands where war drums beat as stoic warriors clash amidst thick pines and snow. We caught them in the lobby of the venue and kicked it with them. They really liked our shirts, which made the night for my inner fanboy. We chatted with Barnes about his music production and found out he’s also a disciple of YouTube tutorials.

As we went back to the stage, How to Dress Well, born Tom Krell, was just getting started. Judging by the sound of his records, Love Remains and Total Loss, I went into the show expecting an introverted, quiet dude on keyboards, but what I got, I did not at all expect. The first song was a slow number, and he wooed the crowd with minimal backing from a full band he had brought on, consisting of a keyboardist/backup vocalist, a midi controller/violinist, and Justin Peroff of Broken Social Scene on drums. But before the next song, he told the sound tech to turn it up.

The full band dove into it, aggressive and hard-hitting, with Peroff really going at it on the drums, driving the rhythm section. The rest of the concert followed in those footsteps, with Krell charismatically giving instructions to the sound and stage techs through his microphone, “Let’s make this one real moody.” At one point, a girl in the crowd yelled, “Take off your shirt!” to which he politely declined. However, given the contrast between his albums and his live set, I was half expecting him to indulge.

He played a lot of new material, both from his upcoming album and not, introducing each with a short little story about it. Compared to the lo-fi, bedroom producer sound of his albums, his stage presence exuded confidence, but without any loss to the sense of vulnerability that made his albums so emotionally devastating. The driving rhythm section gave the songs a sense of urgency, while the backing vocals – manipulated and distorted –  created a nightmarish atmosphere on many of the songs.

After the set, an encore was soon in motion, and Krell came back onstage alone. Professing that he was drunk, he talked about his love of babies and his plans of having one soon, before launching into a lullaby. Closing the show, he had the audience decide on a song, and sang “Say My Name Or Say Whatever.”

Sadly, their tour has two more tour dates left, ending this weekend. It was an experience catching these acts live, and I was spellbound by the music for the entire show. How to Dress Well is a must-see live, as you will not find him sounding like this on any album that he has released thus far. SAT’s bookings are on point yet again.

The post How to Dress Well, Forest Swords, and d’Eon at the SAT appeared first on Quip Magazine.

Once upon a time, about four months ago, Misteur Valaire was offered the chance to play a DJ set in their hometown of Sherbrooke, QC. They turned their noses up, though, at the idea of getting on stage and spinning someone else’s party beats, so they decided to turn out an entire album of their own.

Thus, Qualité Hotel, the pure-party version of Misteur Valaire, was born. After nine-to-fivein’ it for a few weeks on the music for Motel Califorña, all they needed was some help from their friends.

“We sent the tracks to some friends, gave them the theme of the song and the album, and they took care of the rest,” mentions Luis Clavis (Louis-Pierre Phaneuf) at the album’s launch party. Surely an album with 16 collaborators must have taken a while to assemble, I say.

“About 20-25 days,” he replies. “It was actually accelerated by this party. We already had the date set with SAT, so we decided to use it as an opportunity to launch the album.”

SAT is the Société des arts technologiques, and they didn’t simply provide a space for Qualité Motel to perform; they provided a multimedia experience to accompany Motel Califorña.

Fourteen fire hydrants (bornes fontaines) were placed around the Quartier des spectacles in Montreal, so that with Invisible, the augmented reality iPhone App developed by the Metalab team at SAT, fans can take pictures of the hydrants and then be treated to a Qualité Motel song as well as the story behind it.

The SAT-proposed and -produced experiment fits perfectly with the band’s technology-embracing style. The three-song set they performed in the Satosphere on Monday did not feature a single “traditional” instrument, but rather five guys banging away on laptops and synths. The result is a party show along the lines of Girl Talk, with the addition of some live rap.

The launch party itself showed what is remarkable about the Québec music industry: its ability to promote their own. When I arrived a half-hour early, I was excited to be the only media there. Once the doors officially opened, I realized I was lucky to have had five minutes with Luis Clavis, as CBC, ArTV, and NRJ radio were all lined up for pictures and interviews. The band drank beers and soaked up all the attention, even posing for some shots with Mitsou, the Québecoise pop legend that appears on the track Honey Cruller.

Qualité Motel were not intimidated by the pop royalty, nor did they show any fear getting up in front of a stiff industry audience to perform dance music while the sun was still shining outside. After the band rattled off five minutes of mercies to the assembled crowd, they retreated backstage to change into costume. When they reemerged, they were sporting authentic hipster garb: short jean shorts, big fluorescent shades, and pastel tank tops. The outfits were the perfect representation of the band’s style, as were the incredible graphics on the Satosphere walls provided by Zef&Santo.

Despite the fact that the audience was close to 100 per cent francophone, the three-song set featured exclusively English songs. This showed the chink in the Québec music industry’s armor, in that if Québec groups want to keep growing, they will have to do so outside la belle province. Qualité Motel knows that, and they have their eyes on bigger prizes.

After they finish a tour of Québec in April, they’re off to Europe.

“We’ll be touring France, Germany,” Luis Clavis mentions, “and oh yeah, England. But we’ll launch this album in May in France.”

Those places are a long way from Sherbrooke, but they’re about to get rocked Eastern Townships style.

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