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From Austin to Montreal: Les Deuxluxes and Charlotte Cardin perform at SXSW

The SXSW Festival welcomed Montreal bands and artists at the Quebec Sugar Shack

The SXSW music festival in Austin, Texas, welcomed Montreal with open arms to the Quebec Sugar Shack, an event organized by M pour Montreal and Planet Quebec which invited bands and artists from Montreal to meet-up in Austin. The showcase took place at Bungalow Bar on March 14. The Quebec Sugar Shack featured Montreal duet Les Deuxluxes and singer-songwriter Charlotte Cardin. Les Deuxluxes opened up with their glam, rock-and-roll demeanor, bringing high-energy to the crowd with every pair of eyes fixated on them.

LES DEUXLUXES

Anna Frances Meyer and Étienne Barry of Les Deuxluxes rocking the stage at Bungalow Bar. Photo by Sandra Hercegova.

Les Deuxluxes consists of Anna Frances Meyer on vocals and guitar, and Étienne Barry on guitar, drums and vocals. Meyer studied classical music and opera at McGill University, while Barry studied the piano. “I don’t know how we became a rock-and-roll band,” Meyer said. The duo began playing together in 2012. “It was during the student strike. Étienne had six months off of school. Instead of getting a shitty job at a restaurant or something, we decided to put together some songs real fast and go play in the metro to make extra money,” Meyer said. Eventually, their metro busking gathered much attention and, the duo got invited to open for a band in Terrebonne. “It all took off from there. Ever since that show, we’ve never stopped touring,” Meyer said. “In the last three years, we have three to four shows per week, every week—we hit Montreal real hard for the first couple of months. Then we started getting invited in other regions, and now we tour all over Quebec all the time.”

In fact, Les Deuxluxes has gone from a local scene to an international one. Prior to their show at SXSW, they were touring in South America. “We went to Sao Paulo, Brazil, we are soon going to Mexico for a whole month tour, we are also going to Lafayette, Louisiana—it’s like l’année international Deuxluxes,” Meyer said.

While in South America, both Meyer and Barry said they experienced a strong musical connection with the audience. “We connected with the Latino audience on an energy level. Something really happened down there—people were just so receptive to our music. It was really exciting for us,” Meyer said. “We just love the culture. It’s people who like to live. No matter what their financial situation is, people there always have a smile on their face and they are ready to have a party,” Barry said. “That’s very inspiring for us,” Meyer added. “We connect to that on a musical level. It’s not the easiest job, but it’s very rewarding when we get to go to places like this.”

Anna Frances Meyer and Étienne Barry of Les Deuxluxes proudly waving the Canadian and Quebec flags, representing Montreal at the SXSW music festival. Photo by Sandra Hercegova.

Meyer and Barry have been studying music for the past 15 years, which they said makes the process of writing lyrics slower for them, since they are more experienced composers as opposed to lyricists. However, when it comes to finding inspiration, anything can spark it. “We get inspired by conversations. We have a song called ‘Tobacco Vanilla’ that’s a song inspired by a perfume,” Meyer said. Meyer and Barry had went to see a band called The Jim Jones Review in Montreal. “We were right in front of the lead singer, Jim Jones, and he smelled amazing. It was intoxicating and it was part of the show. After the show, I asked him, ‘What’s your perfume?’ And he said, ‘Tobacco Vanilla, baby,’ and we went home and wrote that song,” Meyer said.

Barry also performed with another band at SXSW, called Orkestar Kriminal, where he played the accordion. “I do backup vocals for that band too,” Meyer added. “It’s gypsy gangster music. It’s about gangsterism and prostitution. It’s old repertoire from the 20s and 30s.” Since Orkestar Kriminal was invited to play at SXSW, the duo planned on being at the festival anyway. They ended up performing as Les Deuxluxes as well. “We ended up getting four showcases for ourselves. That’s pretty great,” Meyer said.

Les Deuxluxes latest album is called Spring Time Devil, and they are currently writing their second album to be released next year. The glam rock-and-roll duo will be playing on April 1 in Montreal at the Fairmount Theatre alongside Brooklyn rock band, Crushed Out. “It’s our first show in Montreal since we launched our album and it’s going to be an amazing show. We did a mini tour with Crushed out a couple of summers ago, so we’re really happy to be reunited with them—they are super inspiring to us,” Meyer said.

CHARLOTTE CARDIN

Singer-songwriter Charlotte Cardin and bass player Mathieu Sénéchal performing their first showcase at SXSW. Photo by Sandra Hercegova.

