Frankie Teardrop on Pre-Show Anxiety, the Best After Hours & Being a Grandpa

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Photo courtesy of Frankie Teardrop

There’s no denying that Frankie Teardrop is a Montreal queer icon. Check out their absolutely fire mix while you read about the LIP & Slut Island founder’s journey to becoming a DJ, producer & gay superstar. 

Malaika Astorga for Also Cool: From being a varsity soccer player to playing guitar in Ursula to now being a powerhouse DJ, you've been performing in front of audiences for a long time. How do you prep for a set (musically and personally), and do you have any tips for pre-show anxiety?

Frankie Teardrop: Pre-event anxiety has never failed to show up before a gig or a game, no matter how often I do it. On a team or in a band we could deal with it collectively, as a group, we could squeeze our nervousness out of us by relating and talking it through. As a DJ, you're somewhat alone in this game of butterflies. I don't want to sound like a shitty politician by not giving a direct answer to a question, so here we go. 

Five things I find that help reduces my pre-show anxiety:

1) Being prepared in advance, musically and technically.

2) Talk it through. Just like therapy, vocalizing your feelings helps. Give yourself a time limit, and find a friend who is willing to listen for a moment before you head to your gig. I usually go to gigs alone, but you could alternatively bring a friend. I did this when I played Igloofest, and it helped immensely. 

3) Arrival time. Go to the venue early. It always helps me to get a good sense as to what vibe in the space is like that night, who the crowd is, who the other DJs are, and what they are playing. It helps me have confidence in knowing what direction my set will take. 

4) Outfit. I refuse to be ashamed to bring this up. Pick your outfit, or get in contact with the designers you're collaborating with in advance. This probably doesn't apply or even occur to a lot of dudes because they can show up in their random pantalonz and shirt, and people will drool over them. But being femme, I feel pressure whether I like it or not (reminds me of that Beyonce and Ed Sheeran meme). Personally, I feel the eyes are on me, I want to look and feel good along while also sounding good. Even if I'm in a big baggy tee, I want to rock that big baggy tee.

5) Lastly, pick one "Step back and look at yourself!" reminder. Mine is: FRANKIE YOU'RE JUST A DJ LMAO

Also Cool: You've been heavily involved in event coordinator over the past few years in Montreal and Vancouver, from your first gig at Playhouse, to LIP and Slut Island. What are the differences you've experienced in the two scenes, and what's one thing you love about both cities?

Frankie: There is quite a difference between the two, the cities are so different economically. Vancouver is expensive, event-goers live across the entire city and surrounding suburbs, and people often have to work a lot to survive. 

My life here is very different than it was in Montreal. I work in film with a minimum of 14-hour days. I'm constantly exhausted, and I feel disgusting after work. Still, I try to direct any free time and energy I have towards my community projects. It is hard to find the energy, but I feel so deprived in the cis white straight man world of film that when I do hear of a queer party happening, I buy my ticket in advance and willingly look forward to that one night out. 

As for Montreal, I love how abundant queer events are each weekend. It's overwhelming how many options you have every night. The scene is small but powerful. The city feels small, people live close, living is cheap, so capitalism doesn't seep in as deep. Organizers and artists are less competitive, which creates way more space for collaboration. I love Montreal, it's been a pleasure to experience and witness the growth of the queer scene over time. I miss it.  xoxo Grandpa Teardrop

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Photo courtesy of Frankie Teardrop

AC: What was your experience like when you were first finding community in Montreal? How have you been able to find community through the music scene now both online and IRL?

Frankie: When I first moved to Montreal, my community was my soccer team. I'd bus out to Loyola campus every day after class to practice with my teammates, and we'd go on trips around Quebec to play every weekend. Soccer was my life. By my third year, I had to quit, classic to women's sports. The team got no scholarly funding, so I had to work. That's when I, of course, became a freakin' raging trans-integral feminist!

I was working at American Apparel when I first found my music lovers, queer friends, and my first girlfriend (co-founder of Slut Island Sultana Bambino). I moved to the Mile End around that time with my roommate, and we started going to Faggity Ass Fridays at Playhouse. This is where I found the queer community. FAF was where I realized why I wasn't as excited as my soccer teammates when the boys would share a touring bus with us.

During this time, I also learned that parties can hold incredibly powerful messages, and can solely exist to uplift those who are in more need of support in this world. FAF was a fundraiser for the Head & Hands Sense Project. It's a project that supported and still supports youth's healthy sexual development by giving them the information and tools to make empowering decisions about their own sexual health. Fulfilled and inspired by having found community and friends I related to, listened to and learned from, I started LIP and Slut Island.

AC: What was the best after-hours spot you've been to, and why?

Frankie: The best one I've been to was in Mexico City this February. There were actually two that blew my mind, but I'll pick the one that had more bathrooms. 

It was massive. There was a taco stand outside, the walls were smothered in colourful graffiti, and the ceilings were incredibly high. There were soaring pillars jutting out everywhere, holding the building up around the dancefloor. There was a little tunnel into another rave room that made me feel as if I entered into a cave, with one laser as a light source. For me, the best after-hours spot means a good sound system and a fascinating space to allow your party-people to drool over. 

AC: How can we learn how to DJ while we're quarantined?

Frankie: This really depends on how accessible equipment is to you. If you already have a controller or CDJs, keep practicing mixing tracks! Many of us have time to be patient right now. If you don't have the gear, computer DJing helps a lot when preparing to use physical gear. That's how I did it, virtual DJ, to controller, and then to CDJs. 

Keep an out eye for our collaborative DJ workshop series with Digital Hell, starting on April 14th.

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Photo courtesy of Grandpa Teardrop

AC: What's the best way to support you and other DJs/performers right now?

Frankie: Share and listen to our mixes. Donate if you can, most of us have our online cash drop apps up. Book us if you're doing anything online. Remind those who are not in the music or art scenes to support self-employed artists!

AC: Any final thoughts? 

Frankie: I wish everyone the best during these times, it's not easy. Shout out to all the frontline workers who are working so hard right now to keep people alive and safe.

Thank you Also Cool mag for your time, I love what you're doing.

(Editor’s note: Thanks, we love you too Frankie.)

Keep up with all things Frankie here & catch them on the LIP x HOT CRIP: Club Quarantine Take Over and stay tuned for our upcoming interview with Internet sweethearts Club Quarantine.

