Experience Québec
Electronic picnics
Dancing under Calder’s Man!
Few cities in the world can boast attracting such varied and festive partiers to an event that’s as unique as this one. Each Sunday throughout the summer, from the end of May to the end of September, Montréal’s Piknic Électronik has fans of electronic music aged 7 to 77 dancing under the impressive Calder, built for Expo 67. On Sunday, let’s go dancing on the island!
What do these historic events have in common: Pope John Paul II’s birthday, the Mount St. Helens eruption, the death of Joy Division singer Ian Curtis, and the first Piknic Électronik 2008? Besides sharing the same date (May 18), they all took place on a Sunday! Does this augur well for cultish, spiritual, explosive weekends? Who knows? One thing is for sure: summer 2008 is shaping up to be binary—or shall we say, “extraor-binary”—under the Calder stabile.. Six years and still going strong
Yes, it’s true: the Piknic is already six years old! Since it first began in summer 2003, some 120,000 people (50,000 in 2007 alone)—music fans, families, tourists, local and international artists—have supported the Piknic’s crazy plan to create outdoor electronic musical get-togethers each Sunday at Parc Jean-Drapeau! Rain or shine, the “picnickers” come to move to the beat and celebrate the season.
The sixth annual Piknic Électronik won’t disappoint: reflecting the passion that fills its fans, the Piknic will continue to offer up new surprises in the framework of a truly unique Montréal experience. May 18 to September 28, 2008, Piknic Électronik will serve up action a-plenty: 22 events, 80 artists (including 36 international artists from 12 countries), 40 first-time participants and four “doubles” weekends in association with various partners and the top labels in electronica: MUTEK, Techno.fm, Complot, Saboteur Ball, I LOVE NEON, Archipel and Ninja Tune!
MUTEK + Piknic
MUTEK, held this year from May 28 to June 1, is the annual point of convergence of experimental electronic music, sound art and new technologies. What could be more natural than teaming up with the Piknic for a weekend? And what better way for MUTEK to wind up its activities than with an electronic communion on its final Saturday? Taking as its theme My Life in the Bush of Dub, the event will explore dub and dubstep, sounds that originated in the streets of London in the 1990s. On Sunday, with a nod to Quentin Tarantino, the mood turns to Pulse Fiction: four international DJs serving up a cornucopia of techno beats. Note that, if it rains, the event will move to the SAT.
Techno.fm Saturday
Techno.fm is the brainchild of two young Montrealers, the Davis' brothers. In March 2005, Deric and Alex decided to share their abiding love for electronic music by launching a free Internet radio station. Proud partners of the Picniks, they’ll broadcast all the performances live, with repeat broadcasts all week long. This year, two of their own DJs, James Diamond and Doc Funk, will take command of the turntables on the Labour Day weekend Saturday.Eco-friendly, equitable Piknics
As in previous years, the Piknic Électronik will use its summer platform to support three causes: society, the environment and health. The event’s official T-shirts will be made by Blank, a Québec company that promotes fair trade and buying locally. Efforts have also been made to promote recycling: visitors who return their empty glasses to the bar will get five cents off their next drink. Every little gesture counts….
Mother Nature, official partner
After last summer’s spotty weather, the Piknic is delighted to announce that it has signed a major agreement with Mother Nature. Which means hot and sunny Sundays all summer long. That’s a guarantee… Otherwise, we’ll sue!www.piknicelectronik.com or www.myspace.com/piknicelectronik
| Local DJ talents |
Guillaume & the Coutu Dumonts, May 18 Pheek, June 22 Milimetrik, July 27 Mistress Barbara, August 31 I love Néon, September 1 Soundshaper, September 7 Ghislain Poirier, September 21 Robert de la Gauthier, September 28 |
André Quenneville
Photos: Miguel Legeault, Mutek
2008-06-19
