Montreal Calling

Obviously the hype surrounding Montreal's music scene and artist community has been overwhelming over the course of the last year or so. While the Arcade Fires and Wolf Parades of the world have certainly fared well, the focus on most groups emerging from the city largely revolves around the broody, self-indulgent tone of the lyrics, and the all-encompassing orchestral sound crafted by a seemingly endless assembly of instruments.

Lost in the shuffle, and certainly not to be discarded is a more aggressive, Moog-inspired blitzkrieg of electro-rock groups such as We Are Wolves, Les Georges Leningrad, and Duchess Says. The way a scene is identified as conducive to a certain sound is a ridiculously simple argument that has permeated a lot of the mainstream media's viewpoint of Montreal as a hotbed of inspired and enlightened music making. Groups such as these have received scant amounts of attention in comparison, and while some would prefer it remained that way, such an attitude is only brought on by an aversion to the notoriety that comes with appealing to larger audiences.

What led to this topic was an audio documentary produced for BBC Radio 1's Lamacq Live. Reporter Imran Ahmed paints a more balanced view of the city producing much of the current sound on the blog scene. While he concedes that much of Montreal's current popularity is the result of the cultural and social settings that make the city so geopolitically unique, he also talks to people who acknowledge a wealthy talent base that has largely been in existence for quite some time, but only now seems to be rewarded for its quality by those seeking to co-opt the musical landscape.

Montreal or Nothing: Is Montreal the new Seattle? (BBC)

We Are Wolves - La Nature (mp3)
Duchess Says - Cut Up (mp3)