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Jodie Overland on How Dancing Can Induce Socio-Political Change

Jodie Overland by Ariana Molly

What’s better than dancing to forget? Dancing to induce socio-political change. As a DJ, producer, event organizer, and community activist, Jodie Cook embraces this true spirit of dance culture. The Vancouver-based artist known as Jodie Overland has been recognized as a rising star in Canadian electronic music, bringing an acid-infused incursion of hard, dark techno to a scene characterized by chilled-out dream house. With upcoming releases on the labels Sweat Equity NYC and Lisbon-based Naive, Overland has only recently began making music full-time - and yet her near-decade of DJing has established her as a sonic wave-maker touring the world over.  

However, Overland’s hypnotic sounds are not the only waves she’s making. Last summer, Jodie organized Rave Against Renoviction - a rave protest outside of Lululemon-founder Chip Wilson’s $73.1 million Vancouver home. Over 60 artists gathered together to dance in protest of the displacement resulting from Wilson’s development firm’s eviction of artist studios and music venues with impossible rent hikes. I got a chance to catch up with Overland before her Montreal Boiler Room debut this month, got the lowdown on her involvement in Vancouver’s underground, and the aftermath of raving outside of Chip Wilson’s house.

Jodie Overland by Ariana Molly

Overland got her first set of CDJs at 17 years old, when she was living in Calgary. Upon moving to Vancouver seven years later, she had just learned how to use Ableton, and had little more than a few tools and a dream of one day releasing her own music. She first moved in with fellow artist and Planet Euphorique founder, D. Tiffany.  “I holed up in this warehouse and made music for the better part of a year. I would go to different raves, but no one would book me because no one really knew who I was. I realized I needed to figure out who the bookers were at these places. So I just started throwing my own parties - and I haven’t really looked back since.”

Those parties were the beginning of Freak Hour - the Vancouver-based warehouse rave series that Overland described as, “the Berghain of Vancouver, where it’s just peak-hour techno all night.” Prioritizing booking women, queer, and nonbinary artists, Freak Hour’s bottom line is hard, fast techno, “There’s no opening or closing set - people just know that there’s gonna be hard dancing all night.”

Jodie Overland by Ariana Molly

Some of the organizations that were ‘renovicted’ by Low Tide Properties include Red Gate Arts Society, AIDS Vancouver, Index, and 333 - which was a frequent venue for Overland’s Freak Hour parties, among many other iconic underground events. That’s how the idea of Rave for Renoviction came to be - upon the closing of two monumental venues for the underground music community, one of Jodie’s friends asked the obvious question, “Want to throw a rave outside Chip Wilson’s house?” Clearly, her answer was ‘yes’. 

Similar to the evictions and displacements induced by big developers such as Shiller Lavy Realties in Montreal, Wilson’s Low Tide Properties was responsible for evicting artists and community services that were deeply rooted in the local identity - taking an especially hard toll on marginalized LGBTQIA2S+ and BIPOC groups. 

Chip Wilson made an unexpected appearance just as the protesters were setting up for the rave. After listing all of his charitable donations for various artistic causes, he clumsily attempted to justify the firm’s operations, stating, “I didn’t get here without making a lot of mistakes and having failed many times, and many times I couldn’t make rent because I didn’t have a product that people actually wanted to buy.” 

“OK, thanks for the econ lesson.” Although the exchange was brief, Overland noted that the athleisure magnate’s appearance made a huge difference in the aftermath of the protest, “We probably would have just looked like a bunch of crazy art people staging a rave in front of a billionaire’s house.” 

Thanks to clumsy one-liners like, “Socialism will always fail,” Chip’s comical response brought the public’s attention to the plight of Vancouver’s art community. “The aftermath was just really good press for the arts community. Since then, Vancouver started to donate spaces to artists and collectives and to help subsidize rent for artists. Vancouver is also looking into replacing the square feet that have been lost by gentrification to kind of keep the fabric of the art community alive.” Programs supporting artist spaces in the city include the Artist Studio Award Program and the Artists in Communities Program. 

Jodie Overland by Ariana Molly

What artists or sounds have you been inspired by lately?

I digest music in a strange way. I get obsessed with things, then I move on. I’m into individual songs, but I don’t really follow particular labels. I just kind of stumble upon things and I’ll be like, “This is sick,” and move on. 

I’m obsessed with Leticia (softcoresoft), I think everything she does is fantastic - I could not go on more about her. Violet has been such a mentor, she’s like my rave mom. She was the first person who said “yes” to my music and I was just like, “what?” (laughs) she has always been there for me. My friend Eric from Edmonton, he goes by Frazier, makes amazing, crazy electro. Reptant, he’s a good friend, also makes wild electro. I don’t really play a lot of that kind of music, but I like to listen to it. 

I listen to a lot of ambient and sometimes I don't listen to anything at all. Sometimes I like no music. I need to rest these ears a lot, I find. Sometimes it’s nice to put on a YouTube playlist and let it run - then I don’t have to do any of the work to choose anything.

What does your gear setup look like?

Oh god… I’m never gonna impress gear-heads honestly (laughs). I just work in a dinky little studio. I have my little MOTU microbook sound card and my Roland 303, and then just my laptop. I mainly just have samples of an 808 and a 909, then I use certain plugins and delays to make them sound cutesy. It’s a pretty simple setup. The delays and reverb that I’m using are the only thing I keep super consistent. 

Jodie Overland by Ariana Molly

I saw you have big things coming in 2020 - records on Sweat Equity and Naive - what’s been your mindset for the new music you’re writing? What are you excited about (in music or in life) for this new year (or decade...)?

The one with Sweat Equity is really about autonomy because for a long time I wasn’t autonomous. I’m just really coming into myself as an artist. The one on Naive is just that playful, naive theme that [represents the label] - it’s about how I’m not a genius at anything, I’m just still trying to figure it out myself. They're the same but also different.

I go through really hard times and then I’ll spend a week just writing music. I’ll come out of that hole and be like, “Ok, wow, um I feel better.” After that, I just won’t make music for a month, and then I’ll go through another hard time and it starts over again. I find that I’m only able to write when I’m going through hard times, which is probably not healthy but, you know, I need to exercise the demons. 

