Ever since I can remember I’ve a had a disposition for moodiness and obscurity, which at the time meant an entire childhood and adolescence of awkward self-loathing without a clear grasp of social norms and communication skills. Movies about outcast, weird girls always appealed to me and made me feel a little more normal. In my 20s now, with a grown-up job, career plans and a savings account, I harbor this kind of emotional deformity with anticipatory warmth like ice cream trucks and Jacks (for those of you who remember that game). Different is more valuable than the same, so I relish every opportunity to bathe in that childhood anxiety of social confusion.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Kaleidoscope images, smeared dark lipstick, long tangled hair and impulsive dancing in Montreal-based Grimes’ new video “Vanessa” revive those sentiments. Momentary as it is, Claire Boucher, aka Grimes, leaves in her path a trail of ethereal nostalgia with an innocent high-frequency voice and that electro pop rhythm. Call it hipster bullshit straight out of an American Apparel ad, maybe rightfully so, but at the very least you can’t deny you want to move to that beat, especially around the 2:30 mark.

The video comes ahead of the Grimes’ Split 12″ with d’Eon titled Dark Bloom and coming out on Arbutus records April 19.

Each year the Festival International De Jazz De Montréal (aka Montreal Jazz Festival) brings in over a million spectators to the French Canadian city. The Couch Sessions returns to Montreal this week for our 3rd year covering the festival which has included such acts as Lionel Ritchie, Stevie Wonder, Tony Bennett, Public Enemy, and Wu-Tang.

More than just Jazz, the festival has always brought in a diverse selection of electronic music, hip-hop, and world sounds. And this year proves even better than the last, with John Forte, Bilal, and the legendary Roots crew on the bill.

The Couch Sessions will be in Montreal from June 30th through July 4th.

Highlights

John Forte – It’s been a long road for the Grammy nomninated producer, who was released from prison after servicing time for distribution of cocaine, but he has instantly cemetned himself as one of the undergrounds best live performers. He dropped an album Water Light Sound, earlier this year and has toured with the likes of K’Naan and Tabi Bonney. June 30th at Club Soda, 7:00 PM (Buy Tickets)

The Roots- What can you say about The Legendary Roots crew that hasn’t already been said? The hardest working group in hip-hop music is back with another live album–the incedible How I Got Over–in addition to serving backing band duties for The Jimmy Fallon Show. And somehow they’re able to make it across the border to tour? June 30th at Metropolis, 8:30 PM (Buy Tickets)

Jose James – After spending years in Europe, Minneapolis based-Broolyn living jazz crooner Jose James is back in North America touring in support of his new album … and his EP Blackmagic. Jose is playing multple dates at the Jazz Festival July 1st – Scène TD Stage, 9:00 PM and 11:00 PM, FREE

Anti-Pop Consortium – Before it was cool to be avant garde in hip-hop (I’m looking at you Kid Cudi!) the Anti-Pop Consortium was blending skilled lyrics with electronica for years. The group might not be popular on the mainstream, but they’ve gotten the respect of everybody from Radiohead to Public Enemy, and their reunited stage act (most recently seen at SXSW 2010) is set to blow minds. July 2nd – Club Soda, Midnight (Buy Tickets)

Robert Glasper and Bilal – The combination of pianist Robert Glasper and soul crooner Bilal is more than powerful. Playing several dates together before, the duo’s work has almost become legendary. July 3rd – Hyatt Regency Montreal , 6:00 PM (Buy Tickets)

20 Annerversary of Ninja Tune with Andreya Triana, Bonobo et Mr. Scruff- Even though this venerable UK label might be known on this side of the pond, Ninja Tune has been one of the most progressive outlets in muisc, providing a home for electronic, hip-hop, drum and bass and everything in between. On the bill is the vernable Mr. Scruff and their newest signee Andreya Triana July 3rd – Métropolis, 8:30 PM (Buy Tickets)

Rakim – This concert started off as a Gang Starr reunion, uniting the late Guru with Dj Premier. Unfortunately with Guru’s passing it was not meant to be. However, another legendary artist–Rakim–has stepped up to the plate and is going to pay tribut e their legeacy as well as his own. July 3rd – Club Soda, Midnight (Buy Tickets)

Photos by EvaBlue. PLEASE SUPPORT!

