We are wolves

Le Festival de théâtre de rue de Lachine a souvent joué d'audace en présentant des concerts d'artistes locaux dans des lieux inhabituels. Chocolat y a joué sur le toit d'un édifice, très Beatles comme concept, et Pépé y a interprété ses chansons sur le toit d'une voiture. Cette année, les organisateurs de l'événement, dont le conseiller artistique et comédien Rémi-Pierre Paquin, poussent le concept encore plus loin en jumelant le trio We Are Wolves à la compagnie de danse hollandaise Doedel.

"Leur numéro de danse est en interaction avec un réel brasier alimenté de bois de chauffage, explique Rémi-Pierre. C'est malade, les gars sont obligés de s'arroser pendant le show pour faire baisser leur chaleur corporelle. Quand j'ai vu le spectacle en France, la musique qui accompagnait la performance n'était pas super, un genre de techno-gothique-1992. On a donc eu l'idée de les jumeler à We Are Wolves qui adapteront leurs chansons pour le spectacle. Et comme on ne savait pas trop où les mettre, après tout la scène est en feu, on a décidé de les mettre dans une cage et de les suspendre à 50 pieds dans les airs à l'aide d'une grue. On ne peut pas les mettre directement au-dessus du brasier parce que ce serait insoutenable, mais disons qu'on regarde si la cage peut lécher le feu à quelques reprises."

La collaboration entre We Are Wolves et Doedel sera présentée les 25, 26 et 27 juin dans la Zone parc Saint-Louis du Festival. www.theatrederue.com

Et le "sextape"?

Évidemment, nous ne pouvions pas parler avec Rémi-Pierre Paquin sans aborder la question de ce fameux "sextape" le mettant en vedette, un coup de promotion virale orchestrée par la boîte Iconoclaste (de Jean-Robert Bisaillon) pour mousser la parution du vidéoclip du groupe de Rémi-Pierre, Balboa. "Après avoir largué la vidéo sur le net, j'ai dû mentir à mes chums pendant trois jours pour garder le secret. Une fois qu'on a révélé que le sextape était une pub pour mon band, notre vidéoclip (pour la pièce Sans toi) a été vu 17 000 fois en 12 heures!" Balboa lancera son premier album rock l'automne prochain.

La programmation du FME

Présenté du 2 au 6 septembre prochain, le septième Festival de musique émergente (FME) en Abitibi-Témiscamingue comptera notamment sur la participation d'Oliver Jones (!), Chinatown, Ben & Mimi, Lake of Stew, Priestess, Radio Radio, Caracol, Martin Léon, Mara Tremblay, Elisapie Isaac, Brad Barr, Alfa Rococo, Camaromance, Buddy McNeil, Marie-Pierre Arthur, Patrick Watson, Malajube et Le Nombre. L'équipe du Piknic électronik débarquera aussi à Rouyn-Noranda pour animer la presqu'île du lac Osisko. Quelques groupes hors Québec seront également de la partie, dont Burning Brides, Mother Mother et Wooden Sky. D'autres artistes seront confirmés sous peu. Offerts à partir de 150 $, des forfaits touristiques combinant l'hébergement et un passeport pour les spectacles sont disponibles au www.fmeat.org .

CONSEILS CONCERTS /

-Mené par la charismatique et surprenante guitariste-chanteuse Elizabeth Powell, le groupe rock Land Of Talk se produira le 23 juin au Il Motore.

-Random Recipe et Winter Gloves se produiront le 20 juin au parc des Amériques (coin Rachel et Saint-Laurent) à l'occasion du Fringe Pop. Programmation complète au www.popmontreal.com .

http://www.voir.ca/blogs/scene_locale/archive/2009/06/17/we-are-wolves-suspendu-au-dessus-d-un-brasier.aspx
- voir.ca

Montreal’s We Are Wolves pack everyday
wonder and electro-punk panache into
their new album Total Magique


THE HOWLS ARE NOT WHAT THEY SEEM:
We Are Wolves (L to R) Antonin Marquis, Vincent Levesque,
Alexander Ortiz, repeat, Marquis



by LORRAINE CARPENTER

“It’s loud, it’s fast, it’s heavy,” says Vincent Levesque, one third of We Are Wolves. He’s describing the noise that the trio produces in their practice space, a regular haunt since the band began stocking their electro-punk arsenal in 2000.