I’m doing music full time now, which I never thought I would do. It was always just a fantasy, but I quit my job - told them I wouldn't really be able to work since I’ve been away so much. I’ll be in Europe for most of this year and in the US a bunch, just going wherever the wind blows, or wherever someone wants me to come. 

Public Works, San Francisco

https://www.residentadvisor.net/events/1372724

 Dolly, Vancouver 

https://www.residentadvisor.net/events/1380153

Tresor, Berlin

https://www.residentadvisor.net/events/1380381

More and more DJs and event organizers are taking the initiative to take activism beyond social media likes and reposts. The community values of the dance music scene are a critical tool in mobilizing people to engage in political activism. The history of dance music is built on this, and preserving DIY spaces is essential to keeping these movements alive. In Dr Motte’s famous words during Berlin’s Love Parade in 1989, “We want to keep this place for ourselves, our children and all the others who will be on this planet after us.”

To the artists organizing events in support of the Wet'suwet'en crisis, we see you and we would like to support you however we can. 

Jodie Overland

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Photography by Ariana Molly

Ariana Molly has been striving to capture the feelings with no name in her short films, 35mm photographs, and music since she could identify her pulse. 

Visual I Sonic

Maya Hassa

Maya is a music journalist from Chicago who fell head-over-heels in love with Montreal’s unique DIY culture. She works to promote underrepresented and underground artists through her writing.

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VAULT Unlocked: How Montreal Raving Builds Community

Visual by Malaika Astorga

From the organizers of the infamous tunnel rave that entranced Montreal this past summer, VAULT: Unlocked brings you almost 24 hours of pure rave bliss and community events. NON/BEING is the collective behind some of the best underground raves in the city. Over the past few years, they’ve brought the community together -  from their early days at Barbossa (FKA Blizzarts), to the depths of an abandoned tunnel in Griffintown. 

Tickets are selling fast, be sure to pre-order here to avoid the increased ticket price at midnight. The daytime events are free, and open to the public.

VAULT: Unlocked is a celebration of the collective’s forthcoming compilation album Certified Reality, which features international artists such as Murder Pact (NY, USA), Tati Au Miel (Montreal, Canada), Jaclyn Kendall (CA, USA), Minimal Violence (Germany), and many others.  The festival itself is centered around sharing knowledge and resources, and bringing various scenes, practices, and communities together. The event experiments with the relationships and sentiments shared on the dancefloor, but this time recontextualized in daytime events and community-oriented activities. 

VAULT events are known for their excellent rave-invite websites, all created by Remote Access. You can catch their radio show “Digital Hell” on N10.as Radio every fourth Wednesday of the month at 5pm EST.

Also Cool Mag is proud to co-present the community panels portion of the festival, where we will have a facilitated open discussion on Montreal’s various creative scenes, and how we create, support, and sustain the communities' efforts. The panel discussions will be led by community leaders and creative organizers from different academic, social, and experiential backgrounds, bringing together people and perspectives from many different parts of Montreal's cultural foundation.

Read our interview below with NON/BEING co-founder, and VAULT: Unlocked coordinator Diana Baescu a.k.a. D. BLAVATSKY.

Also Cool: Who is Non/Being? 

Diana for NON/BEING: NON/BEING IS THE MURKY SLIME THAT COVERS A DANCE FLOOR AFTER A RAVE. We are Diana Baescu [who is speaking in this interview], Simon Rock, and Heather Mitchell at its current core - but we are more importantly a research studio built by the sentiments and moments we share in warehouse rave basements and late night chat rooms.    

AC: How did the idea for the Vault: Unlocked festival come about - what was your vision?

Diana: The VAULT: Unlocked festival all came together in about a month - but it has also been something we have been working towards for many, many years. Our vision is all of us hanging out in a big warehouse sharing time, knowledge, and resources. Maybe eating some snacks, or dancing...but mainly just being together in celebration, with ourselves, and with one another. 

AC: The festival is an opportunity for exploring the meaning of community and the various interconnections that exist within it - what is the significance of collaboration between various 'scenes'. How can Montreal's creative community benefit in particular?

D: Montreal has always been a very fragmented city. Based on a very clear separation between Francophone and Anglophone culture/communication, there is a type of transience present with how people interact with this city that makes it difficult to establish long term creative infrastructure. Collaboration is the most important thing. Although our different scenes might nurture varying aesthetics and sonic preferences, the lack of communication and resource sharing happening across even just the different rave communities within Montreal is really limiting our abilities to set up secure community roots. It shouldn't be this difficult to find spaces to throw events and work out of, nor this tough to seek out knowledge and advice from older, more experienced community developers. 

The difficulty and conflicts that each new generation of creatives faces in Montreal is ultimately based on how impermanent living in this city feels. People living here are constantly looking at places like Berlin and New York as cultural focal points to raving and other forms of art organization, but the reasons why people can do the things they are doing there now is because they have generations of infrastructure to tap into for resources, knowledge, and support. The point of collaboration is to come together and share what we have/what we know, and although dancefloors and rave spaces might be our current focal points for these community organizational practices, collaboration will only enrich our lives as creatives and individuals. 

I think that it is pretty clear at this point in time that institutions in power are not concerned with our states of being. They are not here to protect or nurture our interests or basic needs of living, and although at a younger and more naive point in my life I may have been inspired to try to ‘change the system’, at this point I am only concerned with establishing alternative support networks for the ones that continue to fail us. 

Raves are important, but this isn't just about raves. It is about using raves as spaces for celebration that expand to other aspects of our social livelihoods. This festival is a small contribution to our deeper social reflections on how we can support and flourish with one another, in a world that feels like it is falling apart - we will only continue to fail at building broader long-term community infrastructure, if we do not learn the best ways to collaborate and live with/alongside one another.     

N10.AS is an online community radio, who will be co-presenting the daytime market portion of the festival

AC: What events have you previously organized and how have those experiences fed into putting together the festival? 

D: Everyone in the NON/BEING and festival crew has organized a wide range of events. Vault itself has been running for two years, and has been most deeply impacted by the abandoned tunnel rave we threw over the summer. Completely changing our personal perspectives on our capacities as organizers, and really slamming down on some important aspects of illegal event throwing, the abandoned tunnel rave has informed us as both ravers and community members in really special ways. 

