There’s no doubting that the longevity and popularity of Electronica (house, trance, breakbeat, etc.) was short-lived from its inception in early 90’s to its decline with the advent of ‘electro-pop bands’ in the 21st century. It’s just like James Murphy of LCD Soundsystem proclaimed in ‘Losing my edge’; ‘All the DJs sold there turn tables and bought guitars’. A whole generation of ravers, pill-poppers, dancers, and partiers no longer exist in the numbers that they used to; partly because of harsh ‘rave laws’ imposed in countries all around the world, but mainly because of mass media’s persistent downplay of rave culture. Fortunately for those of us who cherish the ‘good old days’ of dance parties passed and the four-to-the-floor grooves of Electronica, there’s a smidgen of hope left with up and coming dance acts like MSTRKRFT and Champion bridging the gap in Canada between rock and house music.

 

On Friday night the Montreal-bred producer Champion brought his much-hyped live show to Lee’s Palace. From the moment the doors opened, the venue was jam-packed with a ‘buzzing’ crowd waiting in huge lines to get their first drink. There’s nothing like walking into a venue when the place is packed and the atmosphere is filled with excitement. Looking at the stage, it was lined with large guitar amps and a table of computers and mixers. Before the show even began, you could tell that this was going to be something quite unique to the usual DJ-centric dance party. At 11:35pm, Champion took to the stage, placing himself behind his wall of computers and audio equipment. As the crowd cheered he began to play a very simple drum pattern that quickly evolved into a four-to-the-floor assault. One-by-one his ‘G-strings’ grabbed their guitars and took to the stage, individually adding their own bluesy riff to the dance beat. It did not take long for the crowd to start ‘shaking their tail-feathers’. Champion and his G-strings toyed with the crowd, playing a 20-minute introduction of heavy beats and shredding guitars; building up and breaking down their music until finally leading into ‘Keep on ridin’’ from Champion’s album ‘Chill’em all’. Champion himself didn’t stop bouncing up and down to the heavy beat of his music, often pleading with the crowd to join in on the dance party and to let loose.

 

Amazingly, much of their set seemed to be completely improvised; Champion acting as a conductor to the rest of his band, often signing signals to the five guitar players on stage to play a certain riff or to drop out on a particular beat. It was like watching a small orchestra perform a techno symphony. As the orchestra played on, Champion invited album collaborator Betty Bonifassi out on to the stage to sing a number of tracks including the radio hit ‘No heaven’. Her sultry blue-grassy voice fit perfectly into the concoction of guitar, heavy bass and housey beats. The show lasted almost two hours, when the shirtless and sweaty Champion thanked the audience and ending off with the slower ‘Die in peace’.

 

My moment of ‘clarity’ came when I was walking from the bar looking out onto the dance floor; hands in air, heads bobbing up and down, steam rising from the masses, all signs of what reminded me of those techno days passed, when all anyone ever wanted to do was dance. Truly, this was one of the most exciting and original shows I have been to all year. As a DJ that likes to spin house music, it gave me hope that there’s still an audience out there for this type of music; all we need to do is find each other, leave the pretension at home, and dance.