Direct from the Sahara desert, Bombino! With the introduction out of the way, Omara 'Bombino' Moctar, a prodigious guitar player born to a nomadic Tuareg tribe in Niger (and at this point best known to the general public because Black Keys member Dan Auerbach produced his record 'Nomad') set to work electrifying the packed house of fans, friends, and fellow musicians assembled in the Breakglass live room. It was immediately apparent why there's so much excitement worldwide about Bombino, as well as why he's garnered a reputation as a true musician's musician. Bombino has got the kind of feel for a guitar that simply can't be taught. From the acoustic intro section of the set, to the mind bending electric guitar rythms that brought the crowd to their feet and got them dancing, the energy in the air was tangible. This was a special moment. If you were crazy enough to miss it live... just click on the link below to see the whole episode in full HD video and audio direct through the Kashmir Neve!

In September, KEXP made our first journey out to Montreal, Quebec, to immerse ourselves in their vibrant and eclectic music scene during the 16th annual POP Montreal Music Festival. With the assistance of FACTOR, a fellow nonprofit that assists the growth and development of musicians across Canada, we took up a four-day residence at the influential Breakglass Studios and with the help of studio co-owner James Benjamin and friend of KEXP Dan Boeckner (Wolf Parade, Operators), we were able to book 13 amazing bands for exclusive live performances. Today, we are excited to begin launching the videos from these performances.

Our first release comes from one of our favorite Montreal based bands, The Barr Brothers, who just released their excellent new album, Queens of the Breakers, in October. This was the final performance we captured out of 13 over the course of four days. All of the KEXP x Breakglass sessions were free and open to about 35 people, but this being the last performance and featuring one of the most popular local bands, we decided to open the room up to nearly 100 fans. It was a hot, packed house as The Barr Brothers, whose impressive lineup included a harp and french horn. As band leader Brad Barr told the crowd, this would be the first time they played songs from the new record to a live audience. That raw excitement, from audience and band, produced a lovely and intimate performance as the sun set on an unseasonably warm fall evening. Afterwards, Brad hung out with us to celebrate as we wrapped up our week in Montreal, and together we listened to the audio we just recorded, each satisfied in capturing a special moment. It was a perfect ending to our trip, and a perfect session to begin with for the release of all our KEXP x Breakglass videos. Look for two more each weekend, running through December and featuring mostly Canadian bands like The Besnard Lakes, The Luyas, Woolworm, Faith Healer, Tess Roby and many others.

We knew that The Besnard Lakes would be on our list to see while we were in Montreal since first, they are one of our favorite Montreal-based bands, but also because frontman Jace Lasek is one of the three founders of Breakglass Studios. It was really fun to see The Besnard Lakes in their element and to chat with Jace and Olga after the set about the history of Breakglass Studios, how they built out each room a little bit at a time over the last 12 years and to hear about all of the different bands that have recorded there like Holy Fuck, Islands, Stars, Sunset Rubdown, The Unicorns, Wolf Parade, Purity Ring, and many more. They performed songs from their latest release A Coliseum Complex Museum that came out last year, which is another excellent psych-rock scorcher. Check out their set below!

Montreal trio Paupière was the only Francophone artist that we filmed during our time at Breakglass Studios and Pop Montreal. Québec is a Francophone province with a vast majority of the population speaking French as their primary language. I spoke with many of the bands from Montreal about the difference between the Francophone and Anglophone populations and they’re actually quite separate, but the music communities come together during festivals like Pop Montreal. Paupière played a set of sleek electro-pop, citing influences from the 1980s French electro sound and their peers in the Montreal scene. Check out their fun new record À Jamais Privé de Réponses that just came out in October and enjoy their KEXP session live at Breakglass Studios!

Moon King is the project of Daniel Benjamin originally from Toronto, and now spending most of his time in the Detroit area. When Benjamin released his first tape as Moon King in 2011, he caught the attention of fellow Toronto band Fucked Up’s guitarist Mike Haliechuk who released his first two EPs. Since then has shared bills with bands like Alvvays, Austra, Unknown Mortal Orchestra and Majical Cloudz and has performed with Grimes and his brother’s project Doldrums. Inspired by his recent move to Detroit and the techno/dance scene, he has carved out his own pop sound on his new record Hamtramck ’16 which came out on August 4th. He and vocalist Natty G performed duets of the songs from the new record during their session with KEXP at Breakglass Studios.