Throwing a festival of this sort has always been a dream of mine. Having moved to Montreal two and a half years ago, some of the first conversations I was having with people I met in the rave scene were about wanting to put something like this together. Based on zine-making events and punk shows I used to organize when I was younger, I have always wanted to expand the special feelings I have while raving to other forms of community gathering. 

When we first started thinking about this event on the 29th, we did not intend for it to be a festival. But after the tunnel rave this summer, the idea of organizing just a rave did not interest us as much. After exploring different warehouses and abandoned churches for a while, Simon and I found the first space for the fest and quickly started fantasizing about different ways we could use it. Also marking the launch of our new collective, NON/BEING, we wanted to do more than just throw a rave. I have always valued markets and group discussions for their shared abilities in bringing different people, perspectives, and experiences together - and it all just kind of came together really fast. So here we are.   

Frankie Teardrop is an event planner and DJ based out of Vancouver. In 2014, Frankie co-founded Slut Island Festival alongside Sultana Bambino. Within the same year they founded LIP, a queer events series, in which both projects are based out of Tio'tia:ke. They will be a speaker on the second panel, and a DJ during the rave segment of the festival.

AC: Who are some of the people in the panel discussions and what important topics will they be covering?

D: I am fan-boying over all of our panel speakers so hard. You can read more about each person in detail on the facebook page/fest document we sent out, but it will be an extremely interesting two hours. Drawing from knowledge bases and experiences that are involved in Montreal institutions like Mutek, Moonshine, Slut Island, Inner Circle, McGill and Concordia Universities, Lagom, Taking What We Need, (you folks at Also Cool), and so much more - a lot of really great humans are coming together to share their perspectives and ideas on community. The panels will be segmented into two one-hour conversations, with different folks for each discussion. Broadly asking ‘what is community?’, the first hour will more philosophically look at how community manifests within our lived realities, and why strengthening and expanding community support/conversation outside of rave and dance floor spaces is important. 

Comprised of generally younger members involved in more recent years of art and cultural development within Montreal, the first hour is intended to identify the tone and structure for why and how we should organize ourselves moving forward. The second discussion group will then build off of what was shared in the first hour, to more-specifically talk about the issues our communities face around spaces and funding. 

Incorporating very real dynamics of not only our community structures, but also of our personal lives - we will be graced by more experienced members of Montreal’s various scenes to talk about how we can establish sustainable spaces to work and gather within, and reflect on how we can better collect and direct funding sources within our community practices.

The self-taught, Montreal based artist Jimmy Bertrand (Neo Edo) creates through any means digital. They will be performing live at the festival.

AC: For someone who's never attended a rave before, what would you say have been the greatest lessons you've learned from those experiences?

D: Wow this is a really great question. One of the things that makes raving such a profound aspect of who I am today, is how it can be an extremely personal thing, yet a broader social/community-based undertaking at the same time. Raving has opened up a whole new understanding of embodied existence to me, a relationship between self and the physical that I was never able to fully grasp before moving to Montreal. It has taught me how to be with my physical self, and has offered the resentment I had developed growing up as a trans/non-binary individual, the opportunity to heal. 

Celebration is important. Having spaces we can experiment, escape, and explore relationships with ourselves and one another are founding sentiments for my beliefs in the power of raving. For so long I felt trapped and detached from the physical aspects of my existence, but through this development across my personal journey of raving, and the community relationships I have built - raving has taught me, and continues to teach me, lessons that inform complex aspects of my personhood. 

HONOUR YOUR INSTINCTS. You know yourself best. Always check in with yourself and reach out to people around you if something feels off. Consent and mutual respect should inform every aspect of the intentions you bring into a social space, especially raving. Although raving can be a beautiful and powerful exploration of self, acknowledge and respect how your personal journey affects and impacts the other people sharing space with you. 

We all have something to gain and learn from raving, but your experiences will always be more fruitful for both yourself, and those around you, if you move through them in consideration of broader community sentiments and mindful practices. Raving is a great place to begin these journeys, but I do not think they are the last and only places these feelings, conversations, and lessons should be shared.  

FESTIVAL SCHEDULE

12-6pm: Meet the Community (Co-Presented by N10.as & Sweatboxx)

A daytime art market co-presented by N10.as and Sweatboxx featuring local artists and vendors. Local DJs and VJs will be performing and broadcasting live on N10.as during the market.

6-8pm: Community Panel Discussions (Co-Presented by Also Cool)

A facilitated open discussion on Montreal’s various creative scenes, and how we create, support and sustain the communities' efforts. The panel discussions will be led by community leaders and creative organizers from different academic, social, and experiential backgrounds, bringing together people and perspectives from many different parts of Montreal's cultural foundation. 

Panel One: What is community? 

With speakers Malaika Astorga, Diego Cabezas Watson, Willow Cioppa, Sophia Sahrane, and Jacqueline Beaumont, moderated by Diana Baescu.

The first hour of panel discussions will more philosophically explore what community is, and how it manifests within our lived realities. Reflecting on scene-building within Montreal in reference to broader international art networks, this hour will touch upon how we can nurture fruitful locally-based cultures, while analyzing the political implications of our social organization within the real world. 

Panel Two: Community Spaces and funding

With speakers Odile Myrtil, Danji Buck-Moore, Milo Reinhardt, Estelle Davis, and Frankie Teardrop, moderated by Diana Baescu.

The second panel will be looking at more concrete questions of community spaces and monetary accumulation/redistribution. With the quickly shifting housing market within Montreal, how can we establish sustainable spaces/studios to work out of, and how do we find new venues for rave throwing and event organization. Closely intertwined with questions of spaces, speakers shall also be touching on various resources for funding, and shall reflect on how we can fund projects, pay one another, and redistribute wealth in productive/beneficial ways. 

8pm-Midnight: Live Performances

Live hardware performances from various local electronic musicians Liar/Lier, Exe.Jocko, Neo Edo and Dregqueen.

Midnight-7am: DJs/Rave

DJs and Vjs Pulsum, Frankie Teardrop, Lis Dalton, D.Blavatsky, Art Director B2B Fresh Out, The Dryer, Anabasine B2B Dileta, Remote Access and She.Phase, Viiaan and MPM10.

