Also Cool's FME 20th Anniversary Top Picks: Round One

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Elizabete Balčus by Zane Zelmene

Once again, we’re packing up and heading to Rouyn-Noranda over the Labour Day long weekend to hit FME in Abitibi-Témiscamingue! The jam-packed four-day festival never disappoints, and this year’s lineup in celebration of its 20th anniversary is stacked with familiar favourites and new must-see acts for us here at Also Cool (and maybe you, too!) Get a taste for the artists we’ll be catching this weekend in the first edition of our FME 20th Anniversary Top Picks below!

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Mitch Davis by Richmond Lam

Mitch Davis 

Montreal producer and multi-instrumentalist Mitch Davis boasts a smooth take on indie rock that we’re excited to hear in a live context for the first time! We became acquainted with Davis’ sunny breakup songs over the pandemic, and have been hooked on his Easter egg-laden jams ever since. In our recent interview with Davis, we entertained touring his debut LP The Haunt with a full band, so it feels full circle to have this long-anticipated set on our list.

Mitch Davis plays Café L’Abstracto on Sunday, September 4th at 5PM. 

Mitch Davis

Instagram | Bandcamp

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Alicia Clara by Tess Roby

Alicia Clara 

Dream-pop songstress Alicia Clara brings a delicate whimsy to her songwriting, refined on her brand new single “Only Fools Wish For Love”. The track invites anticipation for her next offering, her EP Velveteen, which arrives on October 28th via Hot Tramp. When guesting on our podcast Also Cool Sounds Like, Clara spoke to the isolation she was experiencing in contrast to the momentum of moving to Montreal from Switzerland. With a taste of what’s to come from Clara, we’re eager to hear new work from her at the festival. 

Alicia Clara plays Guinguette Chez Edmund - Scène Fonderie Horne on Sunday, September 4th at 2PM. 

Alicia Clara

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Elizabete Balčus by Zane Zelmene

Elizabete Balčus 

All the way from Rïga, Latvia, neo-psychedelic avant-gardist Elizabete Balčus weaves spectral vocals, flute and electronics into otherworldly sonic collages. We were introduced to Balčus’ Nina Hagen-meets-Björk compositions through our friends at Mothland and instantly fell in love with her surreal performance theatrics. Balčus plays FME hot on the heels of her upcoming album Hotel Universe, set to arrive September 16th via Mothland. We implore you to fall down the rabbit hole into Balčus’ fantastical daydream where she rules with innovative fascination. 

Elizabete Balčus plays the Videotron Stage - 200 Murdoch Avenue on Saturday, September 3rd at 8PM. 

Elizabete Balčus

Instagram | Bandcamp

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Kee Avil by Lawrence Fafard

Kee Avil 

The brainchild of Montreal-based composer Vicky Mettler, Kee Avil combines guitar, voice and electronic production “to create songs that teeter on the edge of collapse while oozing forward, like sticky wax picking up and shedding disparate elements along the way.” Mettler’s intimate songcraft entrances listeners with whisper-like vocals and post-punk structures, transforming a space of any size into an immersive musical experience. Mettler’s striking stage presence struck a chord with us at the most recent edition of Ottawa-Hull’s PIQUE festival, making their debut LP Crease now a constant rotation. 

Kee Avil plays the Hub Desjardins - 218 Murdoch Avenue on Friday, September 2nd at 5PM. 

Kee Avil

Website | Instagram | Bandcamp

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Sheenah Ko via Bandcamp

Sheenah Ko

Also a core member of Besnard Lakes, Montreal-based synth-pop artist Sheenah Ko’s work is “avant garde electronic pop for those who want to get into a trance, get into a vibe, get deep and get real”. We virtually co-presented Sheenah at Taverne Tour x Also Cool Present: Into the Matrix with Andy Jon and Sheenah Ko in early February of this year, and cannot wait to hear songs from her latest album Future is Now, released this past May.

Sheenah Ko plays Guinguette Chez Edmund - Scène Fonderie Horne on Friday, September 2nd at 9PM.

