As an instant of creation that encourages collaborations and encounters, the night is a privileged moment where different cultural expressions are manifested. Sometimes unknown, even stigmatized, the night is nevertheless the breeding ground of an alternative creation that seduces an ever more varied public and it’s also an essential springboard for an entire emerging artistic scene. Unfortunately, the dialogues between Montreal’s City and creative collectives don’t emerge easily since the City is still very cautious about these initiatives. As a matter of fact, several international examples, notably in Paris, Berlin and Amsterdam, show that a more permissive night can have positive effects in terms of tourism, prevention and economic development. In the conference, by expressing and confronting their points of view, the cultural actors of the night and the City will discuss and debate on the future of Montreal's nightlife.
Presented by TRAX Magazine
Trax Magazine has been the reference magazine for electronic music in France since 1997. First a reader, Jean-Paul entered as an intern after studying philosophy, journalism and political science. Editor-in-chief of the magazine since 2014, he has been working on the aesthetic, societal and political aspects of electronic music, but also of celebration, night and technological arts, both on paper and online.
softcoresoft (Leticia Trandafir) is a Montreal-based DJ, music producer, radio host and cultural organizer. Her sonic aesthetic fuses acid, hypnotic techno, rave music and broken beats.
Aside from high-octane and eclectic DJ sets, softcoresoft performs live hardware sets that blend techno, acid, electro and trance. softcoresoft’s upcoming debut EP is set to drop on Lobster Theremin Black Label in 2019.
softcoresoft’s local performances have included the city’s best electronic music platforms, including MUTEK Montreal (2018 and 2017 as Demora), Piknic Électronik, Igloofest, Never Apart, Phi Center, Pop Montréal, LIP, Datcha as well as countless raves and loft parties.
From an early point in her DJ trajectory, softcoresoft has been a Discwoman collaborator, playing at their events in both Montreal and Brooklyn (Technofeminism at Bossa Nova Civic Club) and releasing a Discwoman mix in February 2018. Internationally, softcoresoft has also performed in Berlin (Urban Spree, Polygon), Barcelona (LAUT), Detroit (Marble Bar), Norway (International Bergen Festival), Düsseldorf (Golzheim), Ciel’s “Work in Progress” party and Bambis in Toronto, Le Cercle (Quebec City) and many more.
softcoresoft is an alumna of the RBMA Bass Camp 2019 in Calgary.
Every other month, softcoresoft hosts Ravelength Radio, a show on N10.AS—Montreal’s online community radio station. The show serves as a platform for showcasing mainly women-identified producers through guest mixes and interviews. On her show and through RBMA and MUTEK collaborations, Leticia has interviewed artists such as Pan Daijing, rRoxymore, Machine Woman, Equiknoxx, Electric Indigo, Sau Poler, and Space Afrika among others.
Leticia is also the Music Director at Never Apart.
Hervé “Coltan” Kalongo is an artist manager and he oversees the careers of Pierre Kwenders and Mark Clennon. He’s also the co-founder of Moonshine (originally an after office hours party coinciding with the full moon), now an artist collective, label and event crew focused on increasing the diversity of Montreal’s creative output.
Coming from a professional background in the field of finance, Bérénice discovered the world of events through volunteering for festivals in Montreal and eventually found her way into the production of events for evenko. The passion for electronic music was another reason to produce raves and share this culture in Montreal. It was from this passion that the idea of creating OCTOV with Maxime Gazeau came about.
Christine Gosselin is passionate about urban planning and urbanity. This interest has always prevailed in her professional life, whether in her medieval postgraduate studies or in her career as a teacher and small business manager. She has lived in the four major Canadian cities, as well as in Italy and France.
His plunge into municipal politics was strongly motivated by a desire to contribute to the rebirth of Montreal. Political attaché and then elected to the Plateau-Mont-Royal between 2009 and 2017, she focused a lot on the coexistence issues related to the great vitality of the nightlife activities in this central borough. She is now a councillor for the Vieux-Rosemont district, where she chairs the urban planning advisory committee. She was a member of the Executive Committee responsible for culture, heritage and design of the City of Montreal.