Buy tickets on Resident Advisor

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The Diving Bell Social Club: From a Space Full of Junk to a Community Hub

Visual by Malaika Astorga

The Diving Bell was the home of our first-ever fundraiser and has been an essential part of the DIY music scene in Montreal. The venue is currently run by Sarah (AKA Hot Tramp), Maryse, Austin, Jason, and Evan. We talked to them about how they got started, what it means to run a venue, and how they’re actively creating safer and more inclusive spaces.

Malaika Astorga for Also Cool: Tell us about your first experiences going to shows, and why you wanted to get involved in the DIY music scene. 

Austin:  I used to go to lots of little DIY shows when I was a teenager. Sometimes they were pretty well set up, like an all-ages show at a youth center or an art gallery. Other times they were very scraped together...but often those were the most fun.  A few times we’d get a few bands together and do a sort of "pop-up" show in the underground parking lot of Emily Carr University In Vancouver. Obviously the sound quality was iffy, but it was really fun and spontaneous. 

Evan: My first experience going to local shows was through playing in bands in high school in Edmonton. DIY shows were few and far between at that time, so we played a lot of bars. The atmosphere was driven by profit, and bands were mostly used as a way to attract customers. 

Sarah: When I moved to Montreal, my first experience going to shows was mainly at the Bog and other DIY spaces that have since closed. As a newcomer to the city who didn’t know many people, I really appreciated the sense of community in these places. I always want The Diving Bell to feel that same way for others; a welcoming place to listen to good music, connect with others, and ultimately just feel at home. 

Maryse: My first experience going to shows was in Vancouver, where DIY spaces, unfortunately, keep shutting down due to exorbitant rent. When I moved to Montreal a couple of years ago, I was so blown away by the DIY community and venues that let emerging artists share what they're creating. I think one of our goals at The Diving Bell was to retain the DIY spirit of support and community while offering a licensed venue with a really solid stage and sound set-up.

Visual by Malaika Astorga

Also Cool: What are the different ways that you’ve been involved in the DIY music scene over the year?

Evan: After moving to Montreal in 2011, I was introduced to places like Drones (FKA Silver Door), Poisson Noir, La Plante, Psychic City, and eventually joined up with friends and fellow musicians to create The Bog in St Henri. 

Austin: When I came to Montreal, I got involved with The Bog. I initially got involved by shooting videos of the live performances, but also helped to curate some of the events. The Bog is where I met some of the folks who later helped establish The Diving Bell with me. It’s still there too! They don’t do shows nearly as often as they used to, but it’s definitely worth checking out anytime they have an event.

Sarah: I’ve been growing my own business, Hot Tramp, which promotes shows and a yearly festival while offering management, public relations, and booking to various artists.

Maryse: I’m a musician (Maryze) and organize many DIY shows with other artists – often with Hot Tramp spearheading the events, since Sarah is also my manager!

AC: Walk us through  the history of The Diving Bell , from the initial inspiration for the venue, to where you are today. 

Austin:  About a year before we started working on building The Diving Bell , The Bog and the late Psychic City we’re in talks about joining forces and starting an all-new, mega DIY venue space in a former potato chip factory near the train tracks on St Hubert. For many reasons, that never ended up happening, but the spark for finding a new, larger and multi-purpose space had been ignited. 

About a year later, Evan, who was managing a bar on Saint Laurent called Blizzarts (now Barbossa), got word from his landlord that there was a large space sitting unused on the third floor of the same building. He called me up and we went in to check it out; immediately seeing its potential. However, we began to understand why such a large, perfectly located venue space was left unused for so long. It was completely filled with junk and the landlord, a very interesting and eccentric guy, didn’t want us to get rid of anything. He kept insisting that we “just put curtains up” to hide the junk and stuff like that. It took a lot of frustrating negotiation, but eventually, after about five solid months of back and forth, he allowed us to move all the stuff to another building he owned on the other side of town. 

All in all, we filled up a rented three-ton moving truck ten different times! Eventually, thanks to the amazing support of so many friends from The Bog community, we cleared all the stuff out and were able to get started! 

EVAN: In spirit, The Diving Bell is a direct extension of The Bog for Austin and I. We essentially wanted to capture the sense of community that flourished within that venue, while also allowing it to grow. Our goal has always been to create a welcoming space that puts artists first. Bog alumni Sarah and Maryse joined our team, and are integral to the life and energy of The Diving Bell.

The Diving Bell before it was cleared out. Image provided by the Diving Bell.

AC: What are some of the challenges you’ve faced running a venue?

Austin: The constant threat of noise complaints is something that definitely keeps me up at night (RIP Divan Orange). Many of our main challenges spawned from the instability of our landlord, who unfortunately passed away in May 2019. As previously mentioned, he was a fairly disorganized person who left behind quite a few big messes that we had to wrap our heads around. Also, there were a few stressful months where we didn’t know who our new landlord was going to be and if they would kick us out or crank up our rent. Luckily, it all worked out in our favour for the most part, and we’ve got a more sturdy foundation than ever! 

Evan: Recent challenges also include attempts to bridge the divide between French and English programming, and offering better representation for those from marginalized communities.

AC: How do you actively work to make The Diving Bell  a safe and inclusive space?

Evan: When we first decided to open up The Diving Bell, we did so with the knowledge that extra measures would need to be taken to accommodate our guests. It has always been a priority to create a welcoming, diverse, and safe space for anyone attending our events. Our staff has been trained in de-escalation and conflict resolution techniques, as well as first aid. What is becoming clear is that regardless of the culture and environment that exists past The Diving Bell door on the third floor, there needs to be the same amount of work put into our stairway and the street outside. Our little corner of St. Laurent Boulevard is not yet the safest space for marginalized peoples, and we hope that by listening to the needs and concerns of our community that can help to make The Diving Bell an even safer and more inclusive space moving forward.

Sarah: As Evan mentioned, active listening and keeping an open dialog with community members is something we take very seriously. We promise transparency and encourage folks to inform us either directly, or anonymously if they feel unsafe or unwelcome in our space. What is great about booking at The Diving Bell is that we are a multi-performance space, which allows us to bring different creative communities together under one roof. When booking, Austin and I always try and put a variety of events on the calendar to ensure that the community we are serving feels represented.

Maryse: I think we make a strong effort to listen to our community about their needs and concerns and to try our best to address them. We especially want to make sure marginalized groups like the queer and BIPOC communities feel safe, welcomed, and included in our space. We need to keep learning by actively listening to folks, and be open to how we can change to better understand and respect their realities.

