Written by Chantel Coffey
Photos by Rebecca Hollman
Get ready #IleSoniqFam, festival season is just around the corner and this year’s 6th annual Montreal based electronic music festival is back and better than ever.
In preparation for the highly anticipated festival, ÎleSoniq is teaming up with Valhalla Sound Circus for an epic Off-Piknic series event on Parc Jean-Drapeau’s Plaine des Jeux. Promising an evening of good vibes, bass, Montreal sun and surprises for fans, the event is perfect to get you prepped for a summer of festivities.
The event’s lineup includes ÎleSoniq 2018 performers EPTIC and Michael Sparks, along with AFK, a frequent performer for Big Tooth, the founders of Valhalla Sound Circus. New to discover; Blunts and Blondes, who is currently buzzing in the bass scene, FROZEN, an up and coming female riddim producer from Montreal, as well as Sam Lamar and Izzy Vadim, two local artists who will play both festivals this summer.
Blunts & Blondes
Blunts & Blondes is a young bass producer from Tampa, Florida producing slow & low experimental beats and also dubstep and riddim. He has collabed with and received a lot of support from Zeds Dead’s label DeadBeats and is opening up for Zeds Dead at their Red Rocks show this June. Blunts & Blondes will be playing at many festivals this summer and fall, including Sunset in Tampa, Spring Awakening in Chicago, Ever After in Toronto, Electric Zoo in NYC, Dancefestopia in Kansas and Freaky Deaky in Houston.
FROZEN
A local Montreal resident, FROZEN has been producing riddim and dubstep for the local label Big Tooth – “a collective of young Montrealers with one goal… to bring you the best banging underground DJs on the planet.” FROZEN started her career in 2013 and she is supported by many artists around the world. Constantly selecting from a wide spectrum of heavy bass dubstep music and grimy UK beats, Alexa is a major player in a new generation of DJs carrying the movement forward. She regularly plays at Canadian festivals Valhalla Sound Circus, AIM Festival and ÎleSoniq, as well as appearing at many Piknik Elektronik events.
Izzy Vadim
Another Montreal native, Izzy Vadim also produces weird, experimental bass beats and also harder and heavier beats as well. He utilizes a nice mix of upbeat melodies and also reggae dub sounds to create a unique blend of bass music. Izzy Vadim also releases tracks for the Montreal based bass label, Big Tooth. He recently released a new EP called BLAZE, that came out on April 20th on Big Tooth Records. Check out the EP below.
The event will take place on June 15, from 3:00 PM to 11:00 PM at Plaine des Jeux in Parc Jean-Drapeau. Tickets are on sale now at ilesoniq.com. The first 300 tickets will be only $10 with the promo code: FAM.