Category: Music

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Music

Nicholas Craven brings Fair Exchange No Robbery to life in Montreal

Hoodie on display at the Fair Exchange No Robbery pop-up event on Jan. 13. Photo by Stefano Rebuli // The Concordian

The local producer hosted a pop-up event on January 13 for his 2022 joint project with Boldy James.

Montreal-based producer Nicholas Craven has been building an empire in the underground hip-hop realm for years now, both in and outside of Canada. His work with Griselda signee Boldy James, a Detroit rapper, led him to one of his biggest breaks yet. 

After initially linking up during a tour stop in Montreal, Craven later made several trips to Detroit to record a collaborative mixtape with Boldy James. Released in 2022, Fair Exchange No Robbery became a staple for underground hip-hop fans thanks to its combination of blissful soul sample loops with Boldy James’ clever lyrics and icy, deadpan delivery. 

To commemorate the album’s success, Craven threw a pop-up event on Jan. 13. It was held at Léviter Mtl, a local streetwear shop on St-Denis St. The official merchandise hoodies for the project were being sold in-person for the first time, and the event doubled as an autograph signing. Dozens of fans dropped by throughout the night to meet Craven, buy merchandise, and have him sign their hoodies and vinyl records. 

Additionally, it has gained prominent cultural significance in Craven’s hometown: the mixtape’s cover is a flip of the iconic design on Quebec’s maple syrup cans.  He spoke highly about the artwork: “I’m so proud of that cover. There’s so much nostalgia within that design, and I found something that could be enjoyed by so many people. To be the first to rock it on a cover that way is hype.” Stack Moolah, the artist who created the cover, elaborated on how it has given a new life to an existing design: “For fans outside of Montreal, they may easily associate it with a hip-hop album rather than a can of syrup.” 

Craven was visibly enthused by one fan who brought a can of syrup for him to autograph. Both artists credit Boldy James as the inspiration behind the cover, thanks to a lyric on “Power Nap” where he raps, “Dozed off in a coupe off a four of maple.” A drug called “lean” is commonly referred to as syrup, and can be seen on the artwork flowing into the sap buckets.

There were also DJ sets throughout the event from Craven, Stack Moolah and RobyStudios (Roberto Viglione). Stack Moolah, the man behind the cover art, mixed classic and underground hip-hop. Craven followed suit, also playing his new collaborative mixtape with Boldy titled Penalty of Leadership in full (which was released a day prior, on Jan. 12). He simultaneously debuted a slew of unreleased Boldy James tracks, leftovers made during the sessions for that project. Roby, the producer-engineer who mixed and mastered Fair Exchange No Robbery, brought on some infectious, danceable energy by mixing amapiano music, a go-to genre for his recent DJ sets.

The night served as an accessible rendezvous point for fans of the project and aficionados of underground hip-hop in general. Local rappers Rowjay and Mike Shabb even stopped by later in the evening, giving fans the chance to meet and speak with them. Craven was in good spirits: “The turnout was amazing—way more people than I thought and so many hoodies got sold. Everything was perfect, way above my expectations.” 

Reflecting on the album’s legacy, the producer stated: “It’s ill that one of my favourite designs from my culture is now associated with me through hip-hop. It’s the best thing that could have happened.”


Fair Exchange No Robbery and Penalty of Leadership are available on all streaming platforms.

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Music Quickspins

QUICKSPINS: Kali Uchis — ORQUÍDEAS

Cover art courtesy of Apple Music.

The Colombian-American singer pulls from an array of dance styles on her second Spanish-language album, to stunning results.

Before releasing her latest album Red Moon in Venus in March 2023, Kali Uchis already announced that her next album—a Spanish effort—was on the way. ORQUÍDEAS arrived on Jan. 12, less than a year later. It is the Colombian-American singer’s fourth studio album and second Spanish-language effort following Sin Miedo (del Amor y Otros Demonios) in 2020.

ORQUÍDEAS is her most versatile album to date, with a sonic palette that pulls from a large range of dance music styles. From upbeat to mellow and ambient, the album contains numerous moods and textures. The opening track “¿Cómo Así?” features an upbeat rhythm driven by punchy kicks, clearly influenced by house music. This is equally the case for “Me Pongo Loca” and “Diosa,” both of which are just as bouncy, but more lowkey and slow-tempo. “Igual Que Un Angél” is a glimmering piece of dance-pop characterized by all sorts of twinkling synthesizers and a heavy bassline. The song is a duet with Mexican artist Peso Pluma, whose lower vocal range perfectly contrasts Uchis’ higher pitch. His performance is similarly smooth and pleasant, making for a perfectly complementary addition. Elsewhere on the record, she steps into familiar territory with bedroom pop and R&B tracks like “Pensamientos Intrusivos” and “Young Rich & In Love,” which recall the sounds of her usual work.