Austin: With that, we also strive to be as friendly and welcoming as possible on all fronts. 

AC: What would your advice be to people who are looking to get involved in the DIY scene by running shows, or even a venue?

Austin: Safety first! All it takes is one mishap to ruin everything for a DIY venue. For example, the fire at Ghostship in Oakland a few years ago was a terrible reminder of the importance of taking these things seriously.

Evan: The best advice I can give is to do what you love, find people with the same passion, and learn to count on each other. This kind of thing can’t be done alone; it truly requires a village. Put on a show in your kitchen, put on a show in a park… The space is not what’s important; it’s what happens inside it. Be safe, be kind, be respectful, and listen. 

Sarah: I’d say go for it - our city needs more venues and people running shows! Just keep in mind that it is a lot of work getting anything off the ground. Opening a venue requires spending a lot of time on tedious paperwork and dealing with the frustrating budget constraints of independent promoters. So, you really have to make sure your heart is in it! These early stages are never as fun as they seem. 

AC: If I’m an artist or organization looking to book the space, what do I do to get involved? What information should I include in my email?

Evan: The best way to get involved is to send us an email at info@divingbellsocial.com, or come by and visit us during a show! We’re always happy to meet new people and brainstorm new ideas. 

Sarah: If you reach out to us by email; you should always include links to your project, dates, and a short overview of the event in question. This seems super basic, but you'd be surprised how many emails I get missing that info! Also for music shows, if you are a touring band, please send us who you have in mind for local support! If you are a local band, please send me your full line-up or at least an idea of what it will be. I think a common misconception is that venue bookers and show promoters are one and the same. As a venue booker, I will rarely put a line-up together for you, that’s a promoter’s forte. 

Evan: We will also be adding a FAQ section to our website and booking form in the coming weeks, which should help facilitate your booking requests! 

Visual by Malaika Astorga

AC: What are your goals for The Diving Bell in 2020?

Austin: I'd like to see more daytime usages of the space. At this point, we’re pretty much only a night-time space and it just feels like a bit of a waste. 

Sarah: I agree with Austin; we need to get some daytime rentals going as it really is just missed opportunity with our space sitting empty all day - so definitely reach out to us if you’re interested in setting up classes, workshops, etc! Overall, I hope in 2020 we continue growing, learning, and connecting with the FAB community we are so lucky to be apart of! 

Evan: The Diving Bell has huge goals in 2020. Among these, we are continuing to branch out in our programming and aiming to diversify our events. We want to try even harder to bridge the divide between the Anglo and Franco music scenes and make a purposeful effort to run bilingual shows as often as possible. We have big plans for renovating our bathrooms, and we hope to open our kitchen officially this year. Stay tuned!

Maryse: I’d like to keep finding better ways to offer a safe space for all by creating an environment that is welcoming and inspiring for artists. I’d also like to achieve this by expanding our programming to host new types of events, like artist meet-ups, book clubs, astrology and tarot parties, yoga and dance classes...There are so many possibilities! 

The Diving Bell

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Email: info@divingbellsocial.com

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Lux Magna 2020 x Also Cool Present: Age of Aquarius

Visual by Malaika Astorga

Lux Magna is everything you would want a music festival to be. The festival is entirely operated by a group of women and non-binary curators and artists, who redefine how arts events should be run. They emphasize the importance of lifting each other up, rather than tokenizing and commodifying each others’ work. Lux Magna does this by shining a light on the music, dance, spoken word, and visual art unique to their community.

Also Cool has the privilege of co-presenting a Lux Magna event this year: Age of Aquarius: An Aquastellar Experience with Cosmique Tea. We’ve worked in collaboration with the festival to launch a series of fun “Guess The Sign” visuals (answers at the bottom of the article), and we will have an “Intro to Astrology” zine available at the event!

Read our conversation with Mags from Lux Magna below.

GUESS HER SIGN 1 Visual collab Malaika Astorga x Lux Magna

Malaika Astorga for Also Cool: Tell us a bit about why Lux Magna started and how it has evolved over the years.

Lux Magna: The festival was born out of a desire to not only expand outside of the corporate understanding of festival curation, but also to see our favorite artists play during a time of year that isn't typically associated with festival season. Winter is a very difficult time in Montreal, especially for mental health, and Lux Magna is one of few ways to relieve that.

Also Cool: Your team has previously voiced frustrations about how music festivals are run. How are you making the changes that you wanted to see with Lux Magna? 

LM: Some of the ways we challenge current festival norms is by ensuring safe(r) space policies and giving accessibility info about our venues. With accessible venues becoming few and far between, not to mention closing down altogether, it's the least we can do.

GUESS HER SIGN 2 Visual collab Malaika Astorga x Mags & JUICE

AC: You've also emphasized that it's essential to be inclusive without tokenizing the communities that you're trying to uplift. How do you implement that into your festival planning and programming?

LM: The simplest way that we do this is by ensuring the team reflects different parts of the local scene, and as a team we go over projects we're genuinely excited about and would benefit from our platform.

AC: How did your team get Lux Magna going? It's incredible what your team has achieved, and we're curious about what that journey has been like. What would your advice be to someone who wants to start a music festival, but doesn't know where to begin?

LM: For my part, I joined the initial team in 2017 after I was invited to curate a show for Suoni Per Il Popolo 2018. My input as an independent event organizer, as well as a younger artist with an ear to the ground in terms of what millennial QTBIPOC were interested in, was noticed and valued. My advice would be to develop a solid work ethic in the public sphere, especially if it's DIY. Often people mistake DIY or working with friends as less professional, but it equally requires doing the homework and showing and demanding respect, while acknowledging all the ways capitalism and mainstream event organizing limits our mobility in the scene.

GUESS HER SIGN 3 Visual collab Malaika Astorga x Mags & JUICE

AC: How do you find and select your artists?

LM: A lot of the time, the local artists we pick are artists we've seen live and are excited to offer a larger audience where we can. Depending on who we're listening to, or discovering on SoundCloud or Bandcamp, we try our best to match artists to a lineup in order for their respective fanbases to discover something new. The best thing about this is that many of our artists end up discovering each other and collaborating after the festival! Honestly, it’s the best feeling.

AC: Let's talk a bit about our collaborative event, Age of Aquarius: An Aquastellar Experience. For those who don't know what's going to be going on, and what are we celebrating?

