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The second-to-last week in August is a busy one for lovers of electronic music. With MUTEK well underway, local and international producers are doing live sets in the neighbourhood of Place-des-Arts. After seeing the final act of the free outdoor Éxperience event, some head home, while others go to one of the late-night MUTEK events. Some of us, myself included, are headed to a different kind of after-party.

FACETS is the first rave run by FANTOM, aka Fédération des Arts Nocturnes. It’s an 8-hour, all night event with two rooms, 15 DJs, artist installations, film screenings, and paid dancers. However, it also serves the second purpose of acting as a fundraising event for FANTOM. A non-profit organization, they have as their mission to advocate for those who are employed in and organize Montreal’s underground nightlife, with special focus on queer, trans, BIPOC, and other marginalized individuals. They work both by advocating for comprehensive nightlife policy in the city, but also by communicating with the different collectives, organizers, employees, and partygoers in order to share resources and promote collaboration.

All of this to say, FACETS is more than a rave. Talking to Oli, one of the FANTOM founders, he explained that this was both a fundraising event as well as an opportunity to bring several of the city’s more established collectives to the table, to sit down and have a conversation with them all.

Biking to the event from MUTEK took less than twenty minutes. The building looks nondescript from the outside, and I might have worried I was in the wrong place if not for the booming bass I could hear from the sidewalk and the groups of partygoers standing outside to talk. The inside had an industrial feel, with concrete floors and exposed ventilation on the ceiling. What jumps out immediately is the effort put into creating an atmosphere. Both of the rooms have their own art installations, with hanging artifacts and projections from artists @trinityfearon + @vivfirlie and @giotto.the.imposter. Dancers in the center, chill areas to the sides, there’s something for everyone. In the main room, referred to as “The Studio”, four towers of speakers from local soundsystem Factory keep the dancefloor alive, with music hanging around 100 decibels, although I did catch it spike up to 115 (earplugs necessary!)

Each of the rooms provided unique musical experiences, with different DJs from the respective collectives bringing their own taste and mixing styles to their sets. When I arrived, the Homegrown Harvest residents esme and Lia Plutonic were selecting for the main room, combining vinyl and digital tracks with heavy bass and crisp highs, playing genres ranging from techno to bass music. In the second room, “the loft”, projections played out on hanging sheets of cloth, barely illuminating the dense crowd below. In the booth, Flush residents Fieldnote and Mx. Blaire brought bass-heavy thumpers that poured out over the custom-built Pomelo speakers, another favourite soundsystem among the Montreal underground.

Overall, FACETS is much more than a simple party. Like the electronic music scene itself, it involves so much passion and dedication, with artists, sound engineers, DJs, and organizers putting their all into creating a night that is not only a stellar musical experience, but one that builds community, where artists of all sorts contribute to creating an unforgettable night. Many of the people involved put their time in for free, out of a love for nightlife, including photographer Philippe Manh Nguyen, who was kind enough to let me use his photos for this article.

FANTOM, like these parties, need appropriate fundraising to continue operating, and to continue fighting for a better nightlife, so that everyone involved can get paid appropriately for the work they do and have the financial security to keep going. For FANTOM, a comprehensive city nightlife policy is a critical step to making cool, fun, musically experimental raves like FACETS sustainable in the long term, in a way that works for the employees, artists, organizers, partygoers, and nearby residents. If you’re interested in learning more or getting involved in one of their projects, you can find more information at their website: https://fantomtl.cargo.site. I’m eager to see what FANTOM will do next, and can’t wait to see the DJs at their next event.

Photos by Philippe Manh Nguyen @philippemanh

Grammy-Nominated Rock/Pop/Soul/Funk/Candombe Singer/Songwriter Julieta Rada joins us to speak on her brand new single "Adiós a la Rama" (ft. Fito Paez) and her upcoming album!

Other conversation topics: Copa America, Stevie Wonder, chocolate, the early 2000's Latin wave, La Voz Kids, chivito, and lots of other cool stuff!

The fun starts at 5pm EST only on CJLO!

Every Montrealer has their conceptions about Osheaga. The idea of getting to Ile St Helene at the peak of summer’s heat, with massive crowds of people to see live music could easily be a heaven or hell situation. If you’re one of those people leaning toward the hell side, I challenge you to read to the end of this article to see if I can convince you otherwise. 

There’s no denying that part of the Osheaga experience is unfortunately, well, getting there. Drivers are weary of getting stuck in traffic, so most opt to take the yellow metro line down to Jean Drapeau, which can also cause headaches. I started my journey at Namur station and even in that part of the city you could easily point out who was heading where due to their outfits. And I should be precise, those dressed up in cosplay as their favourite anime character were to get off at Place D’armes for Otakuthon, and those dressed as festival cosplayers stayed on to the end of the line. 

The clothes were something to talk about. Everyone seemed to be outdoing each other with the best-forgotten pieces from the y2k movement. Big boots, lingerie, tiny bags, cowboy hats; every look was uniquely tailored to the individual and was seriously impressive.