Latin dance styles are also crucial to the album’s soundscape. “Te Mata” is tried and true to the Cuban bolero subgenre with its traditional instrumentation and lyrics about love. Uchis is falsely labeled as the villain in a toxic relationship, but embraces it, showing that she is the bigger person. This track is one of many on ORQUÍDEAS that highlights her fantastic vocal ability and range. Here, her opera-like voice goes from a lower register to a higher one with full power. She soars to even greater vocal heights on other tracks, notably pulling out whistle notes on the track with Pluma. Her vocal layering and harmonization are stunning, especially on “Heladito” where her background harmonies are even more entrancing than the song’s heavenly chimes and strong groove. Her embrace of bilingualism across the record is noteworthy as well. Similarly to “Hasta Cuando” and “Como te Quiero Yo” from Red Moon in Venus, the singer effortlessly switches between English and Spanish, from single lines to entire verses at a time.

The last leg of the record is essentially dominated by reggaeton, bringing a burst of energy to the record with back-to-back upbeat songs. “Muñekita” is a fun reggaeton banger that continuously speeds up and slows down, offering up dynamic tempo changes. She is joined by Dominican rapper El Alfa and American rapper JT (of City Girls), both of whom deliver verses full of personality. “Labios Mordidos” reads as a song of sirens where she teams up with Colombian singer Karol G. The two offer a sultry track, flirtatiously exchanging and complimenting each other over a dynamic piece of reggaeton production with different rhythms and melodic layers. Uchis brings in Puerto Rican hitmaker Rauw Alejandro for “No Hay Ley Parte 2” to put a fresh spin on a single she first released in 2022. The revamped version swaps out the original club beat for reggaeton. The two-part “Dame Beso // Muévete” closes the album on an irresistibly infectious note, with Uchis offering a merengue track. It comes ready with a tempo switch in the second half which brings the song to a speed that is guaranteed to get any and everyone moving on the dancefloor. That would explain why it is already receiving heavy praise from fans on TikTok.

ORQUÍDEAS is undoubtedly one of Uchis’ best offerings to date. The record is danceable, groovy, atmospheric and ambient, but also researched and versatile. She draws from numerous types of Latin music and dance genres, combining them into a record that constantly takes on new directions and executes them beautifully.

8.5/10

Trial Track: Dame Beso // Muévete

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Music

Student and staff 2023 top music recap 

Graphics by Carleen Loney @shloneys / The Concordian

To close off 2023, students and staff share their music highlights from the past year. 

Every year, we are blessed with new music releases, visits from various artists hosting concerts and showcases in Montreal, and countless music-based events throughout the seasons. Last year was no exception. Concordia students and staff at The Concordian share the music they most interacted with in 2023 before we collectively jump towards the music 2024 has to offer. 

Aidan Matthews, a photography student in his last semester, got to spend two nights at the Bell Centre as part of the photo team for Drake’s It’s All A Blur Tour after getting the call the morning of the first show. “Watching Drake come down the steps to ‘Look What You’ve Done’ gave me goosebumps both times,” he says. 

Matthews had been listening to Drake since high school so it was a real full-circle moment and a key music memory of his year. Otherwise, 2023 was a year when he became bored with a lot of the music he was listening to. “I listened to less rap than in previous years,” Matthews adds. The Pinegrove Shuffle trend on TikTok pointed him to Pinegrove, who became one of his most listened-to bands in 2023. Matthews also listened to a lot more pop, folk and alternative with artists like Zach Bryan, Del Water Gap, Toro Y Moi, and Caroline Polachek.

Another photography student, Simaiya Shirley, primarily listened to indie and alternative-based artists. She wanted to release pent-up rage and leave room for love, which translated to the music she engaged with in 2023. Recent releases she gravitated toward include Billie Marten’s Drop Cherries, Feist’s Multitudes and This is Why by Paramore. These projects and others from past years have all become musical crutches for Shirley and are still artists that she consistently returns to for belonging and guidance.

Graduate student in Women, Gender and Sexuality studies Akira De Carlos comments on how “Loading” by James Blake was definitely their song of the past year. “James Blake is probably my favourite artist of all time and 2023 was very much a ‘damage in repair’ year for me, so ‘Loading’ felt very reflective of that,” they share. De Carlos rode their bike a lot to that song and it always hit, because it felt like a very transitional but powerful song and 2023 was just that kind of year for them. The graduate student has always loved James Blake for the emotion he evokes in them and this song was another good example of raw vulnerability which reflected De Carlos’ “in my healing” era of 2023. “I knew I was setting myself up for greatness but I wasn’t quite there yet and ‘Loading’ feels exactly that,” they add.

As for studio arts student Viva Egoyan-Rokeby, their most exciting new music moment of 2023 was seeing post-punk and noise rock band Model/Actriz live in Montreal last spring. That show was most definitely memorable for them and they are still looking forward to any future music project. Although Egoyan-Rokeby mostly listens to older music, 2023 was a year in which they branched out into listening to newer stuff from their favourite genres. “Some notable new-ish artists I discovered this year were Aurat, which is a Pakistani American darkwave/coldwave band, Second Still (more coldwave), and De Ambassade (even more coldwave, but Swedish this time),” they share. Last year was also a huge PJ Harvey year for them.

The Concordian’s video editor Jacqueline Lisbona’s favourite music moment of 2023 was the Morgan Wallen concert back in September. She’s a huge country music fan and it was one of the best concerts she’s ever been to. “I also loved ending off 2023 with Tate McRae’s Think Later album because it really helped me get through the last push of exam studying and I love her music so much,” Lisbona says. Her favourite tracks on the album include “stay done” and “grave.”