Originally from Toronto now based in Montreal, musician and photographer Tess Roby is a true talent. At just 24 years old, she has a mature voice reminiscent of Nico, but truly her own. With gorgeous, lush songwriting, Tess on keyboards and vocals accompanied by her brother Eliot Roby on guitar, in the past year she drew the attention of LA-based label Italians Do It Better. Her debut full-length will be coming out sometime in the near future, but they have also released a 12” single for the song “Ballad 5” earlier this year. I asked Tess how she ended up getting involved with Johnny Jewel (The Chromatics/owner of Italians Do It Better) since she is the only Canadian artist on their modest roster. She told me that he just happened to stumble across her songs on Soundcloud and even though he never does this, was inspired to reach out and asked to release her record. She flew down to LA to meet with him to make sure it was a good fit, and they ended up getting along really well and she was thrilled to sign on with them. I can’t wait to hear the record when it comes out and I hope you enjoy a taste of the songs from her performance with KEXP at Breakglass Studios during the POP Montreal Festival.

Montreal natives The Luyas have been around since 2006 and have put out some really great records over the years, two of which — Too Beautiful To Work and Animator — were included on the long list for the 2011 and 2013 Polaris Music Prize respectively. Their sound is hard to pinpoint, using tons of layered keyboards, guitars, french horn and Jessie Stein’s delicate and weaving vocals to create lush psychy chamber rock. Members have been in other great Montreal bands as well like Bell Orchestre, Miracle Fortress, and Arcade Fire, and french horn player Pietro Amato was even recently at KEXP playing with Land of Talk. Their latest album Human Voicing, released in February of this year, was recorded at BreakglassStudios and produced and mixed by Jace Lacek of The Besnard Lakes, so their KEXP session at Breakglass during POP Montreal was a nice homecoming. Enjoy!

In September, KEXP made our first journey out to Montreal, Quebec, to immerse ourselves in their vibrant and eclectic music scene during the 16th annual POP Montreal Music Festival. With the assistance of FACTOR, a fellow nonprofit that assists the growth and development of musicians across Canada, we took up a four-day residence at the influential Breakglass Studios and with the help of studio co-owner James Benjamin and friend of KEXP Dan Boeckner (Wolf Parade, Operators), we were able to book 13 amazing bands for exclusive live performances. Today, we are excited to begin launching the videos from these performances.

One of the many reasons KEXP went to Montreal was at the recommendation of our friend Dan Boeckner (Wolf Parade, Operators), so when we had our plan in place to record at Breakglass Studios during the POP Montreal Festival, naturally we asked Dan if he had any local bands that he would recommend that we check out. One of those was Napster Vertigo, who has sort of an elusive web presence at the moment. With just a Bandcamp page containing one single and a few live tracks, we weren’t sure what exactly to expect when they showed up for their session.

The full band, led by frontman Andrew Wood, and including well-known Canadian solo artist Basia Bulat whose album Good Advice was short-listed for the 2016 Polaris Music Prize, played a really great set of catchy songs they self-describe as belonging to a genre they like to call “Zinger-Zongwriter,” which I honestly can’t think of a better description once it sticks in your head. Think Mac Demarco, Ariel Pink — these I would also categorize as Zinger-Zongwriter. It just works.

I spoke with Andrew recently and he let me know that he is 70% through recording the debut full length, which I am very excited to hear.

The very first band we had in during our residency at Breakglass Studios for POP Montreal was Montreal-via-Beirut duo Wake Island. Comprised of Philippe Manasseh and Nadim Maghzal, the two grew up in war-torn Beirut before coming to Montreal where they ended up meeting in college and bonding over their common roots and music. After graduating, they knew music was their true calling and made it their life. With Phil on vocals and synth and Nadim on guitar and drum machine, they bring a raw electro/no-wave sound, influenced by Alan Vega/Suicide and techno with deeply personal lyrics. Their live performance reflects the pure joy creating music brings them. Enjoy!