Next to hit the stage was Montreal singer-songwriter Charlotte Cardin alongside her bandmates, Mathieu Sénéchal and Benjamin Courcy. She first became known on the television series La Voix, the Quebec version of The Voice, where she made it to the top four. Cardin released her solo debut EP, Big Boy, last summer.

It is cliché to say her voice sounds like no other, however, it truly is unique. Cardin has a beautiful, soft, sultry voice, which complements her R&B and pop-electro ballads. “We came here just to share our music with a new audience. It’s always super exciting to do that,” Cardin said. Cardin’s first show gathered many people at the Quebec Sugar Shack. Her voice hypnotized the crowd. “Our first show was fun, however, we couldn’t hear ourselves on stage. There was a problem with the soundcheck and stuff, but we ended up having a lot of fun and it was a good first showcase,” Cardin said.

Cardin’s musical journey began when she was just six years old. “I played the piano just for a year—I then switched for singing lessons when I was seven years old and then I took singing lessons for almost 10 years. It was just for fun, a thing I would do after school,” Cardin said. Little did she know, her extracurricular activity would one day lead her to success. “I didn’t expect to make a career out of it, but it ended up sort of happening. I started writing songs and one thing lead to another. It’s been so great,” Cardin said.

Cardin writes all her lyrics, and most of her songs are about different kinds of relationships. “It’s the thing that inspires me the most, but it’s not only about romantic relationships. I write about friendships and meeting people who stimulate something different in you. That’s something that intrigues me: personalities and different ways to connect with people,” Cardin said.

This is Cardin’s first time at SXSW, where she performed a total of four showcases. “I just want to share my music with new people, and if people who haven’t heard us before can relate to our music and lyrics, that would be the best that we could accomplish,” Cardin said.

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Warren G tells his story about the rise of G-funk

G-funk documentary in honour of Nate Dogg premiered at SXSW

The documentary G-Funk portrays Warren G, Nate Dogg and Snoop Dogg rapping together in their childhood years and charts their progress as international hip-hop stars. From their early days at Long Beach Polytechnic High School in Long Beach, Calif., the trio had talent and dreams to become famous rappers. They rap-battled their friends during recess and at parties. In 1990, they formed a rap trio called 213, and eventually became the pioneers of a hip-hop subgenre called G-funk, or gangsta-funk. G-funk emerged in the 90s in southern California and is also known as West Coast hip-hop. It is a combination of motown, funk, R&B and gangsta rap, and has become a staple in mainstream American music culture.

As mentioned in the documentary, G-funk is different from East Coast hip-hop—it doesn’t fit the flow of New York City. G-funk is mellow and smooth, and is meant to be heard in your drop-top below the palm trees as you cruise along Sunset Boulevard—it has a laid-back, West Coast feel to it. Some classic G-funk tunes include “Regulate” by Nate Dogg and Warren G, or “Ain’t Nothin’ But a G Thang” by Snoop Dogg. The film featured several hip-hop artists who played leading roles in the rise of G-funk, such as Ice Cube, Tupac Shakur and Dr. Dre. There were also interviews with hip-hop artists, who have been around during the rise of G-Funk or who were greatly influenced by Warren G’s career, such as Russell Simmons, Ice T, Wiz Khalifa, Too $hort, George Clinton, Deion Sanders and Big Boy.

The documentary depicts the rise of drug and gang violence in Los Angeles in the 1990s, and the many who lost their lives or were incarcerated. G-Funk also highlights how black men often faced severe police brutality and racial profiling by the Los Angeles Police Department. It was a tough time for these up-and-coming rappers, which is probably why their music connected with so many people since they sang and rapped about their hardships.

From left to right, Bob Ruggeri, Karam Gill, Warren G, Gary Ousdahl and Rafael Chavez at the G-funk panel. Photo by Sandra Hercegova

The film touched on G-funk’s contribution to the rise in sales and popularity of the hip-hop genre. The film premiered in Austin, Texas, during the SXSW Festival at the Paramount Theatre on March 15. It was a tribute to one of the main leaders of G-funk, Nate Dogg, who passed away on March 15, 2011. The film portrays Warren G, Nate Dogg and Snoop Dogg as a family. “Snoop is one of my best friends,” Warren G said. “We talk all the time, you know. He crazy, but that’s my dog.” As for Nate Dogg, “I miss him. We all miss him,” Warren G added. “Nate wrote songs that people go back to. ‘The Hardest Man in Town,’ that’s one of the dopest records ever,” he said.