Sheenah Ko

Website | Instagram | Bandcamp

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Grim Streaker via Mothland

Grim Streaker

Brooklyn’s Grim Streaker sport weirdo sing-talk rock that you cannot help but bop to. Their latest album MIND is described as “a surreal, subversive world of four songs that reflects on the current state of mental health, laughable social constructs and the inescapable working grind”. Grim Streaker, now signed to Mothland, have been making their way around the United States opening for acts like Idles and METZ.

Work for a dime/Get back in line/Zip up your mouth - MIND

Grim Streaker plays Cabaret de la Dernière Chance on Thursday, September 1st at 11:59PM.

Grim Streaker
Instagram | Bandcamp

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Tamar Aphek by Rotem Lebel

Tamar Aphek

Israeli concert-pianist-turned-distortion-guitarist Tamar Aphek takes the stage at FME opening for Chad Vangaalen. She’s been a part of Israel’s underground scene for over a decade, known for asking her collaborators to “play as crazy as [they] can.”

Aphek thinks of her performances as plays or cinematic experiences and considers the characters and roles she and her bandmates play. In her song “All I Know”, she peels back so many layers of who they are and what the characters want that “eventually nobody knows who is who in the song.”

Tamar Aphek plays Scène Hydro Québec - 112 7e Rue on Friday, September 2nd at 9PM.

Tamar Aphek

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FME

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Mitch Davis Ditches Hibernation on Sunny Debut LP "The Haunt" (Arbutus Records)

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Mitch Davis by Richmond Lam

A trip around the sun has passed since we last touched base with Montreal multi-instrumentalist and do-it-yourself aficionado Mitch Davis.  In the meantime, Davis has tied a bow on his debut LP The Haunt and returned to the stage, in both in Montreal and at Austin, Texas’ SXSW music festival. Out April 29th, 2022 via Arbutus Records, The Haunt manifests a spectrum of mediations in both sound and spirit.

Realizing some compositions that predate Davis’ relocation to Montreal, The Haunt celebrates Davis stepping into his own with an entirely solo production: writing all the songs and playing all the instruments on the album, as well as recording much of the work on self-built equipment in his home studio. The result is a soulful and playful blend of jazz, funk and beaming pop; adorned with rhodes, clavinet, synth and drum machines. An album-long ode to themes of isolation and loneliness, as well as looking for love in the dawn of the COVID-19 pandemic.The Haunt achieves both breeziness and brevity for a class-act spring listening experience.

Speaking with Davis leading up to his album release, I asked him how the final product came to be, knowing that The Haunt has been years in the making. We started first by chatting about how Davis knows when a song is complete.

“It’s a feeling that comes over me once I’ve obsessed over a song. Eventually, I won’t have anything else to add or take away. When I don’t know what to do next [in production], I try to keep at it. I have a lot of friends who will move on to another song in the meantime, but more often I’m obsessively working on one song for like, a month straight, and never putting it down; never stopping, listening to it day and night. Once it starts to lose its novelty and sound like mush, I’ll take a break for usually one day or so.”

“Do you have any rituals that you do to get back on track when this happens?” I wonder.

“Hmm, I don’t know about rituals,” smiles Davis. “But, once I get sick of a song and I’ve heard it too many times, to the point where it sounds like nothing, I’ll adjust the pitch, up or down. It triggers something in part of my brain —hearing my song in a different key— and that helps me to look at it fresh again.”

With self-reliance being at the core of The Haunt, I wanted to know where Davis finds inspiration when working alone. Unsurprisingly, he is moved by other jacks of all trades.

“I’m inspired by people who, like me, play all the instruments, record themselves, things like that,” he brims. “Though I try to not have influences be a conscious thing and act on creativity in the moment, there are important, multifaceted soloists throughout music history that influence me, like Stevie Wonder, Todd Rudgren and Sly Stone.”

On the note of his debut being entirely self-directed, Davis then told me about the narrative structure of The Haunt.

“It’s funny, years ago I was trying to get myself to create an album and nothing was working. I imagined having a set of literal hats, or characters in my mind, to embody and portray the thoughts and ideas I was trying to put into music. Nowadays, I don’t have to do that as much and I’m able to just be me. That said, I do feel inspired by holding and interacting with different instruments. Even if there are just drums down on a track, or some scratch guitar. Or, I’ll play bass for 12 hours until I get it just perfect… and then I’m done being the ‘bass player’ forever, and can move on to being someone else.”

