While many Torontonians will be spending the (unofficial) end of the summer that is the Labour Day weekend drinking on patios, barbecuing and, let’s face it, mostly complaining about the Canadian International Air Show, 25,000 fans of new and emerging musics from the four corners of the province of Québec and beyond will be gathering beginning tomorrow in Rouyn-Noranda, a small town of 41,000 roughly 700 kilometres north of Toronto, for the Festival de la musique émergente en Abitibi-Témiscamingue (FME), which runs until September 1st. Think of it as a Québécois take on Guelph’s long-running Hillside Music Festival, or perhaps Further-Up-North by Northeast.
The FME, which celebrated its 10th anniversary last year with performances by Feist, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Timber Timbre and Radio Radio (among many, many others), once again boasts a typically eclectic and exciting lineup for its 11th edition. Although there are some well known names among the 64 artists appearing on 13 stages (as well as secret and unusual venues) around Rouyn-Noranda, such as Blonde Redhead, Victoria’s Dayglo Abortions, Jonquière metal legends Voïvod, the Besnard Lakes and Suuns (both of whom saw their most recent albums featured on the 2013 Polaris Prize Long List), the FME prides itself on being a showcase for the talents of lesser known musicians in a wide variety of genres. This year is no different, and the lineup will include everything from post rock (Esmerine, featuring members of Godspeed You! Black Emperor and Thee Silver Mt. Zion) to death metal (Dying Fetus) to IDM (Ghislain Poirier’s new project, Boundary), as well as a host of francophone artists whose names might be unfamiliar to English-speaking audiences – but should not be! Here are five notable examples of the latter.
KARIM OUELLET
Born in Senegal but now living in Québec, Karim Ouellet has been regarded as the next big thing in both his adopted province and the rest of the francophone world, and it’s easy to hear why. His brand of meticulously layered, expertly crafted pop music draws on a wide range of influences (Jon Brion’s production work, Bon Iver’s self-titled LP and OutKast’s “Hey Ya” all come to mind while listening to his latest album, Fox) and demonstrates an exceptional gift for infectious hooks as well as the ability to create sophisticated arrangements that reward multiple listenings. You can preview three songs from Fox on Bandcamp, or watch the video for Fox’s first single, “L’amour“, which has amassed over 400,000 views on YouTube.
GROS MENE
Hailing from St-Félicien in the Lac Saint-Jean region of Québec, Gros Mené have been playing lean, mean and muscular stoner rock on and off since 1998. Their music is the kind that will immediately appeal to fans of bands like Queens of the Stone Age, C’mon or ZZ Top, the sort of unpretentious heavy rock’n’roll that is not afraid of showing a sense of humour (check out “Ovechkin“, likely the best song ever written about not drafting Alex Ovechkin in your hockey pool) and will make you drink a little too much and drive a little too fast. You can listen to their latest album, 2012’s Agnus Dei, on Bandcamp.
TIRE LE COYOTE
The influence of Neil Young knows no boundaries and this becomes clear as soon as you hear the first notes of Tire le coyote’s “Bonnie” and Benoit Pinette’s striking, ghostly voice, which often recalls the Manitoba legend. Tire le coyote’s second album, 2013’s Mitan, was recorded in a 19th-century Québec church, and that setting gives the album an echo-laden, forlorn sound that evokes the Cowboy Junkies’ Trinity Session, the dusty Americana of Calexico, or a more conventionally country Bon Iver. You can listen to several songs from Mitan as well as his 2011 debut, Le fleuve en huile, on Bandcamp and watch videos for singles “Bonnie” and “Chainsaw” on Youtube.
K6A
Despite Québec’s vibrant hip-hop scene (Alaclair Ensemble’s Les maigres blancs d’Amérique du Noir was long-listed for this year’s Polaris Prize), francophone rap has been slow to make inroads across the rest of Canada. Of course, it doesn’t help that a lot of the lyrical dexterity and wordplay of some of the best Québec rappers is generally lost on audiences who don’t speak the language. Started as a visual arts group over a decade ago, K6A (a play on “kosséça”, slang for “what is that?”) is a large, loose Montréal collective that now counts over 20 members. K6A’s first proper album, Kosséça!?!, released earlier this year, doesn’t exactly offer a homogeneous sound, but its relentlessly inventive and furiously catchy beats could easily find an audience beyond French speakers. Check out their incredible shot-for-shot remake of the Wu-Tang Clan’s seminal “Protect Ya Neck” as well as Kosséça!?!‘s heavy, Rick Rubin-esque (listen to those drums!) first single, “RxccnRoll“.
GRENADINE
Following a four-track EP posted on Bandcamp in 2010 that received rave reviews from music publications on both sides of the Atlantic for its sugary blend of 1960s French pop sounds and modern beats, Julie Brunet, who records under the name Grenadine (like the delicious red syrup used in a Tequila Sunrise) and who almost certainly isn’t always as inconsolable as she looks on the pouty cover of that EP, will be releasing her eagerly anticipated first full-length this fall and previewing new songs at the FME. Fans of breezy, sophisticated pop should listen to “Occidental“, a 2012 teaser for the album that compares favorably to Saint Etienne or Sarah Cracknell’s work, and immediately start saving their money for what should be one of the finest debuts of 2013.
I will be reporting back from the FME next week. In the meantime, use the comments to leave your predictions for the number of poutines and pulled-pork sandwiches I will be eating in Rouyn-Noranda as well as which one of the Québec Nordiques or Montréal Canadiens logo I will see most often.