Levesque and his bandmates Alexander Ortiz and Antonin Marquis perfected their sonic assault and created an endearingly slapdash visual aesthetic, finally playing shows in 2003 and releasing their debut album, Non-Stop Je Te Plie en Deux in 2005.

Grafting weighty keyboard lines and beats with raw guitar riffs and drums, not to mention Ortiz’s feral howl, We Are Wolves have marked their territory amid the international electro fray, and the local wolf scene. Being bilingual helped, and being Québécois facilitated a government exchange tour of Europe with Duchess Says—in return, France sent some of its own electro-rock action this way.

But being on the road, and being covered by Pitchfork, doesn’t exactly equate success. The trio work retail, service and DJ jobs when they’re in town (stalkers please report to the Yer Mad pub on Sundays and Tokyo on Wednesdays). And Ortiz recently launched a We Are Wolves side project with Levesque and his DJ partner Jordan Dare, a purely electro act called Claass (you may have seen them filling in for Peter, Björn and John at Osheaga).

But the Dare to Care release of Total Magique will change the band’s lot, at least for the near future. Two weeks ago, they launched a video for “Magique” (the album’s only French-language tune) at the Musée d’art contemporain, and tonight they officially launch the LP. Sometime between these two gigs, the Mirror sat down with the trio, cross-legged on the floor of Casa del Popolo’s terrasse, in the style of Carlos Santana and Mahavishnu John McLaughlin, pictured in the sleeve of Total Magique at the feet of spiritual teacher Sri Chinmoy. (No mantras were chanted in the making of this article.)

Mirror: What influenced you to form the band?

Alexander Ortiz: There’s two bands that were our main influences at the beginning, Deja Voodoo and the Cramps. That was the kind of music we wanted to do, that essence of juvenile energy and really sexed-up vibe.

Vincent Levesque: Then, somehow, we discovered electronics. We tried keeping the same primitive energy and I think we succeeded, but the main influence is still there.

Antonin Marquis: We all grew up listening to punk and rock. We were hanging out at Café Chaos and that was the 101 school of rock. At that point, not too many bands were using Moogs and synthesizers in rock music. I wanted to form a band, but the challenge was to find people who would be ready, who would have the guts to get a synth involved, even a drum machine.

VL: Just about every month, we thought, “Oh man, our sound is just gonna be everywhere, we’re not gonna be original anymore,” but somehow we just stuck to it and nothing really sounds exactly like it. It’s weird.

AM: When Peaches put out her record and le Tigre and Chicks on Speed, at that point, we were like, “Aw shit!”

AO: “Bypassed!”

VL: But then we realized that we’re much heavier than those guys.

Come hell or hospitality

M: I heard your first tour was pretty damaging, financially and otherwise. Has that been the hardest trek to date?

VL: The first tour was the biggest and the longest. It was the States and Canada with ...Trail of Dead and International Noise Conspiracy. We had a minivan.

AM: We were following Trail of Dead’s tour bus, it was kinda weird.

VL: We were packed up to there (indicates back of head) like, 15 hours a day. They would just drive during the night, sleeping, and wake up at the venue, (stretching arms and yawning) “Ah, yeah.” We would come out right before soundcheck with back pain and everything. It was funny.

M: Your European tour must have been more comfortable. I hear bands are generally really well treated there.

AO: It’s completely different. The people over there are waiting for you with their arms open and they do everything for you.

AM: We played in Marseilles and they took care of our day off.

VL and AO in unison: They took us to the beach.

AM: In the United States, especially big cities like L.A., they make you feel like you’re lucky to be there. As soon as you’re done, four huge guys will take your stuff and—

AO: “Get the fuck out!”

AM: —put it on the street. It feels so bad, and then you go to France and they give you fish for dinner.

Chalet steez

M: I imagine that at least one of you guys has a background in visual art? [Vincent and Alex raise their right hands. They studied painting/drawing and video, respectively, at Concordia.] Have you ever exhibit - montreal mirror