“Do you have a particular relationship with any of your instruments?”

“I have the closest relationship with the piano, one of my first instruments. I never used to be much of a bass player, but now I feel really connected to it. I do feel the most inspired by piano because it’s where I can most easily express chords and experiment.”

With the unveiling of The Haunt, Davis looks forward to sharing his music in a live context. To conclude our conversation, he told me about rediscovering the energy of playing with a band and the direction he plans on taking with the project.

“Playing with a band opens up the door to a lot of improvisation and extending my songs in a natural way, which is something I can’t do alone. There are really nice surprises that come with a live setting because everyone brings their own tastes to it. I’m looking forward to bringing these experiences into my writing process. I only just started caring about recording… Normally, when I’m writing , half of the inspiration will come from going to shows and connecting with people, like the other bands I play with, like Marci and Sorry Girls. [The Haunt] is a weird record because it was spent in isolation, but I’m grateful that it kept me busy and got me through the tough, curfew-ridden Montreal winter.”  

The Haunt is out on April 29th via Arbutus Records and can be pre-ordered on their website.

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Poster by Amery Sandford

Montreal: Don’t miss Mitch Davis’ album-release show at Brasserie Beaubien on April 29th at 9PM with local supporters Night Lunch and Alicia Clara. Pre-sale tickets are available here.

Mitch Davis

Instagram | Twitter | Bandcamp

Zoë Argiropulos-Hunter (she/her) is the co-founder and managing editor of Also Cool Mag. Aside from the mag, she is a music promoter & booker, and a radio host & DJ.

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Isabella Lovestory, Magi Merlin, and Mitch Davis Reignite Montreal's Music Scene (POP Montreal / Bar Le Ritz)

via Isabella Lovestory on Twitter

If there's one thing I know for sure, it's that Montreal is coming back to life. The streets may still be full of half-defrosted garbage, but the music scene is in full swing. I was feeling pretty discouraged about going out (as I'm sure many of us are), but the POP Montreal show at Bar Le Ritz last night reminded me why I love this city and seriously gave me hope for what's to come.

Mitch Davis by Richmond Lam

The show began with Mitch Davis, who brought a smooth and jazzy energy to the stage, having just returned from playing SXSW. By the end of their set, the venue was almost full, with friends slowly recognizing each other and reuniting after a long winter. (It's really hard to see who anyone is in the dark when everyone's wearing a mask — I had more than one "OMG, HI! I didn't know you were here!" moment.)

Magi Merlin by Feng Jiang

Magi Merlin was up next, having also just returned from playing in the States. From the beginning of her set, it was clear that something had shifted since the last time I saw her play. Magi has stepped into herself as an artist, bringing fiery confidence and maturity to her performance. Alongside her songs from her last release, "Drug Music," she shared some new music that embodies a heated punk-rock energy. Magi's band heightened this energy, amplifying her ability to transform her anger about racism, sexism, and fake friends into a mesmerizing performance.

Isabella Lovestory was the night's headliner and brought the pulse of the room to another level. It was my first time seeing her live, and it's safe to say that I'm obsessed. As a Mexican-Canadian, I've found the complete lack of any Spanish music genres and Latinx people in the music scene completely unacceptable, which is why I was excited to see Isabella gaining so much support. Her music intersects pop and reggaeton, making for a high-intensity performance. It's perfectly bitchy, and a great addition to any perreo playlist. If you're into La Goony Chonga, Ivy Queen, or La Materialista, you'll love Isabella Lovestory.

I was standing outside with some friends after the show, and someone said that this is the kind of show we'll look back on in five years with disbelief that all of these artists were on one bill for $13. I look forward to a Montreal music scene as diverse, high-energy, and community-oriented as this show was, and I expect nothing less from the promoters booking right now. The talent is here, and I think we've all had enough of all-white guy lineups.

Malaika Astorga is the Co-Founder & Creative Director of Also Cool. She is a Mexican-Canadian visual artist, writer, and social media strategist currently based in Montreal.