News editor Emma Megelas’ music highlight was the day Bad Bunny’s new album, Nadie Sabe Lo Que Va a Pasar Mañana, came out as a complete surprise to everyone. “It was the best day of my life and I had no idea what to expect,” Megelas says. That album resonated with her 2023 so much she got to discover new parts of herself, grow in new ways and just be present without any expectations of what would happen next and that album is the perfect description of her 2023. Megelas definitely sees herself bringing Bad Bunny over to 2024.
As for myself, I always seem to surpass the amount of music I listen to each year and find new music gems. I’m also immensely grateful to have been able to attend performances overseas in 2023 from some of my top listened-to artists like Yves Tumor and Kendrick Lamar on stage during NxWorries at Primavera Sound Festival, and incredible live shows in Montreal such as Yaeji and James Blake. New artists on my radar in 2023 included Swiss rapper Makala, and French composer and singer Chassol. My rotation in terms of favourite 2023 album releases were Sampha’s Lahai, Kelela’s Raven and The Rat Road by SBTRKT. I thoroughly am looking forward to all upcoming 2024 music moments.

Categories
Concert Reviews Music

Travis Scott takes Montreal by storm

Travis Scott performing at the Bell Centre on Jan. 9, 2024. Photo by Stefano Rebuli // The Concordian

The Houston rapper put on an explosive spectacle at the Bell Centre for his Circus Maximus Tour.

On Jan. 9, Travis Scott made his grand return to Montreal with his Circus Maximus Tour, in support of his latest album UTOPIA. His last visit to the city was in March 2019 for the Astroworld Tour, almost five years ago. From the stage design to the setlist, Scott designed an exhilarating, explosive and energetic experience filled with tons of surprises and eye candy.

Following a brief DJ set from Chase B, fans eagerly started to open mosh pits as the intro to “HYAENA” began playing. Scott suddenly popped out from beneath the stage, accompanied by fireworks and flames. He jumped and dashed around to every area of the stage, sending the crowd into a frenzy. He continued with UTOPIA tracks “THANK GOD” and “MODERN JAM,” the latter of which was complemented by a stunning sequence of neon lights, both onstage and onscreen. This high energy was maintained throughout the night as the rapper performed a variety of bangers spanning his entire catalogue. 

He took fans back to the Rodeo days with fan favourites “3500,” “Nightcrawler,” and “Maria I’m Drunk,” as well as earlier hits “Upper Echelon” and “Mamacita.” Songs like “Aye!” by Lil Uzi Vert proved to be absolute starters, igniting the entire crowd into jumping in sync, from general admission to the seats. Scott also brought a more mellow tone to the show with slower, sung tracks like “90210” and “MY EYES.” His melodic auto-crooning sounded just as good as it does on record, and felt complete with the crowd’s cheers backing him. The Houston MC also let his vocal chops shine throughout the night, singing acapella on several occasions. He most notably kept The Weeknd’s “CIRCUS MAXIMUS” refrain going for an additional minute, launching into an extended vocal solo.

After a brief interlude, the intensity picked up as Scott pulled out more hits. The crowd belted ASTROWORLD favourites like “BUTTERFLY EFFECT” and “CAN’T SAY” word-for-word, showcasing just as much excitement for recent hits like “MELTDOWN” and “TOPIA TWINS.” These tracks were met with no shortage of smoke, fire, and fireworks either. “I KNOW?” made for a standout moment, with the crowd anthemically roaring the chorus after being asked to sing it.

The show’s pinnacle arrived near the end with Scott’s massive mosh pit anthem “FE!N.” Fans received no shortage of the hotly-anticipated song: it was played 11 times. Between each take he gestured to a section of the crowd, proclaiming that they were “feening for more” and upping the ante in the process. The mosh pits kept on coming, and the tension kept on rising. There was even a moment where Scott paused to call security (for unclear reasons) to no avail, prompting him to go through the crowd himself to handle it. Yet, even after stopping a fan from being ejected by security and returning a good three minutes later, he got right back into playing “FE!N.” He closed out the show by rapidly running through his classics “SICKO MODE,” “Antidote,” and “goosebumps,” before walking out to the ambient fan favourite “TELEKINESIS.”

The show’s biggest takeaway was its stage design. Spread across the floor, Scott’s stage resembles a mountain and is complete with different sections, altitudes, and platforms. He sang his slower tracks atop of a rising platform, bringing him closer together with the seated crowd. The entire thing was characterized by a realistic, rocky texture, as well as carvings and statues of archaic heads. The most notable of them was a floating, moving platform called the “parasail” (referring to the UTOPIA track of the same name). 

Scott selected a handful of fans to embark on the platform throughout the night, all of whom jumped and danced ecstatically while soaring above the crowd. One lucky fan was even joined by Scott himself during “I KNOW?.” Fans in the pit got the best view of the stage, but those in the nosebleeds were given an equally compelling view thanks to the videoboard looming above. This jumbotron wrapped around the entire arena, granting everyone a view and projecting bright colours, effects, and overlays over footage of Scott and the crowd.