Maybe you won’t believe me, but it actually made me so happy to see people put so much effort into their outfits. Sure, you could argue that there was sort of a desperate energy to try and force a #bratsummer. The same kind of feeling you get with a staged photo. But if you look on the flip side, these people are just trying to have fun, feel young, and when they sing along with Chappell, “call me hot not pretty” they mean it. 

I talk about it as if I'm outside looking in, which is a complete fabrication. I am not ashamed to admit that I spent probably way too much time on my festival outfit. And if you're wondering, I went completely in disguise, a silk scarf tied over my baseball cap, complete with shades. I felt unrecognizable like Brigitte Lin’s character in Chungking Express, which was the perfect energy for heading to a festival alone. All in all, the outfits were fire and I was taking mental notes from the crowds on how to be 10% cooler when I get back to the real world. 

Luckily on Friday, arriving at Osheaga was pretty streamlined. I started my day early along with the other festival-goers who wanted to make the most of their ticket purchase. As soon as I passed the gates, there was already a pulsing energy in the air. As Blonde Redhead dropped their first few notes on the main stage, my day had begun. 

I quickly learned the secret to this festival, and that is that it’s all about your enjoyment. After all, you paid for your ticket, this is your experience. Once you decide to go with the flow of things, and don't feel the need to rush, Osheaga makes a lot of sense. Walking under the trees of Jean Drapeau park, with the glittering reflection of the sun on the water I made my way over to the Green Stage to see the last part of The Japanese House. Singer Amber Bain was glowing and seemed just so happy to be there. The group’s pretty floating melodies were a perfect backdrop for the sunny summer day. While I was waiting for Arlo Parks, young British artist Mimi Webb had taken the stage. Famous for her viral video during the pandemic, she brings a sort of glam diva vibe to the pop star concept, reminiscent of a young Britney Spears. Whether you like mainstream pop or not, you can’t deny that this woman can sing and I mean really sing, and sounded better live than probably a lot of established artists.

In perfect time, Arlo Parks came on next. Her 2023 album My Soft Machine was an intimate portrayal of her private universe. And yes, she managed to bring her sweet and sensitive sounds to the big festival stage with great success. Her big fans hung onto every word and those who were new to her were also caught vibing along. Seeing her perform kind of felt like having a good conversation with an old friend. 

Up next was, well, whatever you wanted. Another show maybe? Or take a break from the heat and have a drink? My feet took me to the most perfect spot at the Island stage to see electronic legend Romy. Having just released her first solo album Mid Air last year, the crowd had done their homework, memorized all the lyrics and were ready to see their hero. Romy’s set was energetic, playful and overflowing with love. Her love songs are the equivalent of queer anthems and seeing rainbow flags being waved in the crowd brought such a placid feeling of calm and warmth to the dancefloor. 

The same good feeling of acceptance came the next day for Chappell Roan. A sea of screaming fans with pink cowboy hats and handwritten love notes welcomed her as she took the stage. The singer shot up to fame quite literally last year after the release of her debut album The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess and her subsequent tour opening up for Olivia Rodrigo. Fans love her for her carefree, messy optimism, heart of gold, and a gift to be able to tie her deepest feelings to melody. Prancing in her twisted pink pixie costume, she delivered her songs at full force to adoring fans. Frankly, there was no show after Chappell Roan. 

But it was only 4:15 pm, so I went exploring once again. Unlike Friday, Saturday was sold out and you could easily tell the difference. Lineups were endless for bathrooms, food and water. And to my dismay, there was a significant drop in cute festival outfits and more people donning pop punk band t-shirts. Although, maybe the guy dressed up as Billy Joe Armstrong American Idiot era with the red tie and black tee deserves some credit. 

My feet then took me to go see Sofia Kourtesis who did a custom DJ set. Her pulsing deep rhythms were a perfect backdrop for the intense heat. When the sprinklers came on by the stage, the dancing crowd completely embraced the tumbling water. As much as I wanted to join in on the fun, I couldn't stay long as I wanted to make sure I got a good spot for Brittany Howard. Once again over by the Green Stage, she graced the stage in the beautiful setting sun, and after nine other musicians piled onto the stage her set had begun. Her performance was passionate, raw, and explosive. She may have started calmly, but when she tapped into something deep down inside of her, her passion unlocked. The pain, love, grief and sadness behind her lyrics felt all too real, as if she were experiencing those moments right on stage. It was clear she had intent, purpose, and that she was here to be real with you and lay her soul on the line. 

Her powerhouse performance came to a close and within minutes, in juxtaposition, T-Pain had started playing on the neighbouring stage. Walking away from the stage and through the crowd, you could see people twerking, badly, but still having a great time. 

The last band I knew I needed to see was Smashing Pumpkins. Coincidentally enough, their latest album Aghori Mhori Mei dropped the same day as their set at Osheaga. So you can’t blame them for sprinkling in a few new songs in between their classics. This time, I was further back from the stage, but still had a fun, immersive experience. It was great to see everyone singing and dancing sync in through their favourite parts of their favourite songs. 