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Never Better Releases Mellow Tracks Downtown (Feat. Mitch Davis) and Silver Lining

Album art by Jem Woolidge

There's this feeling I get when I enter a new era of my life when I realize that the last chapter is slowly slipping away but not quite gone yet. I feel the change around me but can't see it yet other than the faintest signs that things won't be how they are for much longer. 

This moment usually comes during mundane moments, walking home from the grocery store, waiting for the light to change at Parc and Fairmount. Never Better's (AKA Rhys Climenhage) latest tracks Downtown (feat. Mitch Davis) and Silver Lining encapsulate this feeling. 

Lowkey vocals and gentle guitar take you by the hand, guiding you through an existential crisis that you're pushing out of your mind, walking you home through the rain. Light drums and the occasional instrumental interlude break up the vocals just long enough to gather your thoughts before you get home. You're left feeling comforted yet aware that you'll have to process these emotions sometime soon.

Rhys Climenhage is a multi-instrumentalist originally from Peterborough, Ontario, currently living in Montreal, Quebec, where he performs as Never Better. Prior to his solo endeavours, Rhys was active playing in bands Stacey Green Jumps, Texas Wayne, Frank Mothman, and Sasha Cay.

He draws inspiration from his father, a painter and career musician who taught him his first few chords on guitar. After a few years of fiddling on all of the instruments available around the house, Rhys picked up more technical training in his high school jazz band. Today, he plays every instrument on his recordings in his apartment studio built over the years while working in kitchens around the city.

Never Better

Bandcamp I Instagram I Spotify

Malaika Astorga is the Co-Founder & Creative Director of Also Cool. She is a Mexican-Canadian visual artist, writer, and social media strategist currently based in Montreal.

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Born at Midnite Shares New Single and Video for Spirited Pop-Banger "Pop Charts"

Born at Midnite, Amery Sandford (left) and David Carrier (right), photo courtesy of Arbutus Records

Montreal’s faux-vanity duo Born at Midnite, composed of Amery Sandford (Alpen Glow, BBQT) and David Carriere (TOPS, DVC Refreshments), made a splash back in 2020 with their bouncy & beachy self-titled debut. Today, the pop aficionados share “Pop Charts,” the first earworm off their new 7” of the same title, out on Arbutus Records July 23rd, 2021.

“Pop Charts” plays off of the band’s signature “unsponsored product-placement-punk” sound and method. Atop 80s-clad samples, synths and sparkling guitar, the self-described pseudo-anthem bemoans artificiality in the entertainment industry with a tactful self-awareness; completed by Sandford’s campy vocal performance and a saxophone solo from special guest Mitch Davis. Born at Midnite says the track “was written cynically after hate-bingeing the Netflix tour-de-faux Westside, a show that parades a handful of insecure influencers who are tasked to create a hardship themed musical in an LA nightclub.”

To complete their commentary, the pair premieres an equally hilarious music video alongside the single, directed by Raphaël Sandler, with animations by Sandford. In the video, Carriere plays Sandford’s manager, and sells her out by replacing her with an AI robotic-pop star called Amerbot. After Amerbot soars to the top of the interplanetary charts, the real Amery confronts her sleazy manager and combats Amerbot in a legendary showdown in the name of artistic integrity.

Watch Born at Midnite’s video for “Pop Charts” below

Born at Midnite

Instagram | Bandcamp | Spotify

Zoë Argiropulos-Hunter (she/her) is the co-founder and managing editor of Also Cool Mag. Aside from the mag, she is a music promoter & booker, and a radio host & DJ.

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Mitch Davis Writes Breakup Songs That Sound Happy On New EP "Bear The Cold"

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There is something to be said for the way an artist’s debut is sometimes less about finding their voice, and more about setting it free. Such is the case for Montreal-bound songwriter, producer, multi-instrumentalist and DIY-enthusiast Mitch Davis, who shared the two first singles from his to-be-released full-length on Arbutus Records earlier this spring.