Prior to the film’s screening, Warren G and members of the G-Funk crew held a panel at the Austin Convention Center. The panel featured filmmaker and director of G-Funk, Karam Gill; executive producer, Matt Carpenter and producers; Warren G, Gary Ousdahl, Robert Ruggeri and Rafael Chavez.

Gill, who is 22 years old, began filming G-Funk as an undergrad at Chapman University. Warren G met Gill at one of his shows in Orange County, Calif. “He came in with his buddy, Daniel, and asked, ‘Can I film your show tonight?’ I was like, ‘Shit, it’s all good,’” Warren G said during the panel. When Gill showed him the concert footage a few days later, Warren G was impressed. “The stuff he was doing was off the chain—this guy can help me get my documentary laid out how I want to, and that’s how he came on board,” Warren G said. G-Funk portrays the ups and downs of the journey of an artist, “back then when I was young … I’m still young, I ain’t that old. I just went through a lot—I knew that I wanted to do a story just talking about a lot of the things that I went through before I started getting success,” Warren G said.

According to the film producer, Ruggeri, while many producers might think it insane to put their complete faith in a 22-year-old director, Gill was prepared and competent. “We flew our investor [out] to meet him and Warren and the four other producers. Karam had every single thing laid out. This film was in his head because he had been traveling with Warren previously—he had the passion and we could see this in his eyes, that this guy had it all under control,” Ruggeri said.

To Gill, G-funk is the backbone of all pop songs today. “Rappers were never singing on songs before Nate Dogg,” Gill said. “When you are thinking about Drake and hip-hop artists who sing, that’s a by-product of G-funk.”  In the hit song “Regulate,” Nate Dogg would sing on the track while Warren G would rap to it, combining singing and rapping into one song. This is an example of how G-Funk influenced hip-hop as we know it. According to Gill, G-Funk is an homage to Nate Dogg. “Nate would have wanted it to be a celebration,” Gill said. “It’s not an RIP Nate movie—it’s celebrating his life in a positive way.”

A soundtrack is to be released along with the documentary. “There’s going to be a lot of G-funk artists who you guys already know, but there’s also going to be new artists there. It’s going to be dope, trust me,” Warren G said. An artist Warren G said he would appreciate working with for the soundtrack is Erykah Badu. “I always wanted to work with her. Her voice is really dope to me, and I would love to hear her on one of my tracks as far as doing a hook and doing verses,” Warren G said. “G-funk never left,” Ruggeri added. “Everything you are hearing right now is influenced by G-funk. We are hoping this movie will revive it.”

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Music

A youthful gathering of music enthusiasts

Forty-eight bands of all sorts of genres and styles played at The Blackheart bar over four days

I was strolling down the Rainey Street Historic District, a street known for great music venues and parties during Austin’s SXSW festival. I noticed many young people with festival badges and music equipment gathering in front of The Blackheart patio—I was intrigued. As I entered the venue, I was soon greeted by Christopher Moon, the general manager of NoiseTrade, a PledgeMusic company. NoiseTrade is a website that shares albums of up-and-coming artists for free. Moon is also the music curator for the Clif Bar Bash, an event which took place at The Blackheart bar from March 14 to 17. Moon and his team were in the middle of preparing to showcase their much anticipated lineup.

McNally Smith College of Music students helping with the stage set-up for the first performance by Charly Bliss. Photo by Sandra Hercegova

This was Moon’s 18th year at SXSW and his third year curating music for the Clif Bar Bash music showcases. Moon is responsible for booking bands for this event alongside his team. “It’s a big team, but a resourceful team. We started organizing this event last fall in September,” Moon said. Being a music curator involves a long process of music selection. “I must have listened to 400 to 500 different artists—I want to listen to their music and I want to know that it fits with the ethos of what we do at NoiseTrade, PledgeMusic and also our sponsors for Clif,” he said. “You want to make sure it’s high-energy, interesting, fun and that it’s going to be a good experience for everyone who comes out,” he said. According to Moon, curating music is the best gig. “I get to choose 48 of my favourite bands to come and play at a venue over the next four days, and at least at some point during each set, I can soak in a song or two from everyone—that’s pretty perfect,” he said. Twelve different bands played each day at The Blackheart bar. Each band had their own distinct sound from either grungy pop-rock to alternative folk ballads. Some of the bands included Charly Bliss, Swimming with Bears, Communist Daughter and Temples, who all performed on March 14.