Whatever doubts I had about the festival wore off quite soon as I immersed myself into its culture. It was fun to go in there alone, I was quite lucky - other people’s friend groups welcomed me in dancing and I was always greeted with warmth in any interaction. Throughout the whole weekend, there was an underlying current of positivity and fun. People were there for the right reasons. 

So have I convinced you yet? I recommend going for next year’s edition, of course, with the right outfit. 

Lisa Rupnik is the station manager at CJLO and co-host of The Last Stop. She is also an avid record collector, a “no nonsense” film lover and feels that her personality can be best defined by her two favourite bands: YMO and Sparks. 

For a music journalist, covering multiple local gigs a month, shows can often become monotonous. Same venues, same industry acquaintances, same local beer, same flavours of indie rock, it can be difficult to find something new to say. 

But, once in a while, the weary critic will find herself in attendance of something truly special. This was the case for me at this past Tuesday’s show at L’Escogriffe featuring Burlington Vermont’s own Greg Freeman. 

To be fair, I did have high hopes for this show. For the past year, I had been nothing short of evangelizing Freeman’s 2022 record I Looked Out to any music fan who would listen. Freeman’s sound exists in the, now inexplicably trendy, genre of current alt-country. Bands like Wednesday, Rat Boys, and Slow Pulp have been celebrated in recent years for merging heavy guitar tones with identifiably ‘Americana’ instrumentation. This scene has often been dubbed ‘country-gaze,’ to both my and Freeman’s confusion.

Yet, Greg Freeman sets himself apart from others in this current craze by foregoing some of his contemporaries’ emo influences towards a different sort of harkening towards the 90s, employing distorted horns and harmonicas evocative Neutral Milk Hotel or The Microphones, with yearning vocals that sound straight off of Jason Molina’s The Lioness.

Before the show started, it seemed to me that not many in attendance were incredibly familiar with Freeman’s album. Many at L’Esco were there as friends of the openers, fans of Sasha Cay especially, and those in the industry who snagged some last-minute tickets. However, I can safely say that those who did not know Freeman before his show at L’Esco were converted into fast fans (as several friends came up to me to tell me they were immediately going home to stream his album). 

First up on the night’s bill was local musician KT Laine. Laine’s music is reminiscent of soulful indie songstresses such as Angel Olsen,  echoing back to the singer-songwriters of the 1960s. KT Laine had the tough responsibility of warming up a L’Esco crowd, slowly trickling in from loitering around outside the venue sipping beers. However, her sweet voice and bashfully quirky stage presence seemed to bring together the, at this point, small crowd of largely friends. Laine played largely off her 2022 LP Knock Knee, which fans of Olsen, Sharon Van Etten, and Cate Le Bon would certainly enjoy. 

The venue began to fill up by the time Sasha Cay and her band took the stage. Sasha Cay played a moody, lo-fi indie set, featuring several new songs. After shouting out her bandmate James Clayton’s new album, Sasha and her band finished off the set with “Comedy”, the lead single off her much-beloved 2023 record Spin. It was apparent that many in attendance knew the song by heart as the front of the room started singing along with the chorus and swaying to this local favourite.

After a brief break. Greg Freeman kicked off his set with “Right Before the Last Waves Took Vestris,” ushering everyone back inside from their smoke breaks. From this song, already a high point of the album, the audience was hooked on Freeman and his five-piece band, including bass, drums, keys and saxophone. After this first song, Freeman took a moment to introduce himself to the Montreal audience, in a shockingly soft spoken voice, contrasting with his raspy wails. This being the first time the Burlington-resident has toured in Canada, he relayed that the last time he’d been up north was to see Bob Dylan perform. “You are a very loud crowd,” he said with a chuckle, “The Bob Dylan crowd was silent.” In a fitting transition, Freeman then donned a harmonica holder for the song “Come and Change My Body.” 

Throughout the set, friends were turning to each other, eyes lit up, breathlessly surprised by the show they stumbled upon. 

Another highlight of the show was the song “Tower.” This song had Freeman turning back towards his band to shred towards the bass and horn, with sections of harsh noise giving way to melodies from the saxophone and then back again. This is Freeman’s most intense song, as his voice strained and cracked over the concluding bars. 

The small venue, only a little over half-full crowd, and Freeman’s almost timid stage presence between songs wouldn’t lead to high expectations of the show. However, Freeman’s exemplary songwriting and electric stage presence made this show cut through the noise of the near daily indie shows here in Montreal. All through the set, you had the sense that you were witnessing something truly special, an artist on his rise right before he blows up. It had the sense of one of those moments you could look back on fondly in later life, getting to boast you saw an arena-playing artist when they still toured in small bars. Greg Freeman surely made the best of his first Canadian tour and wowed Montreal on this otherwise unremarkable Tuesday night.