LM: So, it just so happens that every year, Lux Magna coincides with the beginning of Aquarius season, whose sign is associated with innovation, community and looking into the future. I have been working on an album with my dear friend, and talented multidisciplinary artist JUICE, that we've named Age of Aquarius. This event will serve as its official launch/listening party. During the first half of the evening, we'll be playing the album while our magical Aquarian friend Toni (Cosmique Tea) does 10 minute $10 PWYC tarot readings, which have been made more accessible thanks to our partnership with Overture with the Arts.

Afterwards, Toni will lead a short guided meditation, followed by an Astrology 101 talk that I'll be co-facilitating, as well as some fun zodiac games (prizes may or may not be involved 👀)

JUICE, Mags & Cosmique Tea by Malaika Astorga

AC: Tell us a bit about the Age of Aquarius album. Where did the initial inspiration come from, and how has the project developed over time?

LM: The inspiration behind the album was very random and sudden. In fact, I don't even remember the exact thing that spurred it initially because the themes are so intrinsic to the friendship JUICE and I have built over the last year or so. For example, we are both very much into astrology;  it's part of our daily conversations. We are also both nerds in our respective ways. While we both love anime and cartoons, JUICE is definitely a bigger gamer than I am. That said, I have an appreciation for the music featured in the video games and online games I grew up with. So, the idea to combine both astrology and video games into a musical project came very naturally to us. 

Age of Aquarius cover art

AC: What are your signs, and how do you think that they affect your work and specifically this project? 

LM: The current Lux team is comprised of two Aries, two Capricorns, a Gemini, a Sagittarius, a Scorpio, and I'm a Virgo. If you know anything about these signs, you’ll know that for the most part they like to take charge, but are also able to work independently. So, a lot of this project has been each of us doing our own thing, and then coming together at pivotal moments. JUICE is also a Capricorn but with very heavy Aquarius placements, which is one of the reasons behind why we named our album as such; we both have at least four Aquarius placements in our chart. I feel like working on this album allowed me to bear witness to the conflicting nature of Earth sign and Air sign tendencies, none more than within Joyce, so powering through it together was something very special. I think it comes through in the songs. 

GUESS HER SIGN 4 Visual collab Malaika Astorga x Mags & JUICE

AC: How would you explain astrology to someone who never even thinks about the stars?

LM: Literally the other day I was just saying how the Myers-Briggs test is just the layman suburban mom's astrology. Certainly with astrology, there comes important knowledge of astronomy, the movement of the stars and planets. The concept of astrology is usually described with the phrase "as above, so below,”  meaning the way we see the planets interact with each other from Earth is reflected in the way people act with each other on Earth. All the signs can be split up into different elements, different polarities, much like how the Myers-Briggs is split up by introvert/extrovert, feeling/thinking, perceiving/judging etc. It's these different combinations that make every person so unique. The Myers-Briggs test limits its results to 16 types, astrology is dependent on the exact star map of the time and place you were born. Not everyone's sky is the same. Even with twins, some traits are nurtured throughout life more than others between siblings. I should know, my mom is a twin. 

TL;DR, it's a way more entertaining Myers-Briggs test and nobody's results are ever really the same..

GUESS HER SIGN 5 Visual collab Malaika Astorga x Mags & JUICE

AC: Tell the world what you have going on. (plug any projects, links, whatever here)

LM: Follow me everywhere @Mags119 for more beats, illustrations, possible rants about Steven Universe, and follow my band too! @StrangeFroots

Lux Magna

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ANSWERS TO GUESS THE SIGN

1. Libra

2. Virgo

3. Gemini

4. Cancer

5. Pisces

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Anyways… Meet Regularfantasy

Photo, Hair, and Art Direction by Ariana Molly

So you needed a sparkling new party girl anthem to lose yourself on the dancefloor? We did too. 

Montreal-based artist, DJ, and producer, Regularfantasy (Olivia Meek), has cooked up just the jam - topped with dog barks for claps. An expert in finding the perfect balance between fun and sentimental, Liv's productions and DJ sets are sprinkled with funky pop, dance, breakbeat, and UK garage influences. This duality is equally reflected in the vibe Liv creates; she brings the party to life, but beware - her impeccable curation never fails to stir up some deep-down emotions! She’s also playing this year’s Igloo Fest, check it out here.

With releases on Canadian labels Mood Hut, Heart to Heart, and Total Stasis, the lover of all things analog (and gluten-free!) has been in the game for a while, and she's got more magic up her sleeve. Regularfantasy's latest release on Irish label Pear, titled Anyways…, is a selection of three timeless jams that will make you groove, reminisce, and fall in love with the power of dance music all over again. As she says herself, "How could you not?"

Also Cool's Maya Hassa got the chance to catch up with the dazzling, (not so) Regularfantasy, to talk about her musical journey, her inspirations, and her thoughts on music for healing.  

Photo, Hair, and Art Direction by Ariana Molly

Maya Hassa for Also Cool: Before you began producing electronic music, you were playing in live bands. How would you compare your experiences in rock bands to DJing? 

Regularfantasy:  Before Regularfantasy, I had a project called Cover Girl, where I made weird covers, had a loop pedal/guitar, and sometimes performed live - which is still essentially true. That budded my interest in remixes, covers, and edits. I really love the format of a band because it's so loose, creative and fun, and I feel like my ideas flow better when I have someone to bounce them off of. However, as jam spaces in Vancouver became condos, more and more people started to make music at home. I mostly just jammed for fun, even got kicked out of a band once. Ciao is an active project with Void Mirror, where we work in the studio and record live jams. For my solo production, I used to make music only with an MPC and analog synths. I've recently transitioned to using a combination of Ableton, synths, and samples. I collaborate with many different artists, but I've also been making solo music for a long time. I think it was just a way of dealing with being alone. Electronic music allows you to do that. 

I strongly believe in the power of dance music and dance parties as a healing experience, which explains why it inevitably became part of my life. People need it. The scene where I grew up in Victoria, BC, was really playful and dancey, regardless of the musical style. I always loved groovy music and dancing - how could you not? When I moved to Vancouver, I was still looking for that fun vibe and ended up discovering it in the dance scene there. 

