PLAYLIST: FIELD TRIP TO FME

Sonic souvenirs from Rouyn-Noranda + a taste of Quebec culture past and present

From blatantly beautiful locales like Barcelona to slightly less exotic destinations… like Dover, Delaware….I will travel great distances for music. Most recently (last wknd) and certainly most remotely to Rouyn-Noranda—a Quebec mining town, an 8ish-hour drive northwest of Montreal—for FME.

For the uninitiated audience (aka most people south of the US-Canadian border we’re all increasingly desperate to hop), FME (pronounced eff-em-uh) is an acronym for Festival De Musique Émergente—an easy-to-decipher cognate, even for those whose Duolingo owl has long given up on passive-aggressive push notifications and finally face-melted beyond recognition.

The fest has been around since 2003 and is beautifully booked by the sweet Montrealers of MOTHLAND—the label/management/festival-throwing org you already know by association as their roster includes Brooklyn bands Grim Streaker and TVOD – acts fronted by the best kind of musical maniacs, known for their ripping, rolling, slap-you-in-the-(mostly)-metaphorical-face style of live show.

In other words, the exact dream team you want crafting a festival lineup—an activity that is equal parts art and science (+ a shit ton of spreadsheets).

I shall talk more about this incredible festival soon — specifically the amazing, immersive education it offered me in Quebecois music past and present. But in the meantime, here is a playlist featuring some of the best bands I caught at FME — from iconic Canadian acts I’d never heard of to new Polaris-prize-nominated pals, plus the Amsterdam trio who one night played a pop-up show in the parking lot of a poutine spot (I am not kidding) (and it was spectacular).

If festival recovery time is directly proportional to the amount of fun you’ve had at said fest, I prob won’t be totally back to normal until liiiiike November. So please enjoy this hour-ish of very sick songs by predominantly Francophone artists you have probably never heard of but will, I would wager, probably love.

BON WEEKEND, BABY! <3333