Bonjour! Big ups to our homie Laurent and his peoples at 33 Mag in Montreal, Canada for providing this amazing review of this show! Look for more cross-border collaborations with Couch Sessions and 33 Mag real soon!

After a fast and absolutely unscientific survey, I can affirm that nobody could remember if Outkast ever stepped in the 514 during their career. Sizzurp, apparently, hits more than we’d like to believe.

So, the presence of Outkast’s Big Boi at Club Soda in Montreal’s notorious Red Light District had a particular significance for North of the Border’s playas and Montreal’s Funk Freaks. There were definitely people waiting to hear a blasting sound system exerting from the upcoming Sir Luscious Left Foot: The son of Chico Dusty. But most of us were there for a travel across time and space: Direction Stankonia, Georgia, era 1994-2000.

After pushing the audience’s patience to its limits, the last of the multitude of opening acts finally retreated where they should have never left: backstage. Four hours after the doors opened, alas, the tired host announced, trying to be as convincing as he could, that the South was in the building and ready to jump on stage. Yesssssssir, ‘cause with beers at $6.50 a pop, I was drinking more dollars an hour than my hourly rate at work.

Without wasting a second, “the least effeminate half of Outkast” (as a good friend of mine puts it) was rocking the room with the hits he wrote with Andre 3K–2 Dope Boys in a Cadillac, Git up Git out, Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik, Ms Jackson–all in 15 minutes! Woah. I didn’t need the ATLiens chorus to raise my hands in the air and wave them like a Wacky Waving inflatable arm flailing tube man. The projection of the amazing videography of Outkast was flawless and (surprisingly) perfectly coordinated with the song performed on stage. It made me realize though, how much hip-hop needs more artists capable of producing inspired and varied videos. I mean, who else can claim to have recorded videos with an entire pet shop, crazy indu-alien chicks and fierce pimps and playas from the A-Town?

The mood couldn’t have been smoother to introduce the new joints from Big Boi’s LP. It was a real treat to (re)discover in such good conditions Royal Flush (with Andre 3k and Raekwon), Shine Blockas (with Gucci Mane) and For ya Sorrows (featuring George Clinton & Too $hort), one of my favourite tracks of the year so far. A twitter leak is always good to spread the word but a blast-in-the-face performance is still the best way to break singles. Yet aware that new tracks are always a bit rough on a crowd’s spirit, Hot Tub Tony rapidly got back to its most known material and sped up the night with its best shots. You could have had your booty dipped in liquid nitrogen, I like the way you move, Bombs over Bagdad, The whole world and Player’s ball would have made your shorts bounce left to right. The grand finale was a wink at those who followed Big Boi’s adventures with the Purple Ribbon All-Stars. The explosive Kryptonite gave a chance to C-Bone to shine a bit outside of his backing vocal role and drained the last bit of energy out of the fans. ”I be on it/On it/On it/I be on that kryptonyte!” Ya!

I left with my ears buzzing happily and totally satisfied, something that doesn’t happen at much of these pre-album promo tours. DC people, be assured: Big Boi still got the stank! You better catch him when he hits your town.

You might remember the record shop, Paul’s Boutique from my previous travel in Montreal. I went back there when I was in MTL earlier this month and to my surprise I learned that my post generated a lot of business for the shop. I came back the next day to drop this interview with the owner Paul. Starting with 100 records, Paul’s collection has ballooned to almost 20,000 in 7 years.

If you’re ever in Montreal, check them out and tell them that The Couch Sessions sent you. It’s definately one of the coolest record stores I’ve seen in my international travels.

