Formed in late 2009, the collective Monitor brings together the complementary talents of several well-established figures on the Montreal electronic scene. Monitor’s sound is tech-house colored with minimal influences and a staunchly underground sensibility: solid rhythms, spellbinding atmospheres and captivating vocal collaborations. Monitor’s live act featured 2 DJs and a keyboard player.

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DJ and event designer for more than fifteen years, François Lebaron is the co-founder of Trigger Recording, the first Canadian electronic-music company to have a licensing agreement with Warner Music Canada. Renowned for his unique performances, numerous cutting edge projects and productions, François has performed and held residencies in some of the hottest Canadian venues such as Stereo, Aria Red Lite, Circus, Piknic Électronik, Salon Daomé, Unity, Parking, and U.N. 

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Although notorious for her consistently “hard” beats, her music has evolved stylistically from a self-described “funky pumpin’ techno” vibe to one which she feels is more “groovy, techy and minimal”. The flavor of Misstress Barbara’s craft, however, is in perpetual motion as she continually pushes her own artistic boundaries in search of the next unique sound.

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Axel Helios is not an abstract concept, nor a plankton and absolutely not a shrimp. Born in the post-rave generation and coming straight from Bas-Saint-Laurent, Axel was into electronic music when he was really young. Being a producer more than anything else, he cut his teeth over the years in other disciplines such as live P.As, sound designing and DJing. He's the owner of Shabu Recordings where the main objective is to release music that has a soul even if it was made by machines. 

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DJ and producer Pfreud (Frederic Laurier) has been active on Montreal’s electronic music scene for the last 15 years. Spinning electro-house with a touch of techno-disco, Pfreud is resident DJ in some of the city’s most renowned nightclubs (Sona, Red Lite, High Bar and Jaï).  He’s shared the decks with Felix Da Housecat, Dimitri From Paris, Green Velvet, Carl Cox, Misstress Barbara, Tiga, Darren Emerson (Underworld) and Markus Nikolaï.  

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As part of Ciné-Piknic’s programming at PikniCubik, DJ XL5 invites you on a nostalgia-tinted musical journey retracing the history of music videos before the MTV era.  You’ll discover the Soundies (from the 40s) and Scopitones (from the 60s), little musical films that you could watch by sliding coins into a jukebox of images.  These big machines contained dozens of 16mm music films.  The films were projected via a system of lenses and mirrors onto a pane of frosted glass that gave them the look of futuristic TV.

On the program: swing, rock n’ roll, twist, plunging necklines, queens of marimba, gogo dancers, gleaming guitars, psychedelic vibrations, revelatory bikinis, French and Quebecois artists, as well as American rock n’ rollers and pop icons.

Along with Soundies and Scopitones, you’ll be able to watch excerpts from music films forgotten by history and TV episodes from Quebecois and American shows from the 60s and 70s.  Also along from the video-trip, a rare version of Roger Mainwood’s AUTOBAHN animation, set to the music of Kraftwerk.

Months of research were needed to assemble this inspiring, kitschy, and always eye-opening collection.

DJ XL5 is a Montreal multi-media artist and collagist.  His showcases of short films and thematic events have been presented across Canada in numerous film festivals, repertoire movie theatres and other cinematographic events.  As well as having premiered a number of works at the Fantasia film festival, DJ XL5 regularly organizes viewing soirées.  In the past months, he has presented his projects at Montréal en lumière, Rendez-vous du cinema québécois, Regard sur le court métrage au Saguenay and at the festival Vitesse lumière de Québec.

Here’s the radio announcement for DJ XL5’s Videophonic Zappin’ Party (In monophonic & stereophonic sound).

International. 1930-1979.
Projection numérique.
Une création de DJ XL5. 100 min

Ciné-Piknic
September 4th - 8h30 pm
GURU Stage

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Drawing from a wide range of tropical riddims and urban electro, the power of DJ/producer Poirier’s bass blasts through bits and pieces of dancehall beats, soca energy and electronic intensity, all filtered through the Montreal native’s dance-driven creativity and air horn-worthy excitement. Signed to Ninja Tune, this is a man who just understands what works in the dance. From his legendary Bounce Le Gros parties in Montreal – sold-out events for two years running – to the newer, bigger, better, and bass-ier Karnival nights, Poirier has been unstoppable in his ability to mash styles, expand minds, and move asses.

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Patrice Tremblay (aka Bushido) made his first appearances as a DJ/Producer in 2003 as a member of Spektro, a duo based in Quebec City, before launching his solo project under the pseudonym Bushido. In Montreal for just over 7 years and a member of the 64hz collective, Bushido seamlessly combines pure techno with a variety of other musical styles, such as breaks, dub, electro and tech-house, each time delivering a diverse, non-linear musical experience.

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Christian Smith has been at the top of his game as a DJ and producer for over a decade. While his roots lie in techno, the Swedish-born Smith has never been a purist; favouring instead to flavour the tough, rhythmical music he loves with heavy doses of funk or intersperse the raw energy of his sets with inspired moments of pure euphoria.  With seminal tracks on labels such as Adam Beyer’s Drumcode, John Digweed’s Bedrock, and Dubfire’s Sci+Tec, Smith has spent much of the last decade riding at the top of a global club resurgence.

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Emerging in UK club circles in the latter half of 2009. Alan Fitzpatrick has been name-checked as on of the most exciting producers of techno by the likes of Adam Beyer, Dubfire, Carl Cox, John Digweed, and Len Faki.  A pivotal member of Beyer’s Drumcode roster, Fitzpatrick has released three chart-topping EP’s on the label, as well as Drumcode’s first full-length album since 2005, his well-received Shadows in the Dark.  Since then, he’s started his own imprint, 8 Sided Dice Recordings. Which has quickly belted out over 25 releases by an emerging generation of young producers.

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Boyscout Killers ( BSK ) is an electronic quartet based in Ottawa/Montreal. In association with Place Records, BSK  has had an active role in promoting and showcasing electronic producers in Ottawa. As a group, BSK performs in different combinations but whenever possible as a quartet. Shaped by each member’s own distinctive style, their improvised sets range from industrial IDM to Psychedelic Electro. 

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Montreal-based Léon Lo has been active in the city's musical activity since the turn of the millennium. Under numerous guises, he has been involved in independent, experimental, electro-acoustic, improvised, electronic and free-jazz endeavours. As an active member of ESL Productions, he has DJ-ed with the likes of Roska, Mary Anne Hobbs, Altered Natives, Bok Bok and Dubbel Dutch to name a few. He also co-hosts the ESL Overnight radio show on London-based internet radio Nasty.fm alongside crew members BUS and Bowly. His Skinnybones project, started not yet one year ago, is an exploration of the myriad sounds of the post-UK Garage lineage. His compositions are characterised by a percussive approach and a very personal take on Montreal's Rave years. Skinnybones's appearance at MUTEK this year will mark his very first live performance.

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Drawing from a wide range of tropical riddims and urban electro, the power of DJ/producer Poirier’s bass blasts through bits and pieces of dancehall beats, soca energy and electronic intensity, all filtered through the Montreal native’s dance-driven creativity and air horn-worthy excitement. Signed to Ninja Tune, this is a man who just understands what works in the dance. From his legendary Bounce Le Gros parties in Montreal – sold-out events for two years running – to the newer, bigger, better, and bass-ier Karnival nights, Poirier has been unstoppable in his ability to mash styles, expand minds, and move asses.

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