RSS
Champion of the Local Scene: Strange Froots' Radio Special + Special Guests
Re-listen to a JAM-PACKED edition of Champions of the Local Scene as Strange Froots, our On Rotation Hip Hop Resident, gets to host their very own radio show! Hear conversations about alternative hip-hop identities, social deviance, and the queer/urban intersections - with special guests: Lucas Charlie Rose, C'nee Starlette, Marshia Celina, Navid a.k.a. Boih, and Gayance!
A Friday the 13th with the legendary Lee "Scratch" Perry
Lee Scratch Perry & Subatomic Sound System, Club Soda, Montreal on Friday the 13th, May 2016 as part of his 40th anniversary of 1976 release "Super Ape" on Scratch's own Upsetter label.
There he was, hologram pin-covered hat, fuchsia beard, naval-captain black-suit jacket, African wax pants, Rasta kicks and a suitcase. Mr Rainford Hugh Perry, born on March 20th, 1936, The Upsetter himself, celebrating his 80th year on planet Earth, Lee "Scratch" Perry. Holding on to his makeshift gold-framed-sunglasses microphone, Scratch was singing and rhyming over one of Max Romeo's biggest hits, "I Chase the Devil" from the album 'War Ina Babylon' (1976), produced by Scratch in his own Black Ark Studio and home in Kingston, Jamaica.
It was two weeks before his Montreal show. Friend and CJLO alumni, Emily Brass points to a Lee Scratch Perry advertisement and says "We should go!" Record producer, songwriter, poet, painter, and Rastaman, Lee Scratch Perry is a fascinating man with a fascinating life. He produced works for Bob Marley and the Wailers, Paul McCartney, The Clash, Junior Byles, Junior Murvin, Max Romeo, Mighty Diamonds, The Heptones and many more. His innovated effects and remixing techniques added new levels to already existing reggae tracks. Alongside Ruddy Redwood, King Tubby, and Jah Shaka, Lee Scratch Perry is an important name in dub music, recognized as a pioneer in his genre.
When producing, Lee Scratch Perry balances drum and bass and then balances all other instruments to start recording. Riddim and then lyrics. As Scratch describes it "Riddim from the ghetto, lyrics from the streets" (Beats of the Heart - Reggae Documentary 1977). However, Scratch was neither accompanied by drum nor bass. Rather, Scratch was accompanied by the immensely talented Subatomic Sound System.
Spearheaded by Emch (producer/dj) and "brought to life by family local and worldwide" with a young gentleman playing the saxophone spectacularly and a silver dread show-stopper gentleman on the congas.
Subatominc Sound System played classic Lee Scratch Perry riddims. The saxophone and congas perfectly embellished the sound system. It was airy and ethereal. Without trying, they brought you to another dimension. Somewhere in the future perhaps. He touched the crowd and the crowd soaked it all in. It was hard not to. You were in awe of this man and his impromptu word poetry. Don't bother trying to follow his brain when he is 10 steps ahead of you. "Outta time. Outter space", Lee Scratch Perry would say on the microphone as he shared his wine and spliff with the audience.
Courtesy of Serge Lévesque
At the show, Emily and I met up with guitarist Claude Lemay and bassist Serge Lévesque from Montreal band, Les Têtes Ailleurs. Dressed to impress, these cats were cool and down to earth. Stoked about reading my concert review they urge everyone to watch The Upsetter: The Life and Music of Lee Scratch Perry (2008)
Also in audience were the beautiful rock n roll, Yaffa "Rare Rebel", Ethiopian reggae artist, Empress Deeqa, poet Master Zibz "the Black Current" of Kalmunity Tuesdays, and of course, the first smile to meet & greet me at the media table, our very own DShade of Something For the Radio.
The night opened with amazing performances by The Beatdown, Poirier, & Ghostbeard, and Jah Cutta. Not only did these opening acts kill it, they were also all Montreal artists. Claude and I were thrilled of this fact and agreed Montreal concert producers need to continue putting our local talent in the forefront.
We stepped out for some air and izm before Lee Scratch Perry's performance and discover an exposition near le Quartier de Spectacle. Simple in theory and in presentation yet this "poetic" homage to log drying on the St Maurice river cost $65,000. Click here for more info.
Logs lying dead on the ground, says our friend of Les Têtes Ailleurs. Others say, "Why cut trees when you can smoke them". It is time to head back to Scratch.
Courtesy of Serge Lévesque
"I'm a Zulu. I'm a Vodou. Who are you? I got new boots. Look at my boots. I'm a Zulu" are some sentences Lee Scratch Perry verbalized in his word association technique as he pointed to his boots. Interestingly enough words associated to describe dub music may include synonyms like "laboratory" and "science". Furthermore, "scientist" is a reference to Obeah, Jamaican term for Voodoo (Dub Stories). So what is Lee Scratch Perry really telling us?