Whereas the video experience varied based on one’s placement in the arena, the sound quality made for a seemingly unanimous experience. With subwoofers lined alongside the outskirts of the floor, the bass was extremely powerful, borderline overwhelming. Many of the lyrics were inaudible to those in general admission. Fans recall feeling their entire body rumbling, while others on the floor could be seen occasionally covering their ears.

Noise aside, the experience was clearly unforgettable for all. From the pits to the nosebleeds, practically every fan could be seen giving it their all. Marwa Lakehal, a communications student, got a first-hand experience of this: “Everyone was screaming the lyrics as loud as they could while dancing and jumping. It felt like I was a part of one big community.” Scott gave a speech only three songs in about how he loved Montreal for its energy, and what followed throughout the night was more than enough proof. Montreal truly gave Scott the rage that he fiends for when putting on his live shows.

Categories
Concert Reviews Music

1HUNNDWME and Occupy The Hood are redefining musical showcases

Sankya performing with Gurafiku (DJ) at 1HUNNDWME x Occupy The Hood on Dec. 23, 2023. Photo by Stefano Rebuli // The Concordian

The Montreal and Toronto organizations teamed up to highlight burgeoning musical talent in both Canadian cities with a new format.

1HUNNDWME was founded by KufisWorld (Omari Jabari) in Toronto. Wanting to redefine the standard of mainly being able to perform music in a concert setting, he envisioned an intimate format akin to a social gathering. Mansa, a Montreal DJ and co-founder of local movement Occupy The Hood, teamed up with him to bring the event format to Montreal, curating a lineup of local singers, rappers, DJs and creatives from both cities. The event was held on Dec. 23, 2023 at Le Belmont, a bar and venue on St-Laurent Blvd. in the Plateau Mont-Royal neighbourhood.

The night essentially consisted of a back-and-forth between DJ sets and brief artist performances. R&B singer Sankya kicked things off with her song “Liquor.” Many of her friends were present and gave her a warm response, filling a small room with a roar of energy. Toronto rapper Lowk3y followed up with a charismatic, solid offering of Toronto trap. SLM doubled down on the rap energy, offering a combination of styles ranging from drill to house. Joined by two backup dancers, she even poured out shots for friends and crowd members, further adding to the lighthearted, carefree tone that the event set out for. Santanafive followed with some mellow, hazy, drumless hip-hop, setting the tone for Nicholas Craven’s subsequent set. Each set was only limited to one or two songs, which allowed the event to have a unique, quick flow. This granted both the attendees and performers plenty of time to grab drinks, socialize and dance.

In the interim of these performances were DJ sets from Gurafiku, KidCrayola, Jdrdoo, Noel, AkaRashad, and Mansa. Together, they created a melting pot of styles which gathered hip-hop, Afrobeats (especially Amapiano), and Brazilian funk (baile). This mix of sounds allowed for the performers’ different genres to come together seamlessly, a versatility that Mansa wanted to showcase with the event. “Sometimes it is difficult for artists to imagine their music blending in with the variety of sounds they listen to everyday,” she explained.

Headlining the event was Nicholas Craven, who premiered his Boldy James collaboration “Jack Frost.” The track was released on Jan. 12 alongside their latest joint album Penalty of Leadership. He gave The Concordian an early look at the artwork which depicts Boldy James being wheeled into an ambulance, referencing his near-fatal car accident last January. The pair notably recorded the album in the immediate weeks and months following James’ release from the hospital. “Fair Exchange No Robbery was art. This album is about pain and experience,” he said.

The event was ultimately a successful, intimate gathering of music-based creatives. From DJs to producers to photographers, there was someone to meet at every turn. Through their creative union, 1HUNNDWME and Occupy The Hood effectively showcased their city’s respective music scene with an event predicated on sociability and enjoyment.

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Arts and Culture Community Interview

The art of leadership

Graphic by Maya Robitaille-Lopez

Four leaders in and around Concordia’s community spoke on how they implement creativity into their leadership approach.

In a polarized world, it is important to have leaders who focus on positivity, encouragement, and humanity. Being a leader now means being approachable and open, working well with colleagues, and honouring one’s role and connections. From top executives to middle management, creative leaders seek out purpose in their decisions, turning the activity of leading people into a masterpiece.

“I see leadership as an art in complex strategizing and continuous motivation and support of my team at work as well as my community,” said Kseniya Shibanova, team lead at Keywords Studios, a gaming company in Montreal. Being adaptable and open-minded while staying firm and true to yourself at the same time is not an easy task, and for Shibanova, it requires creativity and strong vision.

Shibanova believes that there is no reason to limit your creativity when it comes to leadership—it’s important to keep testing different approaches.. “I’m always striving to be innovative and test various ideas with my team. It can be in finding new ways to motivate or in creating custom solutions that will satisfy the need and keep everyone happy at the same time.”

For Christopher Menard, head chef of Bottega Pizzeria, employee satisfaction is a top concern in team leadership. “It’s really important to me to make sure that my staff is happy. I try to strike a good work-and-life balance for everyone,” he said. 

