Noo-Bap

The spotlight is currently shining bright on Montreal's music scene, particularly its electronic offerings, and Noo-Bap is only further contributing to the buzz.

The Montreal producer is set to be featured on an upcoming compilation from fellow Canadian producer Pomo, but before Pomo Presents: Tempo Dreams Vol. 4 drops later this week, Exclaim! is giving you an exclusive first listen to Noo-Bap's latest track.

Titled "Variegate," the piece grabs hold of the listener immediately, then pulls them along for a sonic journey through bubbly synths, glitched-out breakdowns and ambient interludes.

Pomo Presents: Tempo Dreams Vol. 4 is due out on March 25 through Bastard Jazz and is available for pre-order here, but you can listen to Noo-Bap's "Variegate" right now in the player below. - Exclaim!

Today, the Montreal/Vancouver connection between Nick Wisdom and AstroLogical find their fruits of labor come to yield for their group effort as Potatohead People. Potatohead People’s album Big Luxury is a product of the two producers’ influences ranging from '90s Hip Hop, Downtempo, new electronic movements, classic Jazz, Prog Rock and Disco yet their sound often times cannot be confined into one particular genre. Their sound is unique, as both producers have taken inspiration from said influences while creating something entirely new and fresh with Big Luxury. Their guest vocal features also show their diversity in sound ranging from MCs Moka Only and Illa J and the powerful voices of Amalia and Sorceress.
In celebration of today’s album release, check out emerging Montreal producer, Noo-Bap’s remix, on the album cut “Luv Ya” featuring vocals from Amalia. Peep above. - Hypetrak

You know we’re living in the future when artists can camouflage their creations in a linguistic shroud and your brain doesn’t even think twice about it. Case in point: don’t let the Japanese language on the page fool you – Noo Bap comes from Montreal, doesn’t look remotely Japanese (if that is him on the artist photo) and all track titles are translations of English words/sayings, like ‘Oi!’ on Track 2.

Crowd Move is a 7-track EP that sits neatly within the landscape of the city’s burgeoning electronic scene. There’s a little bit of everything on there, and while that can sometimes mean nothing much worth remembering, Noo Bap pulls off the various styles he indulges in – house, beats, electronic jams – well enough to create a vibe you want to get acquainted with over repeated listens. - FACT

Last year, Noo-Bap released an album titled クラウド移?• (?•ルアルバム). This year, he decided to make things relatively easier to Google by naming his latest album ???-??? - ???????????????????? ??. Like I said, it's relatively easier.

Excellence of the album aside, the Montreal beatmaker went on to perform at Piknic, run a successful weekly called MELT MTL with friend Nick Wisdom and Cozy, and release a slew of remixes for the likes of Illa J and The Celestics. - Thump

Erik Leduc, 19, has been making and bending waves in the Montreal beat scene as Noo-Bap. Sunday, the laptop prodigy makes his first trip to Piknic Électronik alongside Tommy Kruise as 10kilos.us presents the weekly summer outdoor dance party’s second stage.

I caught up with him by phone.

Darcy MacDonald: So you’ve never been to Piknic Électronik?
Noo-Bap: No, never!

DM: So what are you expecting, or hoping for, for that set?
N-B: It’s me and Tommy (Kruise) and I really don’t know what to expect. It’s always different when you’re in an environment you’re not used to playing in. Like I usually play in a club or venue. So I don’t know if people are gonna be fuckin’ drunk outta their minds or if they’ll just wanna relax, so obviously gaging different types of music you’re gonna play is always different.

DM: You’ve done some pretty big shows this year.
N-B: Yeah, I had a release party and I also played at MOTO Made.

DM: How is that party?
N-B: So far they’ve done a great job booking artists and it’s been a good party. My release party was at Belmont, too — that’s a great venue.

DM: Since we last spoke, are people catching on a little? Now don’t be humble.
N-B: I think so, I’d have to say yeah. I’ve had more gigs and I think that’s the only way I can really evaluate it. People are coming out. I’m getting booked more often and having more paid gigs. I don’t know if that matters any. (laughs)

DM: I think it does. It matters to you when you get paid, no?
N-B: It’s encouraging.

DM: So for Piknic – and I actually have no idea – do you apply, or do they come to you? How does that work?
N-B: Actually, Laurent (Blais) from 10kilos hollered at me for this. I guess there’s some way you can apply, because some people have asked me that so I’m guessing there might be a way, but in this case it was Laurent that got at me.

DM: Yeah, actually come to think of it I believe the second stage gets people invited to curate it.
N-B: Yeah, that makes sense actually, they want the second stage to be a showcase of local emerging artists. I’m starting to get excited, too, I’m hearing a lot of nice things about it. So it’s gonna be a nice first trip to Piknic.

DM: For sure! Straight from the gate to the stage, that’s pretty good! So what projects do you have out there right now?
N-B: The last EP I put out was…I’d have to write it down. The last two, I’d have to write down because they don’t actually have names and they’re just, you know, more artsy type things, I’d say. (So there’s) the one with the question marks and then I also have an album I released in Japanese, so with Japanese track names.

DM: What inspires you creatively outside of music?
N-B: Maybe I’d have to say, like, the weather, because these days it just changes a lot. But apart from that I’d have to say love. Love inspires a lot of weird things. If I wrote lyrics I’d write songs about love, like some ’80s soul-type of groovy-

DM: “Groovy Type of Love”-type shit?
N-B: Yeah!

DM: So in general, for a live set, what do you do? Play your own music, a mix of other people’s stuff, go live a little?
N-B: Well, I don’t do much live stuff anymore. I’ll play some of my tracks because I kind of feel like I have to but it’s not my favourite music. I try to play mostly my own favourite music. Mostly music to dance to and also just music that sounds nice, you know? - CULT

If you live in Montreal, you’ll recognize Noo-Bap as one of the resident DJs at MELT, Blizzarts’ successful Thursday weekly. If you don’t live in Montreal and don’t recognize him, you’ll have a less frustrating time explaining String Theory to a club rat than telling a friend to check out “一 - クラウド移動” or “???????????'??” when they get home. But I digress…

After the release of The Celstics’ debut album, Supreme Laziness, local curators MOTO Made approached Noo-Bap to remix a track of his choosing. The result, a flip of “Improved Fluxo,” is a brilliant spit in the face to all the one-trick ghetto house remixes that have been going around. Lesson learned: If you want to remix hip-hop tunes, there are options aside from trap or Hypem house. - Thump

Given the illegible title of Noo-Bap's recent release, ??? - ??? – ???????????????????? ?? it's obvious that the Montreal-based producer is a man of few words.

Noo-Bap, or Erik Leduc, became a fixture on the city's electronic scene thanks to a successful weekly called MELT MTL, which he formerly co-ran with fellow artists Cozy and Nick Wisdom. Since then, Leduc has performed at Piknic Electronik and released remixes for The Celestics. His music dabbles in a variety of styles, hopping from future beats to ambient house. Each of his mixes are well thought out and deliver smooth, soulful touches flush with a polished sound.

This week's Northmix is comprised of a warm, melodic arrangement of tracks that Leduc loves at the moment. The mix is a basket full of songs perfect for listeners to zone out and groove to, or as Leduc puts it: "People are gonna have sex to this." - Thump