RSS

Hosted by Patricia Petit Liang

Stories by Karl Knox and Patricia Petit Liang

Produced by Patricia Petit Liang

I first heard about Denmark’s Iceage in an Iggy Pop interview with Australia’s Triple J in 2013. They had just released their critically acclaimed sophomore album You’re Nothing, and Iggy was praising them on their ability to “express negative energy.” This led me to downloading the album immediately, and I’ve been a fan since. With Plowing Into the Field of Love, their 2014 album, they displayed their growth in both musicality and lyricism. Their latest effort, Beyondless, supports Iggy Pop’s claim. It demonstrates further growth and maturity and proves that Iceage is a band with something to say, and that they are here to stay.

As I walked into La Sala Rossa, the first thing I noticed was the drummer and bassist standing behind the merch table. Excited to see half of a band that I’ve admired for years, I had to go over and say something. Their lean, brooding faces changed as I reached out a hand and congratulated them on their new album. These were not the gloomy guys I expected.  

As I turned around, their opening act was setting up a large, 47-stringed harp. Mary Lattimore proceeded to loop her gorgeous plucking’s and transport the audience to a different place. She even brought out Iceage’s guitarist, Johan Wieth, to accompany her and “riff”. As Mary Lattimore left the stage, the audience began to buzz and move towards the front of the stage in anticipation. “Do you think there will be a moshpit?” asked a guy in front of me. “Nah I don’t so,” answered his friend.

Iceage strutted onto the stage, accompanied by a violinist, picked up their instruments and went right into the first track off Beyondless, “Hurrah”. Half a second after they kicked things off, the pit opened up and bodies started to fly. Lead singer, Elias Ronnenfelt, strutted about the stage looking like a strung-out Harry Styles as the other band members attacked their instruments. He looked out into the crowd as he sang and yelled deeply personal and poetic lines that were yelled right back at him.

At first glance, you wouldn’t expect these pretty-punks to have enough angst to put on a true punk show. Their minimalistic, fashionable style might set them apart from other bands of the genre, but it does not stop them from expressing negative energy in an exciting, engaging, and slightly dangerous live show. They just look better doing it.

Mainly playing tracks from Beyondless, they hit the crowd with some deep cuts and fan favourites, keeping the pit going and the energy alive. Drummer, Dan Nielsen, did not let up once. His arms flew around the kit, smashing cymbals and banging toms with remarkable timing. Suave, cool, and collected bassist, Jakob Pless stood on the right side of the stage, looking back at Nielsen often, providing the backbone of the angry soundscape that emitted from the speakers. One cannot understate the importance of guitar tone in a live set, and Weith has it down to an art. His huge, sharp riffs filled the room, constantly escalating the energy of the crowd.

The barrage lasted just over an hour, then they put their instruments down, and coolly walked off stage to cheers from the crowd. It’s impressive enough that these young men from Denmark have released consistently strong albums, but their live performance shows that that’s not all they are capable of. They are experienced, professional, and passionate musicians that know how to work a crowd. Now I need to find out where they buy their clothes.

Growing up, on Sunday car trips from Ottawa to Montreal to visit family, we would put on CBC and listen an iconic voice narrate the lives of a family and their every-day adventures together. This family was a part of my childhood, and it wasn’t until I was embarrassingly old that I learned that they were fictional and that the stories were all written by the creative genius with the distinguished voice.

In February of 2017, this beloved radio host lost his battle with cancer and I, along with countless other Canadians, was heartbroken. It wasn’t just the comfortingly familiar voice that we lost, but also the family that he brought to life. 

Sex? But I’m Canadian! is a beautifully done tribute to this beloved story-teller, whom I shall not to mention by name for fear of legal repercussions to the production company. Although they also refrained from any direct reference to the original show and it’s creator, there was no mistaking who “Dale,” “Marnie” and the “EP Bistro” were supposed to be.

Nico Dicecco was absolutely brilliant. The soft lilt of his voice, the perfectly matched cadences and the warmly familiar inflections made me tear up the moment he started speaking. It was like meeting a long-lost relative in a dream and getting to spend a few precious moments with them again before waking up. The tales he told breathed life into characters whose stories I’d thought had ended.

Only these stories told a different side of “Dale” and “Marnie’s” life, a side that would never have been aired on the polite, family-oriented CBC. These stories opened doors that so often remain closed, and did so while staying perfectly within the style and format laid out by the original author. Even though the stories were about sex, kink and BDSM, “Dale” and “Marnie’s” characters were in no way compromised or changed (except by name). Nico and Jeff didn’t force unorthodox sex onto these characters in ridiculous ways that would never happen, like so much fanfic on the internet. These narratives felt as genuine and real as every other story ever aired on the well-known CBC show. On top of ingenious delivery, they were charming, heartwarming and sweet.

As much as I love the original stories, the one thing that has always bothered me was the relationship that the husband and wife shared. Twenty years is a long time to be with someone who constantly disappoints you: I always wondered how much love remained between them. After the passing of the original creator, I tried to accept that I would never know for sure if they were together because they still loved one another or just out of habit. The tales told in Sex? But I’m Canadian! gave me a lot of closure. They were so real and genuine that they ushered in a discovery of what their intimate life was like, and how, rather than “Dale’s” repeated failure driving a wedge between them, it was actually what kept them together all those years. 

