June 20th brought us one of the most epic, memorable nights that rocked the Foufounes Électriques. Starting off with the night by wandering around Montreal, on a hot Wednesday afternoon, enjoying the sun and listening to soilwork and gojira, I heavily anticipated the show with high expectations of amazing musicianship and pure craft that is Winter's Gate by Insomnium.

Growing up, on Sunday car trips from Ottawa to Montreal to visit family, we would put on CBC and listen an iconic voice narrate the lives of a family and their every-day adventures together. This family was a part of my childhood, and it wasn’t until I was embarrassingly old that I learned that they were fictional and that the stories were all written by the creative genius with the distinguished voice.

In February of 2017, this beloved radio host lost his battle with cancer and I, along with countless other Canadians, was heartbroken. It wasn’t just the comfortingly familiar voice that we lost, but also the family that he brought to life. 

I have known Al Lafrance for many years. We originally met when he worked at CJLO, and hosted the radio show Edge of the City right after Ears Wide Shut with myself and Joshua Nemeroff. I have followed Al’s career because he has always been funny and strange and open, both in mind and in practice, and is a generally entertaining person to be around. I have always thought highly of him, but after seeing I Think I’m Dead, I think Al Lafrance might actually be brilliant. 

When trying to get a record label off the ground, patience really is a virtue.

That’s the belief at least of Julien Manaud, co-founder of local independent label Lisbon Lux Records, which has made a name for itself in Montreal for the past five years, serving up some of the best in electronic pop in both of Canada’s official languages.

Patience is such a hallmark for Manaud that albums delivered by the label’s artists require months of preparation for choreographing their launch to ensure maximum exposure. Quite a few album release dates have been pushed back to achieve this goal.

25 is an exploration of how feelings are dealt with at different levels of maturity throughout one’s life. This is done through different characters reacting to various scenarios, as independent yet intertwining stories are told. The assumption we are led towards is that each of the characters are approximately 25 years old; some of whom act like mature, well-adjusted adults, and some of whom have yet to grow up.