The chef, who has been cooking professionally for over 20 years, believes that a team achieves better results with someone who leads naturally. “I have worked with many chefs, and in doing so [I] was able to really pick and choose my leadership styles. I know exactly what’s going on in the kitchen at any moment and always know whether or not we are ready for a busy service. This is art,” Menard said

Chrissy Jean, a learning and development specialist in Montreal, highlighted how crucial it is for organizations to provide training to aspiring leaders in their teams. “Just like any art, we also get better at being a leader through practice and continuously improving ourselves. I believe that leadership is not an entitlement in which someone is born into the role,” she said. 

According to Jean, investing in a broad vision can be a valuable strategy to improve ways of leading and guiding people:  “Leadership is a rewarding, fruitful and wonderful journey. Practice your resilience, open your mind to feedback, and keep working at the amazing artform, you will be empowered to lead your people to achieve the common goal.”

Michael Netto, teaching a  leadership diploma course at Concordia University, believes that leaders must steadfastly drive towards the goals that align with their visions. “Leaders need to not only consider the voices of those followers, but to the voices of those who offer opposing perspectives. Those perspectives may help in discovering innovative ways to drive towards their goals,” he said. 

Netto believes that leadership is not restricted or reserved for those in politics or industry: it is most definitely an art, coupled with scholarly learnings. “Learn from the ones who have walked before you, learn from those who walk beside you, and continue learning from those who follow. With an open mind, you can better lead to serve those around you,” he concluded.

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Interview Music

Concordia artist Vikki Gilmore discusses her album Mental Backroads and its launch in Montreal

Vikki Gilmore opening for Iggy Alberts at Cafe Campus in Montreal. Photo by JG Photography @jgphotomtl

A chat with Gilmore about her debut folk album and a preview of its celebration launch event planned for Dec. 10. 

Following the recent release of her debut album Mental Backroads on Oct. 20, child studies MA Concordia student and music artist Vikki Gilmore discusses the making of the project and gives insight on her upcoming album launch event on Dec. 10 at Le Ministère in Montreal. 

The local artist was born and raised in the city and has been involved with music since high school. Gilmore taught herself how to play acoustic guitar around the age of 16 so she could accompany her poetry with music. She’s gone from school talent shows to doing gigs around Montreal during her time at university. 

The musician has been writing songs for years and said that finally coming out with an album is “a lifelong dream and it means the world to me.” Gilmore’s intention was to tell life stories that others can connect with, namely discussing family, friends, love, nostalgia, grief and mental health. 

Mental Backroads is meant to take the listener on a metaphorical and literal road trip through their mind. Its songs weave a story with stories from her personal experience that she hopes are relatable to others. The main message is about being patient with yourself during any new journey one embarks on. 

Gilmore describes her music as Indie-folk soup for the soul that could be mistaken for the soundtrack of Gilmore Girls. Her sound ranges from twangy folk to alternative pop/rock and is great for fans of Phoebe Bridgers, Daughter, boygenius, Lizzy McAlpine and Joni Mitchell. The artist also takes care in connecting what she’s learned from her background in psychology to her lyrics. The classes and her involvement and interest in the subject have deeply influenced how she conveys her emotions and ideas. She’s able to relate them efficiently through words with ease and connection via her knowledge of psychology.

Gilmore said the creation of her debut indie-folk album has been the most exhilarating and difficult part of her music career. “Releasing it independently has taken a lot of dedication, spending most of my nights planning promo, filming music videos with friends, doing my own PR, planning finances, and more,” she said. 

Having to write, record, plan a release, plan the promo, and then plan live shows was the same process as previous EP releases, but she said that completing an eight-song album involved difficult mental aspects and financial commitment. The scale this time was completely different. Gilmore also never creates music with profit in mind and therefore always writes from the heart. Most of the songs on this album took between 20 minutes and an hour of writing, while the album’s production process took months, “but the writing just flows,” she said. 

Vikki Gilmore shared that her writing process is therapeutic. The Montreal singer doesn’t adopt any particular habit while writing but notes that it helps her process difficult emotions, which is a habit she’s developed over the years. Notably, the song “Pieces in the Black” came from a time when she was navigating a deep sadness and wanted to write something she could listen back to in the future.

For this project, Gilmore collaborated with a few Canadian-based producers. Her longtime collaborator Mathieu LeGuerrier mixed and produced the majority of the songs. Jacob Liutkus produced “If I Wrote You”, and “Stranded” was produced by Gert Taberner. “It was really cool to work with a variety of producers and you can probably hear hints of each of their production styles in the different songs,” she said. 

Gilmore brainstormed the idea of a road trip and postcard aesthetic to match the theme of the music. Tyler Piechota designed it to depict vintage scenic postcards in Colorado, “which has become one of my favourite places in the world,” Gilmore shared. The physical design of the vinyl version is a postcard with a guide map as the insert. “The visuals are cohesive and match perfectly with the sound to support painting a picture of travelling through life and the experiences and growth that come with exploring ourselves and the world,” she said. 