Courtesy of Serge Lévesque
Lee Scratch Perry once said, "Dub is seeing, smelling, hearing, tasting, and feelings. Feeling something you love" (Dub Stories). "So I'm telling you the power of the black man. Song, words, and power, conquer all. 72 Nation was born to reggae music, rocksteady music, ska music, calypso music, merengue music, jazz music. Don't care what the music might be, but music is the only comforter. I'm telling you the truth man, from my computer room. Room of truth. The Ark of the covenant" (The Upsetter).
Do re mi fa so la ti do.
---
Kelly Belfo is CJLO's World Music Director, and is also the founder of the longtime World Music program Beat The World hosted by Neil Lalla, every Saturday afternoons from noon to 2pm. She would like to thank Magazine Editor Stephanie D for setting up the media assignment, and Additional Content Editor Saturn De Los Angeles (Shibuya Crossing) for web and editing assistance, Emily for the idea of attending the show, and a huge merci beaucoup to Serge Lévesque for sharing your pictures with us!
Wednesday, May 18th, 2016
Hosted by Catlin Spencer
Stories written by Saturn De Los Angeles, Patricia Petit Liang, and Julian MacKenzie
Produced by Saturn De Los Angeles and Catlin Spencer
Today @ 5pm: Slax Trax interviews Towanda
Coming up today at 5pm on Slax Trax, Zach will chat with Montreal's Towanda, who release their latest album Plaything this Thursday at Brasserie Beaubien (73 Beaubien E.) with Leniton (members Towanda), BiG SiSSY, Five Eyes, and Heathers... it is PWYC, with proceeds going to the Sounding Echo Youth Committee, just formed in Attawapiskat.
Tune in for a dose of abrasive face melt, and get the full IRL experience this Thursday at Brasserie. Want more Towanda- check out their CJLO sessions from last spring!
May 15th & 22nd: The Best of Next Music from Tokyo on Shibuya Crossing with DJs SATYYY and Lawrell!
Tune in to CJLO on Sundays this May as our two resident Japanese music enthusiasts share with you their favorite artists, songs, and moments from the Land of the Rising Sun's vibrant indie music scene, as the annual Next Music from Tokyo concert series gets underway for its eighth edition this spring!
Established and managed by Steve Tanaka since 2010, this completely DIY tour invites Canadians to discover a unique Japanese music experience like no other. Steve explores and scavenges Tokyo's live houses, concert halls, and bars to find the best undiscovered indie talent, curates the best acts, and invites them to perform to eager and curious Canadians.
The annual series has garnered a notorious cult following among both fans of Japanese and indie music, and is known to be one of the most anticipated Japanese pop culture community events every summer, rapidly filling out venues in Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal. For the Montreal leg of the tour this year, Mass of The Fermenting Dregs, Gozen Sanji to Taikutsu, Dalljub Step Club, Nengu, and Regal Lily will all play for one night at Divan Orange on May 23rd.
Today at 3pm, CJLO Sports broadcasts live SSA On Ice 2- Montreal Canadiens Alumni play for Montreal Children's Hospital!
Sunday at 3pm, CJLO Sports will be broadcasting live from the Samuel Moskovitch Arena in Cote St. Luc for SSA On Ice 2 benefiting the Montreal Children’s Hospital Foundation.
Hosted by the Solomon Schechter Academy Children’s Foundation, the S.S.A. parents and alumni Big Bears team will face off against the Montreal Canadiens Alumni featuring Guy Lafleur, Chris Nilan and Stéphane Richer to name a few.
Tune in live on CJLO 1690 AM or online at cjlo.com
Live coverage of the event begins at 3pm with Sam Obrand and Matthew Shanahan on the call. Puck drop at 4pm.
Tickets can be purchased here.
Tonight @ 6pm on The Limelight- preview of Royce Da 5'9 show @ Le Belmont- CE SOIR!
CJLO is stoked to co-present with Champagne Productions Royce Da 5'9 with Doug Crawford, Jonathan Emile, Red Rum Records and DJ Nerve tonight at Le Belmont!
"Royce 5'9 returns to Montreal, on tour with a brand new album under his belt. The PRhyme / Slaughter House emcee has recently released his 6th solo album entitled "Layers". If you missed him performing at Osheaga with Eminem, here is your chance to witness one of the greatest lyricists in the game! Royce Da 5'9."
Tune into a special episode of CJLO's The Limelight (6-8pm) for a preview of tonight's show and, (if timing is on our side), Lady Oracle's interview with Royce Da 5'9 in the second hour!! Your official soundtrack to get yourself to Le Belmont!
FWONTE: Live on Beat The World with Neil Lalla - Saturday @ Noon!
