The Ragers
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The Ragers

Montréal, Quebec, Canada | Established. Jan 01, 2013 | SELF

Montréal, Quebec, Canada | SELF
Established on Jan, 2013
Band Hip Hop Electronic

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This band has not uploaded any videos
This band has not uploaded any videos

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"A RAGERS show is more of a spectacle than a concert."

A RAGERS show is more of a spectacle than a concert. That was made abundantly clear when the Montreal-based trio took the stage at La Vitrola, donning metallic masks for a set of high octane trap-rock bangers. Built-in theatrics made for an immersive live music experience, as unfamiliar onlookers wondered whether they were watching Iron Man: The Musical, or if they’d just discovered electronic music’s answer to Slipknot. Either way, it was pretty bonkers. - Complex


"Masked Ragers are party perfectionists"

On stage, the trio’s faces are concealed under custom-fitted hockey, skull and reflective facades, respectively. They also go by their first names and sport matching leather jackets, with “Ragers 666” insignias on the back. They’ll wear the jackets around town, confounding strangers in the process.

It’s a striking look, one that risks reducing the music to secondary status. But more importantly, it suggests something is amiss. Although a Ragers set will cover a broad swath of current electronic and hip hop styles one might expect from a party-centric DJ, they’re not simply queuing the ferocious trap and dubstep beats du jour. They’re a band, with a live guitarist and drummer, and incorporating the human element into the popular electronic dance experience is more complicated than it appears.

We take practice really seriously. We’ve been jamming five days a week for 12 years. — Ragers guitarist Phil Marcoux-Gendron

“Sometimes I’ll hear a producer say they laid down a beat in 20 minutes and just laugh,” said producer Jake PST (real name, Jake Prévost), who wears the gold hockey mask and mans the laptop on stage. “For us it’s not at all the case. We have so many more layers to add on.”

Jake’s bandmate, skull-helmeted guitarist Phil MG (Phil Marcoux-Gendron), further observed: “We take practice really seriously. We’ve been jamming five days a week for 12 years.”

Mind you, not all of those years have been as Ragers. Up until 2013, Phil MG, Jake PST and his brother Jay PST (Jay Prévost) – who plays drums and wears the silver reflective mask – were members of Duke Squad, a teenage pop-rock band that attained a not-insignificant level of province-wide success. Despite only being in their early 20s (Jake and Phil are 23, Jay is 21), they’ve already witnessed first-hand the downfall of the traditional music industry, especially when it comes to younger acts.

So this time, they’re going it alone. They book their own shows, which included a debauch four-show residency at punk bar Les Foufounes Électriques last year called Rage Carnival. Ragers are also self-releasing their first collection of original compositions, the six-song EP Chapters. They intend to give away their music and keep the shows free when possible.

“We wanted to play shows, and DJ sets were the big thing,” said Phil MG regarding their transition from Duke Squad to Ragers.

“We wanted to play for our friends. We wanted to play at the types of venues we’d go to. We had to build that sound,” added Jake PST. The Ragers look was conceived concurrently.

Their situation was not unlike that of the torchbearer of the rampaging EDM sound, Skrillex. His first music endeavour was as the frontman for screamo band From First to Last. The American eventually ditched the rock band setup entirely for production software, but Ragers determined it could be possible to do both: to feature all the thunderous bass drops and crisp synthetic production of an electronic music set, but to still write songs conventionally with a guitar and drums.

“We needed our instruments,” said Phil MG. “It’s funny because we feel like we’re bringing something new to the scene, but for us it’s what we’ve been doing since the beginning.”

With Chapters, recorded at their home studio in their native South Shore neighbourhood of Laflèche and mixed in Los Angeles, there are the requisite mosh pit-inducing bangers. Behind the scenes, they agonized over every ricocheting texture and tone for an entire summer. - The Gazette


"M for Montreal showcase"

A trio of sleeve tatted gents in Army of Two hockey masks remixing tunes made for a shocking sight initially, but given the city’s young person party scene these days, it’s really no surprise a troupe that combines aggro EDM with video game fashion sense would emerge from NDG. The three primary ragers — all clad in gear with the group’s crest – operate on laptop, drum machine and guitar, respectively. They were masked, as were the secondary ornamental ragers, save for an official raging photographer in denim. There was also an unmasked rapper and hypeman who took the stage a couple of times. Cleopatra’s at 2:30 am was not a home game for them, but one suspects they do well at parties with their intended demographic. The garish outfits distracted a bit from their remixing work, which reworked current day hits from ILoveMakkonen, Grandtheft and Young Thug. - Cult MTL


"Ragers - Death Axe (Single Release)"

If you don’t know who the Celestics are it’s about time you start taking notes. The Celestics are half Kaytranada and half his lyrically advanced little brother Louie P, they’ve been putting out what is without question some of Montreal’s most interesting rap (without including the fact that Kaytra has taken over the entire future music scene). Their latest project is a collaboration alongside the Ragers, a Montreal trap band that spent 2013 playing some of the cities biggest events as well as dropping some of the hardest trap tracks I have ever heard. Take a listen to the collaboration below and make sure to keep an eye out for both of these groups as 2014 moves along. - Saintwoods


Discography

DEATH AXE SINGLE (2014)
TROUBLE SINGLE (2014)

CHAPTERS EP (2015)
-DCXLVI
-Up My Sleeves
-Persepolis
-Damn Thang
-Paper Chasing
-Monster

CANNED BEEF SINGLE (2015)

Photos

Bio

The origins of Ragers as an entity date back to the early 2000's, when a group of bright-eyed kids had unsurpassed hope and faith in music. But in 2013, the lights grew dim, and they took it on themselves to spark a new revolution. Refusing to obey by the rules, Ragers took music where it wasn't supposed to go, skilfully mixing hip-hop old and new, electronic music, and dreamy synth-rock flecked with thumping heaviness.  Indeed, Ragers refuse to let their audience down, leaving them nothing but a breath between each sonic surprise. Largely considered to be the enfants terribles of Montreal's dance music scene, the masked trio have shared the stage and collaborated with some of the biggest artists in the scene. (Grand Masterflash, Boys Noize, Tommy Kruise and High Klassified) Their first EP, Chapters, was released in January 2015, to much praise from critics on both sides of the Atlantic. The follow-up opus is due in early 2016, and was mostly produced and mixed in Los Angeles.

Band Members