OSHEAGA 2016! Aloof Future Top Picks

Now at its eleventh edition, it's safe to safe that Osheaga has truly become a flagship event in the North American festival circuit. With 40,000 music lovers in attendance each day, the Osheaga Music and Arts Festival has become as much an ideal venue for well-established outfits to stage a comeback as it is for emerging Montreal talent to represent their city on a global scene.

During this year's edition, there will be 113 artists performing on the festival's six stages over three days of non-stop music. Indeed, with so many acts performing in so little time, it certainly can seem a bit overwhelming deciding how to make the most of the festival. Luckily, CJLO's got your back! We've prepared a list of some of the shows we're most excited for. From world-renowned Montreal talent like Kaytranada, to a campus-bred nine-piece jazz outfit, here's a look at Osheaga that goes beyond the headliners!

Friday, July 29th

HAUTE - 1:00-1:45 @ Piknic Électronik Stage

Composed of two recent McGill grads, vocalist Anna Majidson and producer Romain Hainaut, HAUTE is an up-and-coming R&B-pop duo with a unique sound that merges refined pop undertones with notes of smooth R&B, hard-hitting trap, and forward-thinking electro. With two EPs under their belt, they've quickly amassed a following in cities like Montreal, Paris and New York; so you can be sure their debut at Osheaga will be a show not to miss! Coincidentally, they've also been guests on CJLO's own Aloof Future, where they expounded on their eclectic musical influences and the trickiness in balancing pop and a penchant for the experimental.

GoldLink - 3:25-4:10 @ Sonnet Green Stage

Hailing from the DMV, GoldLink has certainly succeeded in making a name himself in the Future Beats scene ever since he released his first mixtape, The God Complex. In the two years since that release, he has established his signature rapid-fire flow, and his ability to pick the best producers to collaborate with. His debut album, And After That, We Didn't Talk, is one that I have been blasting consistently since it came out last October, and has me looking forward to a high energy show with non-stop dancing.

SOPHIE - 4:00-5:00 @ Piknic Électronik Stage

Despite being one of the main figures behind the über-trendy "PC Music" genre, SOPHIE was initially somewhat of a mystery when he first came into prominence in 2013. Now, with one full-length release under his name, SOPHIE - a.k.a. Samuel Long - has cemented his status as one of the most exciting electronic producers out there. He somehow managed to push PC Music - a genre replete with high-pitched vocals intended to create an excruciatingly sweet version of pop music - from a simple Internet fad to a viable platform for collaborating with artists like Le1f, Charli XCX, and even Madonna.

Saturday, July 30th

Busty and the Bass - SiriusXM Tree Stage @ 7:15-8:00

Composed of nine different band members, all hailing from McGill, Busty and the Bass truly is the classic success story of a campus band that managed to make it big because of sheer talent. After having amassed quite a sizeable following on campus, Busty and the Bass formally established themselves as a true force to be reckoned with when they took home the national Rock Your Campus competition back in 2014. It's no surprise they received the most votes considering just how infectious and crowd-pleasing their exuberant spin on jazz is. You can expect them to bring the most harmonious horns, vibrant vocals, booming bass, and the life of the party!

Kaytranada - Piknic Électronik Stage @ 7:50-9:20

If there's anyone in the city who has succeeded on refocusing the global spotlight back on Montreal's electronic music community, it certainly is Kaytranada. If there's an artist that has developed an instantly-recognizable signature sound in the past few years, it definitely is Kaytranada. If there's any musician I'm most excited to see for what is most likely the 10th time, it is only Kaytranada. With a knack for sampling long-forgotten classics and creating the most unique basslines, he has rapidly established himself as a timeless artist capable of producing instant classics. In so little time, Kaytranada has come to represent the SoundCloud success story of a producer uploading his music for free online, and seeing his life completely changed. Indeed, he serves as a testament to how a massive following can be built purely off someone's sheer creative genius.

Jazz Cartier - Valley Scene @ 9:00-9:50

Yet another Canadian artist that has been making a name for himself on the international stage is Toronto's own Jazz Cartier. Following the release of his two first mixtapes, Marauding in Paradise and Hotel Paranoia, he's been able to establish himself as one of those few rappers redefining Toronto's sound in a manner that pushes the envelope beyond Drake. With stellar production and a penchant for creative storytelling as two consistent elements throughout all of his material, Jazz Cartier has been someone to watch.

Sunday, July 31st

Skepta - Sonnet Green Stage @ 4:55-5:40

With grime having made its grand American debut - but really, resurgence - in the past couple of years, no one can deny that the rapper Skepta has been at the forefront of this wave of high-energy and strictly underground English rap. Armed with collaborations featuring a string of influential rappers like Drake, Ace Hood, and many a member from the A$AP Mob, Skepta has become the unofficial face of this 140 BPM genre's takeover of the North American club scene. If you're looking for something hard-hitting that isn't Future's Southern-inspired trap, Skepta is your man. Expect one hell of a show.

Little Simz - SiriusXM Tree Stage @ 5:40-6:25

Beyond her status as a woman in hip hop, Little Simz has managed to define herself by her lyrical expertise, consistency in stellar output, and her wisdom beyond her 22 years of age. Already with a slew of releases under her belt (four mixtapes, six EPs, and one album), Little Simz is quite the prolific artist. However, that is unsurprising for a rapper that is so dedicated to charting her own unique path in the industry - one that's already been recognized by heavyweights like Kendrick Lamar. Her ability to adapt her flow to the most diverse range of beats while crafting intricate lyrical narratives is but one of the many qualities that make her talent so undeniable, and her presence so needed. 

Evian Christ - Piknic Électronik Stage @ 8:30-9:30

Evian Christ first burst onto the scene in 2012 in the most low-key way: he anonymously uploaded the eight tracks forming his first release, Kings and Them, on YouTube for his and his friend's listening pleasure. Fast-forward four years and much critical acclaim later and you can now find him in the studio with Kanye West, as a member of West's creative company DONDA. From his production credits on "I'm In It", it's clear that Evian Christ's style of music is an eclectic mix of dark atmospherics, deconstructed references and samples, and throbbing industrial bass. That is experimentalism at its best, if you ask me.

 

--Chubby hosts Aloof Future every Sunday at 2PM. Music for curing hangovers, cleaning your apartment, studying and/or anything else you could possibly be doing on a lazy Sunday afternoon.