Slipping into Other Worlds at Newspeak

In the middle of a dance party, you wouldn’t normally expect the DJ, anchored perfectly in the middle of four CDJs, to pull out a stringed instrument and turn a dance floor into an entranced audience. Yet that is what NGL Flounce did, and it is what I experienced at Newspeak on a chilly Saturday night, courtesy of the Massimadi x Discoño collaboration, an event closing out the 17th edition of the Massimadi film festival. 

The night began with Ms Baby’s DJ set, whose song selection beckoned in the first arrivals with an assurance that the dance floor was definitely warmed up. What started with R&B/Hip-Hop classics to sing along to soon turned into body roll inducing, choreo-starting mixes of afrofusion, baile funk, and high BPM remixes. 

When NGL Flounce takes the stage, there’s a palpable shift in the atmosphere. While many still felt the call to dance, all turned towards the performer, taking in the ethereal mix of strings backed by tracks that seemed to bounce between the electronic and the traditional. Chants and drums served as percussion while the violinist made the strings sing both lead and harmony, bringing the audience along through the soundtrack of afro-electronic trance.

The event was hosted by dancer and multidisciplinary artist Joya as well as rapper, actor and writer Cakes da Killa. Joya seemed to dance non-stop, first as part of the crowd, then up on a stage set just behind the night's performers. 

When Young Teesh gets on the decks– not before requesting another round of applause for NGL Flounce, Cakes da Killa launches into emcee duties, grabbing the microphone to remind “all Montreal baddies” to report to the dance floor.

The night was absolutely electric: I heard two completely different, completely high energy remixes of Where Have You Been by Rihanna, and sang along with the crowd at the top of our lungs, somewhat hidden by the highest possible settings of the venue’s fog machine. Between Missy Elliot and Chief Keef there was bouyon, salsa, and soca, with Cakes on the mic keeping the energy high, and Joya on the stage dancing up a storm, welcoming attendees to join in. A stage usually becomes the second dance floor in Montreal and Halloween weekend can be no exception. 

Archangel and Ekitwanda closed out the night, to the delight of the dancers, behind the DJ booth and in front. To see the bartenders and people working the coat check singing along was wonderful, and when I noticed Carolina, the event producer of Discoño, watching the performers, eyes full of admiration and pride, my heart was warmed on this chilly October night. 

When I tore myself away to begin the long walk towards the nearest nightbus, lungs full of fog machine air, all I could think was how easily we slipped between worlds with each performance, anchored by hosts who tied these sets together, culminating in one unforgettable Afro-Queer story.