Mozambique-born artist Samito moved to Montreal over a decade ago with the intention of pursuing a career in music in the vibrant Montreal scene. He recently released his first full-length self-titled album last May, a very groovy set of African/Tropicalia/Electronic flavored songs with lyrics in Portuguese, French, and English. Normally a four-piece, for our KEXP x Breakglass session he played a more pared-down set with a guitarist and Samito on keyboards and vocals. It was so great to catch him during the POP Montreal fest line up!

Inspiration can come anytime; Montreal experimental trio Big Brave can attest to that. Guitarist/vocalist Robin Wattie and guitarist Mathieu Bernard Ball began playing together in 2012 when they were roommates, Robin told us after their set. She played acoustic guitar and was working on writing songs that were on the quieter side when the guitar broke and she picked up an electric and fell under the spell of the loud, rumbling haze of sound that came forward. Robin said they just kept playing louder and louder until finally, they formed what is now their band Big Brave that was just recently signed to LA-based metal label Southern Lord. They played two of the three epic and sweeping songs, all well over 10 minutes long, from their new record Ardor for their KEXP session live at Breakglass Studios during POP Montreal. Robin’s voice hollers out over a thick cloud of guitar while drummer Louis-Alexandre Beauregard builds the tension with tribal pounding. Enjoy their powerful performance here!

Faith Healer, out of Edmonton, Alberta, released their latest release Try;) ahead of our trip out to Montreal so I was able to spend some time with it before they did their session. This was one that I was most looking forward to seeing. Jessica Jalbert, the primary songwriter and guitar player, has a gift for conveying emotion through pop-rock slow burners. I was also super pumped that they played one of my favorite songs of the year, and the KEXP Song of the Day in early September, “Light of Loving.” Check out their KEXP session live from Breakglass Studios during Pop Montreal!

The POP Montreal Festival celebrates the wide variety of artists coming out of the Montreal music scene, but also features a ton of bands from across Canada as well. Releasing records since 2009, Vancouver, BC 4-piece Woolworm played a killer set of straightforward solid rock. With catchy hooks and dark, moody lyrics, Woolworm played songs from their new record Deserve To Die that came out on August 25th. Check out their KEXP performance live at Breakglass Studios.

Montreal-based band Loon is Tessa Dawn K, Gregory Burton, Alexander Thibault, Tamara Sandor and Alex Nicol. They played a lovely set of ethereal, down-tempo dream pop, with Tessa’s delicate, crystalline vocals shining through, reminiscent at times of Kate Bush and Lauren Mayberry of CHVRCHES. Their EP Threads was released in July of 2016. Hopefully, they’ll be putting out a full length in the near future, but in the meantime, you can check out their KEXP session live from Breakglass Studios.

Ask any band, and they’re sure to tell you they’ve had a few special moments. Moments of musical connection, an interaction with a special crowd, that second when the song crescendos and the audience gets just a little louder, or maybe that moment when the song comes to an end and there’s a split second of silence before the crowd kicks in. It’s especially awesome when there’s a certain thematic unity to things. This was the case when Plants and Animals covered Wolf Parade’s “I’ll Believe in Anything” at Breakglass for Pop Montreal in 2011. “This is by one of the first bands that ever took us out on tour”, Warren Spicer said “and showed us how to rock” he added, before the band launched into a powerful rendition of the tune. It all makes sense, considering that Spencer Krug, formerly of Wolf Parade, had played 2011’s other Live From Breakglass showcase the night before as Moonface.

Spencer Krug is a man of many bands. Look him up on Wikipedia if you don’t believe me. I still remember reading a Pitchfork review of one of his records as Sunset Rubdown that called him “The most prolific indie rocker this side of Robert Pollard”. When Moonface played Breakglass, the entire stage was filled with gear; an organ, a vibraphone, an electronic drum machine, two amps and a Leslie speaker. The stage was lit with a glowing globe and a few candles, and behind this huge wall of equipment were Spencer and Moonface bandmate Mike Bigelow. Some bands make happy music about sad things. Moonface is not one of those bands. Send Me An Angel is heart-wrenching in both content and form. Particularly in the candle lit ambience, this tune really produced a swirling hypnotic effect on everyone in the room, the kind of effect that takes some time to wear off once the performance has come to an end.