Paul’s Boutique
112 Mount-Royal E.
Montreal, QC, Canada

So if you didn’t know from the Twitter, I’m heading out to Montreal this weekend to cover the 30th annual Montreal Jazz Festival. Last year I had the opportunity to hang out with Chuck D and Flava Flav of Public Enemy and discovered some new and upcoming talent. This year, I’m checking out Joshua Redman, Thunderheist, Wale, Esmeralda Spaulding, and Femi Kuti among others. Look for more photo diaries and video interviews too. While I’m in MTL, I’m definitely going to peep the latest in streetwear and culture as well.

Montreal readers, hit a brotha up at articleonline [at] gmail [dot] com or @couchsessions on Twitter.

Check out Last Year’s Coverage Here

Arianne Moffatt – Point de Mire

Arianne Moffatt – Follow Me (Remix)

So I know this is probably not your cup of tea, but bear with me.

So on Sunday night in Montreal, I wandered into Metropolis for what the Jazz fest organizers call the nightcap with electronic jam band Jedi Electro. I’m not the biggest fan of traditional electronic music, but I decided to roll through since it was free and I was craving a Johnnie Walker Red and Coke for some reason. After some initial hesitation at the start of the set, I decided to stick around, and I’m glad i did.

Because they killed it.

The shit was live. The setup consisted of beats from a Mac (of course) with live drums, bass guitar, as well as keyboards and Moog synthesizer playing over it, in true jam band style. I didn’ t have my camera so the description doesn’t do the audio justice. But the highlight of the whole night was seeing Montreal singer Arianne Moffatt warped, remixed, and sample her voice on the fly. It ranks as some of the flyest ish that I’ve ever seen. The whole time, our new friend Mike (aka “le redneck de Montréal”) was screaming into my ear…”you know that girl is famous!”

I didn’t know just how famous until I did a Google search a few days later and yeah….she’s a bonafied pop star in French Language circles, and its much deserved. So far she’s dropped 3 albums, which combine everything from rock electro, to reggae/dub, and everything else in between, with a shout out to old school trip-hop that runs through her whole catalog. Most of y’all know that I’ve been on this singer songwriter kick for a while, thanks to such females as Fiest and Lykki Li. Personally, if Ms. Moffatt sung entirely in English her name would be among that crowd.

I’m not advocating she make an English language album though, lest she lose her artistic integrity. Plus French just sounds too damn sexy.

myspace.com/arianemoffattmusique

Pauls Boutique
112 Mount-Royal E.

It was like a live version of VH1 Storytellers with Chuck droppin’ such tidbits how Hank Shocklee at the last minute flipped the ordering of the songs of the cassette and played many songs for the first time live. And yeah, just like De La Soul, PE railed against the 20 minute sets that some hip-hop artists try to pass off as a live performance. Public Enemy went on for over 2 hours.

MORE PHOTOS AT THE FLICKR PHOTOSTREAM

Bonus: Flava Flav on the drums!

Flava Flav Drum Solo from Couch Sessions on Vimeo.

Say what you want about the man, but the dude is living life to the fullest. I ran into Flav twice in Montreal and he’s keeps it real—he’s the same person that you see on TV, no matter if he’s in the bar, in the elevator, or at a press conference. Chuck D, on the other hand is the exact polar opposite of Flav. Yes, we know that already, but to see these two side by side only heightens their differences.

Chuck and Flav are like brothers, with Flav being his loud and rambunctious self going off topic more than once and giving off the wall answers for seemingly straight-forward questions, and Chuck being quiet and collective and overtly political. Even though there was reported tension when Flav started taping his Flavor of Love series on VH1. In 2006 when the series debuted, Chuck criticized Flav’s choice of action in 2006, but there is nothing but love on stage, with Chuck defending Flav and noting the fact that he invented his role as a hype man, as well as pointing out the diversity of the Public Enemy lineup.

However, the younger generation will never really know the social impact of Public Enemy. Questions like “how does Delicious taste?” and “how can I be a cameraman on Flavor of Love?” seem to be the norm now at Public Enemy pressers. Chuck, for his part, steered the conversation back to politics.