Davis has bounced from coast to coast across Canada throughout his musical career and has been involved with reputable acts like Faith Healer and Elle Barbara’s Black Space. While his interest in music was fostered at a young age, it has grown into way of finding community and exercising his passion for a unique craft that can be simply described as gear tinkering — but surely anyone involved in the world of sound production would tell you it is more than that. For Davis, it has been a means of bolstering his self-confidence as an artist to go solo with songs he’s kept in his back pocket since he relocated to Montreal from Edmonton a few years ago. 

With analog recording and production being something completely outside my comfort-zone, one of the first questions I asked Davis was about how he first picked up (what some consider to be) such a niche pastime in the age of digital mixing and mastering.

“I first got into learning about analog equipment when my own gear would break and I didn’t have the money to fix it,” Davis shares with a smile over our video call. “Getting to know my gear inside and out has been a great way of saving money, and the knowledge I have has been so important in terms of accessibility. For example, you can buy kits to make replicas of really expensive gear. I made a clone of a TR-808 for seven-hundred bucks, when it normally retails for five to six thousand.”

At the same time, Davis’ knowledge came in handy when moving to Montreal as a source of income, as someone who doesn’t speak much French.

When the pandemic hit, Davis found himself spending more time in his at-home recording studio — located in one of the many warehouses in Montreal’s abandoned textile district off of highway 40. Like many of us, Davis was confronted by self-reflection in isolation, which lit a creative spark in a new vein. 

“At one point, I had written this bassline, and I knew I wanted to make into something eventually, but it wasn’t until last March that I finally decided to figure it out and appropriate it into a song.”

After some one-on-one time with said bassline, Davis produced Bear the Cold, a bright EP that acts as a teaser for his debut record of exclusively “breakup songs that sound happy,” set to release later this year.

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Mitch Davis shot by Kensey Crane

Seeing as Bear the Cold marks Davis’ first musical endeavour in a number of years, I wanted to hear his feelings on starting a new project based on something coming to an end (i.e. a relationship).

“It feels pretty strange. I guess I just hit a moment where I was ready to make music again, and that happened to be what I was feeling at the time. I think I was subconsciously cheering myself up with the music itself, as opposed to the lyrics. I felt rewarded, to a small extent, by being vulnerable. [Vulnerability] is something I appreciate in people, and I wanted to try and represent that for myself. As far as I can tell, a wide variety of people are responding well to it — which kind of surprised me!” Davis grins. “Something I personally struggle with is reading something I wrote in a very vulnerable state and then wondering if it’s too vulnerable. Sometimes it’s difficult to tell the difference between lyrics that are just like, pure, raw and emotional and lyrics that are just way too… overly simple and personal? Even though this can be a challenge, I’ve really learned to trust the past version of myself and following my instincts with this record, both in lyrics and sound.”

Before moving to Montreal, Davis was in Edmonton for quite some time and involved in completely different musical projects, whose influences can be picked up on Bear the Cold. As a former rapper and producer who also played “in indie rock bands forever,” Davis EP harnesses sunny rhythms and grooves with a funky punch. Reminiscing the jack of all trades’ legacy of some of his favourite artists, such as Stevie Wonder, Todd Rundgren, Sly Stone, and Paul McCartney, Davis gives us a glimpse into the magic of being involved in every step of your record’s conception from start to finish — especially without a band to bounce ideas off-of IRL.

In closing our conversation, Davis branches off of this notion of solitude and remarks, “It has been so weird [being separated] from the music community. I miss the feeling of going to a show and seeing someone come off-stage completely energized, and the feeling of playing shows and being able to try-out a half-written song live. That’s why I’ve been posting clips and things online; to gauge reactions. But I do miss trying out songs live where they exist for that night, and that night only,” he laughs.

Though Davis remarks that he imagined himself “becoming a hermit in a loft with a studio or something” upon moving to Montreal, he’s excited to reintroduce himself to the music scene with Bear the Cold. Check out Davis’ 7”, along with a recently released music video for the title track, directed by Jordan "Dr. Cool" Minkoff.

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Mitch Davis

Instagram | Twitter | Bandcamp

Zoë Argiropulos-Hunter (she/her) is the co-founder and managing editor of Also Cool Mag. Aside from the mag, she is a music promoter & booker, and a radio host & DJ.

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