Duchess Says performed at Breakglass on October 2nd, 2010 during Po

Duchess Says

Duchess Says played the very first of our Pop Montreal: Live From Breakglass sessions way back in 2010. In addition to being our first show of this kind, it was also Duchess Says' first show back after an extended hiatus, and they did not disappoint! The Show was reviewed by Pop Montreal's Nick Cabelli:

DUCHESS SAYS, LIVE AT BREAKGLASS

Pop Montreal, 2/10/2010, 2h00, $8.

by Nick Cabelli

Duchess Says is the band. Their few records are all very good but this show was so ecstatic and sharp and monumental that they will forever be in my personal Hall of Fame. ALL HAIL DUCHESS SAYS.

Breakglass is the recording studio. They have the mixing board from LZ’s “Kashmir.” Octobre air-conditioning in the booth and you can almost see your breath. The owner/producer twists in his chair at the lights and levels of the gigantic console.

The sound fades to a level where people in the booth can hear and be heard, a Duchess Says diorama. Heads are bobbing, DATs are running, phonecalls are made for extra beer. With no windows into the big room adjacent or any others, the booth is like the command post of a rock ‘n’ roll submarine, a weird pop space pod.

I want my eyes to have the same adventure my ears are on.

In the studio Annie-Claude is swinging from the waterpipes. They play on the floor in a nook while the wild crowd shuffles. The arrival of more beer is received with cheers. They play two or three encores until they run out of music to play. It’s almost 4 am. Brutal fucking party and museum-quality goodvibes.

¿TRUE OR FALSE?

Duchess Says : Cap’t Beefheart :: holding up your phone to take a picture a concert : sparking-lighters and holding hands and other sixties hippie stuff.

¿BONUS QUESTION?

Was the concert at a recording studio or was there a recording session of a concert?p Montreal.

Stephen Ramsay of Young Galaxy is both an awesome rock n roller, and a pretty awesome basketball player. Ramsay's been doing the Montreal rock n' roll thing for a few years now, and it says a lot that many of YGs former members are doing really well out on their own now. What struck me most about this particular show was how united of a sound the band now has. Catherine McCandless is a perfect complement to Stephen on stage, really bringing the music to a particularly awesome place when she's singing and swaying away up on stage. It's also worth noting that Andrea Silver really, really kills it on those drums. All this to say that after over 7 years on the scene, it seems that YG is really hitting their stride, with a sound that's all their own right about now.

Young Paris (from Paris France, via Hudson NY) was invited to Montreal by the DIFA crew (Doing it for the Arts) for a performance at the Phi centre and somewhere along the way (in fact right away) a symbiosis occured and it became clear that Paris was DIFA and DIFA was Paris. Paris is known for his engrossing on-stage performances featuring African rhythms and dancing, out of this world costumes, and what can only be described as an excess of positive energy. In studio, Paris was easygoing, and charismatic. "This beat's so weird that I've just got to figure out where the downbeat is..." Paris said at one point, while laughing into the mic. The Live From Breakglass singles series is really all about capturing that fleeting collaborative moment within a recording session and in the case of this DIFA, Paris, Breakglass collab, the moment was a celebration, featuring blown out beats, African Djembe, Washed out guitars, improvised rhodes lines, and course after course of delicious African platters in the Breakglass kitchen. So overall this song is definitely a trip and a half! You'll need to clear your mind and let the rhythm move you to get the most out of this one.

Road to the Yancey Boys album...

After performing sellout shows with Frank Nitt in Vancouver, San Diego, Indianapolis and Detroit to celebrate the life of J Dilla during February, Illa J took a week off in Montreal before heading to LA for extended recording sessions... While he was in town he visited Breakglass Studios for one night only and recorded "Full Control" This is Illa J like you've never heard him before... freaking vintage synths and singing harmonies a-la Bilal.

Follow @breakglass_ to hear the whole song real soon

and definitely follow: @illaj @DeliciousVinyl @franknitt

Yancey Boys album coming soon...