Even though I digitize everything, and play using CDJs, I love digging for vinyl. I like choosing music based on the object as a whole, not just the sound. I like the history that the object holds. When I was in my early teens, I inherited a record collection from a family friend. I really enjoy the album art, the physicality of it, record players, everything about it. I only really got into collecting dance music when I was 18. At that point, I became obsessed and never really got over it. Even now, as I make my way through different dance genres, I feel the same way I did then. 

Also Cool: You have a very recognizable aesthetic - your productions unwaveringly reflect the "plush" theme you have going on. Can you describe the story behind "plush" and the cozy aesthetic that you embody so well?

Regularfantasy: One of my longest collaborators is D.Tiffany. We have a project together called Plush Managements Inc., and we both share a love for the plush sound. Plush describes a synthetic version of luxury as well as what "plush" usually means in the context of consumer products. It could be something to do with Vancouver, which can be a depressing place on a budget, like most major cities. I think the sound is an escape, a desire for luxury, comfort, meaning, and safety. 

I think I am drawn to a certain lightheartedness of music because I have a deep darkness in my soul, which is fueled by PTSD and dissociation. I'm constantly using music to recreate a reality for myself that is not my creepy brain. I have an interest in comfort and in creating comfortable spaces (imaginary, audible, or physical) - and the plush sound and aesthetics help to create these places for me. I also think my visual art background plays into my sound, as well as inspiration from all different kinds of music. I like to keep it varied, you know. As Ursula K. Le Guin said, "Variables are the spice of life." 🤔

Photo, Hair, and Art Direction by Ariana Molly

AC: What is your gear setup like? Do you prefer using hardware or digital synths (and use a DAW such as Ableton, etc...)?

Regularfantasy: I recently moved, so I don't have a huge setup right now. I've been taking this opportunity to get to know Ableton better and work on finding new workflows. Usually, it's a mix of some synths and drum machines that I sample into the MPC or Ableton. 

For the heads, my previous bedroom setup when I was in Vancouver was (JP-8080, MPC 1000, Shruthi, Juno-106, Micro Korg, SH-101, 707) and recording into Ableton.

AC: Your latest album, featuring collaborations with D. Futers and D. Tiffany (Plush Managements Inc.), is a brilliant mix of moody, cozy, and euphoric. What was your inspiration for Anyways…?

Regularfantasy: Anyways... earned its name because it was kind of a random mix of songs that had no home, but were special in their own right. The song MSN with D. Futers, for example, was UKG-inspired with a throwback vibe, whereas Plushied is a bit of a flowy, pop-inspired jammer. It evokes a memory of someone talking; a stream of consciousness: overheard talking; dream talking; drunk talking; what you wish you said, and what you want to say. Finally, Party Girl Theme was made strictly for dancing purposes.  

Photo, Hair, and Art Direction by Ariana Molly

AC: Who are your musical influences?

Regularfantasy: A lot of my musical idols are 90s house producers, including Todd Edwards, Ian Pooley, Danny Tenaglia, Masters at Work, Daft Punk, Don Carlos... anything Italian. I also love 90s Canadian house. My favourite genres include all the styles of house, techno, tech-house, Eurodance, Italodance, Eurohouse, UKG... The list is endless.

I mostly listen to friends' mixes at the moment: Melbourne Deepcast, Libramix, Trushmix, Lobster Theremin mixes and HNYPOT, to name a few. Otherwise, I am actively looking for music or listening to the podcast Lexicon Valley, which is about language. It's my favourite thing ever, and I've listened to every episode. 

AC: You've been throwing DIY parties in Vancouver for quite some time. What's the significance of afterhours spaces to you - what meaning do these places have for underground culture and the local art community? 

Regularfantasy: Regardless of how late they go, DIY spaces are essential for building scenes and communities. They allow people of all levels, whether it's artists, DJs, promoters, or bands, to get experience. People can get a hands-on feel for what it's like to do events and learn to understand the responsibilities of working in non-DIY/afterhours venues. I also just like a grungy DIY vibe. It makes me feel comfortable, not sure why.

I think afterhours spaces are vital for the community. They stay open later, which allows people to experience the music and get into dancing. These parties are also usually invite-only and harder to find, which can help different people feel more comfortable to go to them. Sometimes I like a late event just because I can actually finish all the crap I need to do that day. When I can't possibly do anything else, I go out dancing. 

Going late also allows more people from different scenes to come dance together, and staff are also an important extension of the lineup and overall vibe. DIY spaces are like nothing else; people don't all get yelled at and herded out at 3am, pouring onto the street. I mean, they do eventually, but it's not like full chaos, main club-strip style. Something about dancing late into the night is just special. 

Photo, Hair, and Art Direction by Ariana Molly

AC: You make the freshest breaky remixes of pop classics. What do you look for when choosing a sample? Are there specific sounds you tend to gravitate towards?

Regularfantasy: I haven't really been into singing much lately. It takes a lot of extroverted energy, which I hadn't been feeling when working solo. Still, I'm looking forward to experimenting again. I've been making lots of pop edits because they're fun to work on - and I still get to play with (other people's) vocals. 

When I choose a sample, I usually like a vintage sound mixed with a clubby/techy vibe. I sometimes choose things that I'm repulsed by, just for fun. I'm still figuring it out. It's all about working to that edge. 

AC: Are you working on any new projects? Where can friends and fans find you next? IGLOOFEST, DUH.

Regularfantasy: I've been travelling a lot, and so I've been working with different people. I have some edits and tracks circulating and coming out, officially and unofficially, with D.Tiffany, Flørist, DJ Chrysalis, Priori, Ciao (Void Mirror and I), Fio Fa, R. Kitt, Kristian North, and more!

Upcoming gigs: 

Montreal: Igloofest, Jan 18 (20h00-21h30)

Montreal: Brasserie Beaubien, Jan 31

Montreal: Poubelle Magnifique, Feb 7

Glasgow: Le Cheetah, Feb 13

London: MOT, Feb 14

Berlin: about:blank, Feb 23

Dublin: Izakaya, Feb 29

Regularfantasy

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Photo, Hair, and Art Direction by Ariana Molly

Ariana Molly has been striving to capture the feelings with no name in her short films, 35mm photographs, and music since she could identify her pulse. 

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Maya Hassa

Maya is a music journalist from Chicago who fell head-over-heels in love with Montreal’s unique DIY culture. She works to promote underrepresented and underground artists through her writing.

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