Live music is back with a vengeance, thanks to hardworking folks like Marilyne Lacombe. If you haven’t met Lacombe at L’Ésco already, you’ve definitely attended one of her brainchild events. For over a decade, Lacombe and her entourage have cultivated pillar projects at the core of Montreal’s alternative music scene, including Taverne Tour and DISTORSION psych-fest, as well as booking agency and indie label Mothland. We had the chance to meet Lacombe IRL at this year’s edition of FME, and catch her in action as a festival programmer and producer. Between sets, Lacombe graciously took the time to chat with us about her career beginnings, starting a label during a pandemic and her must-have essentials for any festival go-er. Check out our conversation with Lacombe below! 

Zoë Argiropulos-Hunter for Also Cool: Hi Marilyne! Thanks so much for chatting with Also Cool. To start, you've been around the block when it comes to the music biz. Tell us about your intro to this career path.

Marilyne Lacombe: I started to book shows in Montreal in 2008 when I was in charge of the music programming at Chez Baptiste sur Masson. Back then, the bar presented shows every week!  I had this idea of doing an alternative “St-Jean” that would celebrate the contemporary Montreal indie scene, in opposition to the nostalgia medley traditionally presented at Parc Maisonneuve. Then, “L’Autre St-Jean” was born. It created a whole media and political circus, as we were criticized for adding anglophone bands to the lineup. In the end, it really helped put the event on the map, and during the course of  five editions, we had close to 10,000 visitors coming every year at Parc du Pelican in Rosemont. We sadly had to end it because of the lack of funding; we were honestly taking huge financial risks for a one-day event.

A couple years later, I founded a multi-venue festival called Taverne Tour with my partner from “feu” L’Autre St-Jean, Pierre Thibault. Initially, it was just about creating a fun festival in the middle of winter that doesn’t take itself too seriously and trying to cure that January depression, all the while supporting small local businesses. The response was so great that it quickly became a staple in Montreal’s festival circuit. Over the years, we’ve presented some of my favorite bands, including: Deerhoof, METZ, A Place To Bury Strangers, Föllakzoid and Guerilla Toss, just to name a few.  

Also Cool: When did Mothland come into the mix?

Marilyne Lacombe: Around the time of Tavern Tour, I joined some like-minded people —gravitating around L’Esco— and together we founded DISTORSION. We wanted to present a well-organized, independent, underground psych festival with modern and diversified art direction.  We quickly gathered a community around the festival and eventually, we decided to start Mothland to help further the bands that we were working with, as no other booking agency would work with them.  Back then, I was pretty adamant of not transforming this into a label… But when COVID-19 hit the music industry, we weren’t all that keen on organizing livestream events, as we felt they would not really connect with our audience… So. starting a label was a great way to move forward with our mission.  I’m not sure how we got here so quickly, but we’re currently working on our 17th release!

Also Cool: That’s amazing! Segwaying off of that, let’s talk about this year’s edition of FME, which was a long-awaited return to live music. Seeing as music festivals are certainly you're thing; what makes FME stand-out and what was your involvement with the festival? 

Marilyne Lacombe: I started programming for FME four years ago. At the time, I would book a handful of weirdo and wild card bands on the lineup. As of 2020, I've been directing the programming with the support of my Mothland colleagues. Since the festival is mainly focusing on new acts and music discoveries, we have almost infinite artistic leeway and are able to put forth cutting edge programming. The festival has been running for almost 20 years now and over the time, has built a solid and trustful relationship with the artistic community across Europe and North America. It’s truly an honour to take on curation duties for such a great event!

I think there is something very magical about FME. Doing the annual 8-hour pilgrimage to a remote mining town, up in northern Quebec, for 4 days of music, is always a highlight of the year. If you compare it to similar festivals in Montreal, I feel like there are so many other distractions. During FME, people really have one thing to focus on; going to concerts to discover new music. There is also something exciting about bringing international acts and inviting them to this northern region of Quebec, as they would never end up there otherwise. I also love that the local community is deeply involved in the festival, making it a communal event where everybody chips in! 

 AC: What was it like programming the festival this year and what acts were your favourite?

ML: There is something really weird and exciting about programming a festival in COVID times. Usually, you’d see pretty much all the bands live before booking them. This year, we programmed many artists that we’d never seen live!  Though it was a bit risky, I was really pleased with taking the leap overall. I loved seeing Toronto’s kulintang ensemble, Pantayo, for the first time; ‘’mockasin-gaze’’ outfit Zoon; Quebec-Atikamekw grungy indie-folk artist Laura Niquay; Jangle-pop duo Ducks Ltd.; and canadian shoegaze veteran No Joy.

AC: What are your music festival essentials that you can't live without during festival season? 

ML: Well, since we’re talking about FME here, I could not survive without my fall clothing essentials: a lot of sweaters, jackets, mittens, hats, and scarves! Fortunately this year wasn’t too bad, but I always come prepared because it has literally snowed during FME weekends in the past.

Other than that, I always have an iconic Taverne Tour flask in my bag, which also helps with the cold weather!

AC: In closing, are there any other current projects that you're working on that you'd like to shout out? 

ML: Definitely check out Mothland’s upcoming releases! I can’t tell you too much about them, but we really have some badass releases coming down the pipeline! Also, we’re preparing for the return of live music events in Montreal… Stay tuned! 

Taverne Tour

Website | Facebook | Instagram

DISTORSION

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Mothland

Website I Facebook I Instagram

FME

Website | Facebook | Instagram

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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