Fresh after his EP release last October, FWONTE is back and ready to showcase "No Wanga" live on May 20th at Groove Nation, located at 410 Rachel East in Montreal.
Accompanied by an all-star cast comprised of producer Vincent Letellier (Freeworm), Franky Selector and producer Ghislain Poirier (Poirier) who also helped shape Fwonte's musical career since his first arrival to Montreal. Hip-hop, world, afrobeat, "No Wanga" will have you hitting the dance floor with strong rhythms and bold bass lines perfect for getting down! « Mizik sa, c’est pour danser », like the song of the same name says, with a featuring from Poirier. (Gong Communication)
Listen up, FWONTE will be live-in-studio this Saturday May 14th from Noon to 2pm for an interview on Beat The World, with 2016 Diego Award winning host, Neil Lalla.
Solids - Else EP
Dine Alone Records 2016
One of the great pleasures of listening to Solids' four-track EP, Else, is the wave of noise and distortion that washes over you created by the pounding drums, thumping bass, and distorted guitars. And, unlike the breakneck speed of their debut LP Blame Confusion, Else seems to show the Montreal duo of Xavier Germain-Poitras and Louis Guillemette taking their time and allowing for both the songs and listeners to breathe.
The EP begins with "Blank Stare", a track that has a punchy drum beat, crunching guitars, and a forward driving sound which eventually mellows and fades on a rounded bass line and staccato plucks of the guitar. This is followed by the more emotive, yet equally fuzzy, "Wait It Out". Things pick up again on the EP's third track "Blurs".
The highlight of Else is its last track, "Shine", which demonstrates the imagination and creativity of the band; it seems to push more towards the psychedelic as compared to the rest of the EP. It begins with Guillemette's drum beat, which is less punchy and more rounded. This change gives one the feeling that the drums are surrounding more than attacking them. An infections undulating bass line quickly joins in, which fills out the groove. The buried and repeating lyrics further add to this psychedelic feel. As the track drifts to its conclusion, wafts of wobbly and whooshing sounds fill its sonic space. If "Shine" is anything like what the band has in store for us in the future, their distorted fuzz is also about to get a whole lot weirder.
The grungy sounds are still prevalent on Else but a more nuanced approach to tempo and rhythm demonstrates growth by the band. These changes enable one time to focus and differentiate the fuzzy sounds created, all of which combines to create more interesting musical arcs.
--Fredy M. Iuni hosts Hiway 1, Mondays at 7PM on CJLO
Hardcore Henry: A visually disorienting style
Directed by Ilya Naishuller
Ilya Naishuller's Hardcore Henry knows exactly what it wants to be from the start of the opening credits: a no-holds-barred violent romp à la Tarantino with the aesthetics of a first-person shooter video game. If you are not a fan of this cinematic style, Hardcore Henry will be the most disorienting experience at the movie theatre since the last Paul Greengrass film. As a video gamer, I'm used to this style, but the disorienting action sequences in this film drew me out of it. I'm a big fan of the first-person narrative in Grand Theft Auto V for instance, and whether I'm on a mission or a heist, the first-person mode in a vehicle with a windshield adds a unsettling layer to the gaming experience.
In the film, Henry is the superhuman that has been created in a science lab as a archetypal Jason Bourne. The quiet tranquillity of Henry getting used to his new self is short lived when Akan (Danila Kozlovsky) raids the lab and goes after Henry and his girlfriend Estelle (Haley Bennett), using his band of mercenary soldiers and his telekinesis powers.
Just like in a video game, there are set designs that involve Henry going after Estelle, defeating Akan and trying to stay alive by any means necessary. There are three times that Akan shows up in the plot narrative, and this is the same motif used in video games to emphasize the overall objective. Also there to help out Henry is Jimmy (Sharlto Copley), a colourful character with a wide array of idiosyncrasies that capture the witty disposition of Mike Myers and the obscene nature of Sacha Baron Cohen. The character is sure to get under your skin.
I did not have a bad experience with both viewings, and I commend Hardcore Henry for its style and also for being a fresh experience for audience members who are not jarred by the film's aesthetic nature, or the action sequences that mimic a Paul Greengrass or Quentin Tarantino film. The action sequences are lavish and grandiose, but the experience was jarring when the sequences start to blur.
A friend of mine, a video gamer, began to feel nauseous about 20 minutes into the film and left to smoke a cigarette. Upon exiting, I noticed one audience member grinning from the excitement of the film, and another had to take off their glasses and rub their eyes from sure dizziness.
Rating: 2.5/5
---
Remi Caron-Liss hosts At The Movies (with Iconic Sounds), every Tuesday at 8AM, only on CJLO.
Pages
Staff Login | Advertise | Our Location | RSS | Contact Us