This show is a walk down memory lane that quickly becomes a prance out of prude park and a full on gallop into sexual liberation – riding crop included. It gave me closure that I didn’t realize I needed and certainly never expected to get, not to mention a lot of laughs along the way. Sex? But I’m Canadian! was brilliantly put together and perfectly executed, and it comes with my highest recommendations to everyone who is 18 or older. Even if you don’t know and love the original series, the stories are fun, silly, open minded and heartwarming. 

When trying to get a record label off the ground, patience really is a virtue.

That’s the belief at least of Julien Manaud, co-founder of local independent label Lisbon Lux Records, which has made a name for itself in Montreal for the past five years, serving up some of the best in electronic pop in both of Canada’s official languages.

Patience is such a hallmark for Manaud that albums delivered by the label’s artists require months of preparation for choreographing their launch to ensure maximum exposure. Quite a few album release dates have been pushed back to achieve this goal.

“I think patience is what I learned in the last five years,” says Manaud with a laugh when reminiscing about the label’s slow but sure evolution. “If a journalist or an agent or someone you want to work with is not ready to work with you or with your project, well, don’t be frustrated about that; it means it’s not the right time, and just don’t be discouraged, and continue what you like and what you put trust in.”

But times have changed since the label’s inception, which Manaud co-founded after unsuccessfully trying to shop around the demo of the label’s first act, Le Couleur (whose Steeven Chouinard is the label’s other co-founder). Lisbon Lux’s roster has garnered much success in its hometown, and has even managed to gain a small yet growing international presence.

That success has not gone to Manaud’s head, as he has to constantly be on the lookout and adapt to the never-ending fluctuations experienced by the music industry.

“When I’m going to conferences and I see even big labels, they say every year the strategy changes, the new media changes,” says Manaud. “Now it’s Spotify, but it was not the case five years ago. What about in five years? We don’t know.”

Even as platforms like Spotify and Bandcamp have given artists easier ways to bypass the label system to promote their creations, Manaud is skeptical of the long-term success that can be gained from an artist going at it alone. A label’s team can focus on the less glamorous but vital administrative tasks involved in promoting an artist’s work, which Manaud contends is the best way for an artist to make the leap to greater heights.

“It’s very rare and hard to develop everything by yourself, because you can’t do everything by yourself,” Manaud reasons. “You can’t be your own booker, your own producer, own manager, own publisher. It takes a lot of people to organize everything.

“It’s something I like to say, but every time I meet an artist who pretends to do everything, the music is rarely good [laughs].”

As proof of both his perspective on the value of labels and Lisbon Lux’s own increasing reputation as a hub for electronic pop, Manaud notes the label receives 50 demos per week, with Manaud trying as much as possible to listen and respond to each request even if they’re ultimately passed on.

“I hate the situation when a band is waiting for the answer from the label and they never heard [back] about it, because I was an artist for 15 years, and I used to send my music and I really like when people took the time to answer,” Manaud elaborates. “I’m trying to answer every time, and even if I don’t like it, I explain ‘this is not my jam, it’s not close enough [to] the Lisbon Lux sound, but maybe you should contact this label or this label, or you can do that or do that.’ Even if I say no I can see they appreciate that I took the time to listen to the music.”

In terms of what has set Lisbon Lux apart from other Montreal labels, Manaud credits fostering an identity based on musical style rather than traditional linguistic divisions. That disregard for pursuing support from only one linguistic network has lead Manaud to seek out attention from anyone who would listen.

“I just decided to go everywhere, and I was knocking in Toronto, knocking everywhere and saying ‘Hey guys, we have a cool label. It’s not a language label; it’s more about the sound.’”

Manaud even described it as his “mission actually, I’m really trying to put my artists, French or [English] to the global market.”

While his goal of breaking down language barriers is becoming increasingly fruitful, there are still challenges to keep an eye on crossing into the halfway point of a decade’s existence. In particular, Manaud seeks to maintain a slice of the streaming pie for Lisbon Lux amid the subsuming co-option of services like Spotify by major labels.

 “It’s a bit sad in a way, [...] at one time they were not fighting for digital, so we were happy to play in this court between small labels,” says Manaud.

However, running a label does have its joys. Having previously thrown parties for Lisbon Lux’s anniversaries, it’ll be no different this year, with the label’s fifth birthday being celebrated at the recently opened Station F-MR. The summer public square, decked out with repurposed metro cars, will serve as a stage for four artists on the label’s roster, and Manaud figured June festivities would be an attractive alternative to past anniversaries.

“The party was in February and March in the past years, which was a bit sad because it was winter,” says Manaud. For this year, it was decided that “we’re going to wait until the summer and do something more summery.”

However, Manaud’s original idea for the anniversary involved paying tribute to the French duo that was the inspiration for the label’s ethos.

“We wanted to play live the Moon Safari album from Air, with every musician from Lisbon Lux,” Manaud says excitedly. But the sheer logistics of the concept, not to mention raising a baby, proved to be a bit too much to pull off. “We kind of [said] ‘okay, let’s forget this project, maybe for the 10 years [laughs].’”

Lisbon Lux Records celebrates its fifth anniversary with performances by Beat Market, Le Couleur, Paupière, and Radiant Baby on Saturday, June 30 at Station F-MR (Allée des Barges) at 6:00 PM, $20.