With Public Enemy being North of the Border, Chuck focused on Canadian issues. “United States, is the new Mexico,” Chuck declares as he rails on government border policies, and the difficulty that now exists to cross into Canada. In fact, Professor Griff couldn’t make it across the border to Montreal. Chuck also remarked that Canada might become the next superpower because of its large oil, natural gas, and water reserves in relevance to its sparse population.

Of course, with the possibility of the first Black president in our nations history, the media was anxious to hear Chuck D’s take on the election, and it was predictably dire: “You’re gonna see some shit that you ain’t never seen before. You’re gonna see some shit that you ain’t never heard before…sit back, pull up a chair and watch the greatest reality show in the world.” Flav lightened the mood though by talking about how Obama recalled to a journalist that he can never be as Black as Flava Flav. “The fact that I occupy space in that man’s brain is a blessing to me.”

Chuck is also sour on the current state of hip-hop. According to Chuck, the current generation of hip-hop has lost its focus by trying to get rich quick rather than developing the skill of MCing and DJing. He did big up Canadian artists such as K-OS and Kardinal Offishall as well as Much Music and Musique Plus (Canadian Music Video Channels), for promoting hip-hop artists who wouldn’t be given a chance on MTV.

Public Enemy is the self declared “Rolling Stone of hip-hop,” dropping 12 albums over their 25plus year career, and performing in over 67 countries. But do they fit today’s notion of popularity? Chuck got testy when a journalist called Public Enemy popular. “Popular? That’s news to me. I drove my 1997 Acura up here.”

Popular or not, Public Enemy are legends who should not be missed when they come through your town.

Having that said, the teens in that building could tell a certain 17 year old what real hip-hop is.

Starting off for De La was Montreal DJ Ghislain Poirier. Other than a few remixes he did, I wasn’t really up on his original music. To be honest, his set sounded real repetitive and bass heavy, and for a while I was going to give up and go to the bar. However, the party livened up, first when two MCs showed up, then when his dancers entered the stage and tried to one up each other in a booty shake contest.

Nothing gets a crowd hype like booty!

De La Soul

Let’s be honest, most hip-hop shows are wack. They show up late, play a 20 minute set, and fill the stage with every cousin and weed carrier known to man. But not De La. They ROCK the show.

De La Soul – Stakes Is High from Couch Sessions on Vimeo.

It’s hard to believe that De La has been in the game for 20 years, and even though these cats are “old” by hip-hop standards, they had more energy and fire than people half their age. Their longevity is rightly deserved, and they put every bit of energy they had into their performance, which lasted so long that they ran out of songs. And the crowd was one of the livest that I ever seen. Seriously, these dudes have been in business longer than most of these kids have lived, but there was such an appreciation for REAL HIP-HOP in the building that I almost shed a tear.

De La’s set skewed heavily toward their sorely unappreciated album The Grind Date which is one of the best hip-hop albums of 2004. Of course they did the hits, “Me Myself and I,” “Saturday,” and “Stakes is High”, but their hustle for an album that’s almost 4 years old shows their dedication to the game and their resistance to becoming just another washed up hip-hop hit parade.

FULL SET AT THE FLICKR PHOTOSTREAM

To be honest, Stephanie McKay was off my radar for the longest time. I remember her from that track that “Take Me Over” off her first album, which was solid. And I still keep confusing her with Alice Smith.

But that’s all under the bridge. Ms. McKay has taken me over. She really needs to be in the conversation when it comes this new generation of soul singers, because she has a voice and an attitude that rivals anybody that is out today.

I’m not going to front, I only know one of her songs, but she has managed to win over the me and the crowd with ease. McKay’s music is soulful and personal, and the songs from her new album, Tell It Like It Is has a political agenda and social consciousness that is lacking, because many soul artists are basically just trying write a song based off of a catchy hook.

McKay’s blend of soul, jazz, and even a little broken beat might be a tough sell for some, and her dive club feel could have fell flat in such a large venue. But in the end, Ms. McKay won over the crowd of 20,000 easily and effortlessly. Her performance gained her new fans, including yours truly.

Check Stephanie McKay out at her MySpace.