Gilmore hopes that this project is a warm hug to whoever needs it. Like a lullaby from the moon when you can’t sleep at night, plagued with fears of abandonment, wondering about the people you lost touch with, thinking of the people that have passed on, and reflecting on life with kindness for the previous versions of yourself. Gilmore especially learned about resilience and self-love during the creation of Mental Backroads. “In an era of streaming and social media, it can be hard comparing yourself to others,” she added.  


The album launch on Dec. 10 at Le Ministère promises to be beautiful, with twinkling lights, a guitarist and a drummer to support Gilmore on stage. It will be her first live show since the pandemic and she is beyond eager to connect with other music fans during the evening. There will be performances of songs from Mental Backroads with some older songs and possibly some surprise ones. The night will start with Callahan and the Woodpile performing a solo acoustic act to set the stage for an indie-folk cozy night out. If you’re looking for an excuse to discover some new music, get dressed up, and have a night out on the town, stop by!

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Music

Designed by Hip-Hop

Graphic by Stefano Rebuli

How hip-hop culture is informing the artistic works of Concordia students Mariam Sy and Jaden Warren.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of hip-hop. Since its inception, the genre has ushered in several crops of new artists who have allowed for multiple generations to carry hip-hop through five decades. 

With the rise of several rappers also came their entrepreneurial ventures: big names such as Jay-Z, Pharrell Williams and Kanye West have made business moves in every domain from fashion and film to artwork and beverages. In permeating various spheres and artistic fields within the mainstream, hip-hop has created a trickle-down effect that continues to inspire today’s youth.

Mariam Sy is a communications student and filmmaker heavily inspired by Tyler, The Creator. She became enamoured with his music upon discovering it in her early teens and further gravitated toward him because of his other career ventures. 

The California rapper is a filmmaker, fashion designer and entrepreneur who directs his own music videos, owns the streetwear brand Golf Wang, and hosts an annual music festival in California called the Camp Flog Gnaw Carnival (est. 2012). This essentially opened Sy’s eyes to the idea of branching out: “You don’t have to be labelled as one act—you can be a multidisciplinary one.” This is what inspired her idea for a collective titled “LES ENFANTS.”

Sy has released numerous short films to her Vimeo account, many of which are directly inspired by the music and visuals of artists like Kendrick Lamar and Jay-Z (see “HURT”). She sees the throughline between hip-hop and cinema as natural. “They both draw from human experiences and emotions,” she said. “They weave a cultural fabric that mirrors and influences the stories of our current society and those to come.” She believes hip-hop’s wide crossover appeal is the result of it not strictly being a musical genre, but rather a culture gathering a multitude of themes and ideas that can apply to masses of people. 

Design student Jaden Warren also sees hip-hop as boundless, bigger than music. For him, it is a convergence of various subcultures and niches including youth culture, skateboarding, streetwear, high fashion, and more. His personal style and projects are directly inspired by rappers who welded fashion and hip-hop together like A$AP Rocky, Playboi Carti and Kanye West. Warren proclaims that “all hip-hop musicians wanna look fly,” and prides himself on helping artists bring a specific vision or style to life. This is evident in his work with local rappers: he designed a custom “4EVERYOUTH” jacket for KeBenjii! and curated the visual aesthetic for Justin Tatone’s BANE & BLESSING album, inspired by vintage fashion and Balenciaga’s creative director Demna. 

Warren believes that hip-hop crosses over easily into other domains because it is a form of artistic expression. He also cites designer Virgil Abloh as a primary influence, given Abloh’s extensive work within the hip-hop sphere and ascension in the fashion realm, most notably becoming the creative director at Louis Vuitton before his tragic passing in 2021.

Abloh’s success story as a Ghanaian-American man in fashion has inspired Warren’s mission statement: “I want to show Black kids that it’s cool to be creative.” Above all, the Concordia student is motivated by his youthful approach to creating, which is centred around simply having fun and feeling like a kid. 
The young designer’s most prolific work to date has been his clothing project “I can’t buy love so I buy clothes.” However, like hip-hop, he refuses to be bound to one field or title. As he puts it, he just likes to create stuff. The brand’s latest iteration is set to be revealed in his upcoming drop, set for release on Dec. 1 via @assassinsvizualz on Instagram.

Categories
Music

Taste test: behind the hype about Spotify Wrapped 

Graphic by Keven Vaillancourt @kindaokev

Why is Spotify’s annual retrospective such a big deal?

With December on the horizon, music consumers have already begun preparing for one of the year’s biggest holiday traditions. Were you thinking of Christmas? You would be wrong—Spotify Wrapped comes first. The streaming giant has already begun teasing the yearly recap campaign on its social media accounts, which will likely be revealed at the top of December.

Spotify Wrapped presents you with an objective portrait of your music taste throughout the year: here are your stats, up to you to deal with them now. It has created a phenomenon where you are reduced to your top five songs and artists, causing a string of silent judgments and reactions between users. Some fans even adopt an elitist stance based on their list being more “underground and niche” than others.

Wrapped can accurately indicate the music that one connects to most profoundly. Communications student Marwa Lakehal got to see all of her top five artists of 2022 in concert over the past year. Yet, anyone’s list can be defined by the surprise factor of having an unexpected contender crack your top five. Lakehal jokes about how a sad song wound up as her most streamed track last year. “I listened to it 52 times in one day, I must’ve been going through it,” she laughed.