The Blackheart’s backyard

Hanging out at The Blackheart’s backyard, I met up with McNally Smith College of Music students who came to SXSW as part of a music business class. Each student helped to set up the outdoor stage area. Millie Gibson is a vocalist and performer with a vocal major and a minor in business. “I came out here to venture opportunities and meet people and network,” she said. “I have never been to Austin or SXSW, so I thought it would be a really cool opportunity to go with my class and fellow peers and see what was out here.” According to Gibson, the attending SXSW is part of their class mandate. “When we come back from the trip, we are going to talk about our experience, what we learned, who we met and which shows we saw,” Gibson said.

Millie Gibson and Alex Sandberg, students from the McNally Smith College of Music, experiencing SXSW for the first time. Photo by Sandra Hercegova

Alyssia Kangas, is majoring in music business and, like most of her peers, this was her first time at SXSW. Kangas has been classically trained in music for the past nine years, she also enjoys jazz music. “I’m really excited to see Communist Daughter perform, I work at First Avenue bar in Minneapolis and I’ve seen them play there and they’re really good—I’m also excited to see Agnes Sobel, Delta Rae and Lincoln Durham which is an americana style band,” said Kangas. Alex Sandberg is an aspiring music promoter and photographer who is also majoring in music business. “I came here for networking. Communication is key—you’ve got to meet these people face to face and make a name for yourself,” said Sandberg.

The Concordian music editor Sandra Hercegova and singer-songwriter Mary Elizabeth Wachs hanging out at The Blackheart music bar.

I also spent some time with Mary Elizabeth Wachs, a passionate singer-songwriter. “I have a big heart, I have big dreams. Part of what drives me as a musician is that I want to be able to share my personal life story with as many people that I can,” Wachs said. Another student from the SXSW class was music business major and emcee, Alex Hall. He has been making hip-hop music for nine years. “Me and my old rap crew, we didn’t have a good business sense,” he said. “I decided that that’s the one thing that we were missing, so I’m going to learn more about it so that we can do music full-time,” Hall said. Each student had their own inspiring story, and they each expressed their delight at being at SXSW and how willing they are to make their musical goals come to life.

 

Charly Bliss at The Blackheart

First to perform on The Blackheart outdoor stage was pop-rock band Charly Bliss. They were hanging out by the stage before the show, so I passed by for a quick chat. The band had driven all the way from New York City to perform for the first time at SXSW. This four-piece pop punk-rockish band consists of lead singer and guitarist Eva Hendricks, Spencer Fox on guitar, Sam Hendricks on drums and Dan Shure on bass. “I think our music is very fun, it’s very poppy—we are influenced by pop and indie rock music,” Eva said.

From left to right, members of Charly Bliss: Eva Hendricks, Spencer Fox, Sam Hendricks and Dan Shure. Photo by Sandra Hercegova.

The band agreed that performing in Austin for SXSW is a right of passage. “You’ve got to do it once,” Fox said. The band will also be releasing their new album, Guppy, on April 21. All the band members pointed out that the album name was Fox’s idea. As they did, Fox put his hands on his cheeks, feigning innocence and gazing off into the distance “There’s an underdog-y feel to our band and our trajectory, and I feel like the title sums it up really nicely,” Eva said. Charly Bliss has been touring a lot lately—in fact, they played at Montreal’s Bar Le Ritz PDB back in January. “We are coming back in a couple of weeks,” Eva said. “We are playing with Operators in Montreal on April 1.” Charly Bliss then took centre stage and performed their first SXSW show with enthusiasm and high-energy. Few venues truly stand out and capture the vibrancy and energy of Austin during SXSW—The Blackheart is one of them.

Charly Bliss rocking out on stage as the opening act at The Blackheart bar. Photo by Sandra Hercegova
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Music

Nile Rodgers speaks to the souls of a million strangers

Legendary music composer Nile Rodgers playing guitar riffs from his hit single with Daft Punk, “Get Lucky.” Photo by Sandra Hercegova

SXSW hosted a keynote panel with composer Nile Rodgers at the Austin Convention Center

“When I was younger, my jazz guitar teacher, who is the single greatest influence on me—other than Bernard Edwards—asked me one day why I was studying with him. ‘Well,’ I said, ‘I’m studying with you because I want to play at concerts, I want to make records, I want to compose, do big orchestral works and films.’ He said, ‘Really? Is that the only reason why?’ I said, ‘Yeah.’ He said, ‘Oh that’s no problem, you could easily do that.’ I said, ‘Wow, really? How? And he said, ‘Play better,’” said Nile Rodgers.