Listeners have found loopholes to fine-tune their end-of-year results in advance. Websites like Stats for Spotify provide you with rankings for your top songs and artists over the last 4 weeks, last 6 months, and all-time, allowing you to check in whenever to see how things are looking. Some people will even use the “private session” feature to block certain music from interfering with the data tracking for Wrapped (I’m looking at you, Drake). 

Mathias François, also in communications, has acted upon this bias upon noticing that his streaming statistics differ from his personal ranking: “I’ll be like ‘why am I listening to more of this artist than another?’ and start listening to the other one instead.”

These quirks and surprises have turned Wrapped into a cultural phenomenon that dominates social media every year, even creating lore on TikTok. Enter, the girl whose top song was mouse-repellent noise, or better yet, the joke about Drake infiltrating nearly everyone’s top five list.

Apple notably birthed Apple Replay in 2019, its own recap feature for Apple Music. Replay differs from Wrapped with select features like year-round access to data, album-specific statistics, and milestones upon clearing a number of plays or minutes listened. As an Apple Music user, François appreciates the ability to check on his numbers but prefers Spotify’s surprise method. “You already know your results. It’s not the same hype,” he explains.

Local R&B singer Marzmates tips her hat to Spotify for getting listeners and artists to spend more time on their app by giving them incentives. “It has become a challenge to listen for more minutes than the previous year,” she said. “For artists, you get to look back and track your growth.”

No matter which app tries copying Spotify (Instagram’s Standouts being the latest cheap imitation), none of them can generate the excitement behind Wrapped. All that is left is to wait for the fateful day when everyone’s Wrapped posts overtake our feeds before we go back to worrying over which songs will and will not make it.

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Music

Punk’s not dead even if it’s underground

Lead singer of The Schizophonics belts out into the crowd at their most recent stop in Montreal alongside The Chats and the Cosmic Psychos. Photo by Daniel Cross.

 From down under to right here in Montreal, punk music is far from dead. 

Music blared into the old concert hall, black denim-clad fans shouted back at the stage and the mosh pit was going wild right in the center of it all. Amidst the chaos in the pit, someone passed out on the floor and everyone backed away in an instant. She got up after a few seconds and went right back into the mosh. That was a perfect example of who made up the largely misrepresented punk community: they were there to have a good time and make sure you were too, no matter who you were.

A blend of young and old came together for the three-set show earlier in October with The Schizophonics, Cosmic Psychos and the headlining Chats. With crowd surfing right at the first opener, this was one of the best concerts Daniel Racette had ever been to. Surpassing The Weekend, The Pharcyde, Travis Scott and Lil Yachty, Racette said The Chats had the best energy out of any concert he’d ever been to.

The punk scene currently has a huge age gap, with the older generation still in it from the beginnings of punk to the newer 18-25 age range. Punk’s popularity has seemingly skipped a generation and now is gaining huge popularity in the younger age group. 

With anti-establishment hues and inclusivity at the top of the order, the community is diverse. Different characters from all sorts of backgrounds are all united by punk.

I have wanted to see The Chats ever since I had Australian guests staying over at my house a little while back. They had put me on to The Chats and ever since then, it has been a deep dive into Australian punk. From The Chats and Amyl and the Sniffers to Private Function, Australia boasts one of the world’s most thriving hotbeds for punk rock. 

Whether it’s the heat or the remnants of Britain’s castaway disorderlies, Australian punk is on the rise. The Chats are the biggest success from down under, releasing their first album in 2016 and then exploding onto the big stage in 2017 with their Get This In Ya album song “Smoko.” 

Right here in Canada, we also have a thriving punk scene playing in small underground shows. Montreal’s home for punk is Traxide, formerly known as Fattal. Located in the St-Henri borough, punk bands from all over North America come to play in the two-story venue. But the exact location is only given when you ask a punk.

The Canadian punk community gathers mainly on Facebook through the Punk Canada page to discuss upcoming shows and bands. There, they also share new Canadian punk bands like Autonomous Apes, Television Supervision or Sonic Souvenir. 
To hear more Canadian punk, check out the Blackmarket playlist New Punk From Canada, a compilation of punk from Canadian bands, all released in 2023.

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Music Quickspins

QUICKSPINS: PinkPantheress — Heaven knows

Album cover of "Heaven Knows" by PinkPantheress. Courtesy of Apple Music.

The Londoner breakout star releases her debut album on Nov. 10.

Victoria Beverly Walker, who uses PinkPantheress as her stage name, is probably the prime example of TikTok propelling up-and-coming artists to fame. With a runtime of 34 minutes and counting 13 tracks, the 22-year-old singer shows the world she isn’t strictly the source of viral TikTok sounds anymore. 

Indeed, PinkPantheress initially crafted songs in her bedroom and posted them online. After one of her videos got half a million likes on TikTok, she decided to release a snippet of her song “Just A Waste.” This action resulted in a quick spread of the audio track all over the app in 2020. Months later, her songs “Pain” and “Break It Off” also became viral, only enhancing her presence and clear grasp of the younger generation on TikTok. 