Nile Rodgers is a legendary Grammy award-winning composer, producer, arranger and guitarist. He has released numerous hit records over the last four decades. He has greatly influenced popular music—he has over 200 production credits to his name. Rodgers has produced hit records for David Bowie, Madonna, Mariah Carey, Maroon 5, Britney Spears, Sam Smith, Pharrell Williams, Daft Punk, Michael Jackson and many others. He is also the co-founder of CHIC, one of disco’s greatest bands. On March 15, Nile Rodgers held a keynote panel at the Austin Convention Center as part of the SXSW festival.

Singer-songwriter Mobley opened Nile Rodgers keynote panel with an energetic performance. Photo by Sandra Hercegova

The panel began with a performance from experimental pop singer-songwriter Mobley. Originally from Austin, Texas, Mobley opened with an energetic performance. He jumped high up on the stage and as he landed slammed on his drums. His high energy on stage, along with his talent, made for an unforgettable performance. Mobley will no doubt be a big star in the near future.

As Rodgers took to the stage, the press swarmed to the front row to get close-up shots of him. Rodgers began his speech by telling us anecdotes on how he discovered success in the music industry. “They told me that they wanted me to talk to you about discovery. ‘Really,’ I said. Discovery? My whole life has been about discovery,” Rodgers said.The musical legend began performing as a classical musician. “I played in the symphony orchestra at the various schools that I went to,” he said. Rodgers never touched a guitar until he was 15. “But I could read music pretty well,” he said. “This gave me a huge advantage—when I started playing guitar, I was a really good music reader from the jump. That helped in my career because guitar players are notoriously known as bad music readers, even though they are amazing players.”

In the 1970s, Rodgers’ got his first job working for the children’s television show, Sesame Street. “I auditioned—they wanted a kid who could read the music for ‘People in Your Neighborhood,’ and ’Rubber Duck,’” he said. Rodgers read the music charts during the audition and got the gig, which set him off on an immense journey of musical and personal discovery. “The great thing about music is that it’s probably just like the universe. We’re just like planetoids, asteroids, just out there spinning around and we’re bumping into stuff. And as we bump into stuff, our trajectory changes and that’s what happened to me,” Rodgers said.

It was in the early 70s, during his gig on Sesame Street that Rodgers met Bernard Edwards, who was a record producer, bass player, singer-songwriter and a fellow member of CHIC. “Bernard Edwards was amazing. He was such an incredible musician,” Rodgers said. “He had such a fine ear, and I decided that I wanted to go on the journey with him.” Rodgers then formed a band with Bernard Edwards called The Big Apple Band. Both Edwards and Rodgers also worked as back-up musicians for a vocal group called New York City. “We had one hit record called ‘I’m Doin’ Fine Now.’ It did well,” Rodgers said. Eventually, the band became The Jackson Five’s opening act, which solidified Rodgers’ lifelong friendship with Michael Jackson. “We became friends forever,” Rodgers said. “I kept bumping into all these wonderful people, and my life just kept expanding. I found that I wasn’t intimidated by stars. I was comfortable with them, and I had some kind of innate talent for being able to communicate with them,” he said.

Whether Rodgers is in the recording studio, conducting a symphony orchestra or producing music for multiple artists, all he wants to do is help as much as he can. “There’s a certain love that I have for that musician, for that situation, because I think that music is the voice that I speak with,” Rodgers said. “And when I am working for you, I try to help amplify your own voice. I try to help you become better than you were because that’s what my teacher used to always do to me.”

A great musical influence for Rodgers was his jazz tutor who tutored him when he was around 15 years old. “I just idealized this dude. He was incredible, such a great musician. His knowledge of harmony was just amazing—he taught me how to play that way. That’s the essence of my style,” he said.

During the panel, Rodgers told an anecdote about the day he complained to his jazz tutor about having to perform top 40 records during a show. “I’ve got to play these bullshit songs like, ‘sugar, sugar, ohhh honey honey’—it’s all lame stuff,” Rodgers said, recounting what he’d told his tutor. Rodgers said his jazz tutor answered that any song that sells and gets to the top 40, top 20 or top 10 is a great composition. Rodgers then asked him, “how can you call, “Sugar, Sugar” a great composition?” “And he said something that changed my life. He said, ‘Because it speaks to the souls of a million strangers.’” Rodgers said this quote was so profound to him. “I wanted to learn how to speak to the souls of a million strangers—it woke me up to the power of what we call pop music,” he said.

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