Since her first time on stage in late 2021 for a short and sweet London venue visit, PinkPantheress has now accumulated a series of live gigs ranging from festivals to a couple of solo shows. However, fans of the artist had expressed disappointment towards her songs being too short to be performed live and her setlist not being extensive at all. 

With Heaven knows, her catalogue broadened. Joined with song features from Rema, Central Cee, Kelela and Ice Spice, the artist also collaborated with producers like Mura Masa, Oscar Scheller (Charli XCX, Rina Sawayama) and Greg Kurstin (Gorillaz, Adele, Foo Fighters). 

Two previously released tracks include the tracks “Mosquito,” and “Boy’s a liar Pt. 2” feat. Ice Spice gained huge popularity and got her first entry on the Billboard Hot 100 charts. These previews from the album and the rest of the tracklist stay in this very PinkPantheress sound that has grown and developed while keeping her original musical DNA alive. 

Her unique sonic aroma is rooted in the genres of Pop, Jungle, Jersey Club and UK garage in a bubbly Y2K tone mixed with ‘00s R&B. PinkPantheress’s soft voice adds a sweet flair as the cherry on top. 

Notably, the music video for “Nice to meet you” feat. Central Cee is straight out of a 2006 video clip with its bubbly graphics and choreographies. PinkPantheress’ confidence when it comes to her concrete style is consistent all throughout, from the songs’ productions and visuals associated with Heaven knows.

The British singer communicates storylines of love, heartbreak and infatuation throughout this anticipated debut album. Some of my highlights from the album are the witty hook from Rema on the opening track “Another life,” the catchy and warm production of “Mosquito,” as well as Kelela and PinkPantheress singing the lyrics “I almost fell in love, but I couldn’t tell you” subsequently after the other on “Bury me.” 

Heaven knows is a solid and tender collection of what people know and love about PinkPantheress. It also throws away the preconceived notion that PinkPantheress is only a viral TikTok sound maker. As her audience, we get to experience, both sonically and visually, how she is blossoming. The success she built in appropriating her sound that made her popular on social media is now fully owned wholeheartedly in a cohesive manner. 

Score: 7.5/10

Trial Track: Mosquito

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Music

How early is too early to get festival passes?

Daniel Caesar perfoming at Osheaga in 2017. Courtesy photo by Kirubel Mheari.

Students express their views on summer music festival tickets already on sale. 

When exiting a music festival on its very last day, attendees can usually see a banner declaring the scheduled dates for the next edition of the festival. Not only that, but it only takes two to three months after the end of a music festival before the announcement of the following year happens. 

Montreal’s Osheaga, arguably the biggest and most popular music festival in Quebec, has been running an “exclusive” presale for its 2024 summer dates since early November. Green Day is the first and only headliner announced up to now. The 3-day passes are released almost one year in advance along with some “premium offers,” according to promotional emails, to welcome festival fans in getting ahold of them sooner. 

Some students at Concordia share their personal approaches regarding music festival passes being released recently for next summer. Mirra Lazarus, a psychology student, believes “it’s a bit of a manipulative, but expected, marketing scheme to get people to ensure they meet their sales quota.” 

According to Lazarus, acquiring those weekend passes provides a feeling of security and means that people have a stable event to look forward to. However, she adds that it is unfortunate if you don’t like the lineup since you have to stick with it or resell it in the end. Overall, Lazarus added that she would never buy festival passes a year in advance not knowing what the lineup is, even if they also make the passes cheaper in advance to get to that sales quota.

For communications and sociology student Adèle Décary-Chen, purchasing a festival pass way ahead of time includes more inconvenience than benefits. “It kind of limits me in my future plans, especially in the summer,” she said. Indeed, settling on very specific dates in the city that far in advance can reduce flexibility and get in the middle of any travel plans or short-notice situations that may come up. Chen said she would only show up to a music festival if she knew artists on the lineup to make it worth her money. Although this is common behaviour, there is always the possibility of tickets selling out by the time the lineup is released. More often than not, there aren’t any more passes. “That’s what happened for the Festival d’Été du Québec last summer for me,” she said.  

On one hand, securing festival passes in advance can be a way to confirm one’s attendance without the stress of worrying about potential sold-out dates. Moreover, folks tend to sometimes travel across the province, the country or even overseas to attend a music festival. Purchasing passes way ahead of time then helps plan for those special travels. 
On the other hand, the initial price of passes can even significantly drop closer to the dates if it’s not already sold out. People on social media might be reselling or a friend of a friend might be getting rid of their ticket last minute therefore making it cheaper, to increase the chance of selling it. Not buying months prior might then result in saving a couple of bucks. The reassurance of knowing the entire lineup of featured artists can also be a crucial factor in the decision, before dropping hundreds of dollars on passes.

After discussing with students, there isn’t exactly a better time to get ahold of passes. The decision caters and depends on how individuals prefer to organize their visits to festivals, whether they are located here or outside the country. It’s an undeniable matter of tolerance for the unpredictable and elements like the scheduled weekend, lineup, pricing, availability, and assembling your festival attendees group all play an important role. One thing is for sure, music festivals are settings people will always want to be a part of and Osheaga passes are now available for the taking.

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