Music <\/p>\n
Taking to the land of revolving doors and cash-only bars, M For Montr\u00e9al <\/strong>returns and thrives in the quirks of its city. Hosted annually, the festival offers a global platform to nascent, homegrown talent across a diverse pool of venues, lending its spotlight to a cross-genre extravaganza of music, arts and culture. Swinging between the essence of indie-sleaze to the underground francophone rap scene, each showcase treads on fresh soil, coming together as a truly refreshing experience for those looking to keep their finger on the pulse.<\/p>\n This year marks M For Montr\u00e9al\u2019s 19th edition, an evolutionary milestone that manifests across the festival\u2019s thorough programming. Over four days, the M team seamlessly guide attendees across sound palettes, meanwhile offering a flavour of the city as they hop between spaces, both intimate and large-scale, all with bounds of personality. Elsewhere, the week invites a series of enriching talks, panels and workshops catered to different areas of the industry. Be it analysing sync trends or a round-table discussion on accessibility in live music, the conference encourages a more rounded perspective amongst its peers, highlighting the day-to-day strengths and obstacles in each of its moving parts.<\/p>\n Despite being wrapped in layers of thermals, scarves and gloves, the surprise of a mild, Canadian winter strikes as a popular conversation starter. As we find ourselves whisked away in a mustard-yellow school bus, CLASH are furiously taking note of the acts that set themselves apart.\u00a0<\/p>\n In no particular order, we present our eleven favourite acts from this year\u2019s M For Montr\u00e9al proceedings\u2026<\/p>\n Vox Rea<\/strong><\/p>\n Heading over to the rugged, brick-walled glory of Les Foufounes \u00c9lectriques, the punkish, low-lit venue unveils the festival\u2019s first official showcases. Amongst the hum and buzz of a tattoo gun, sister duo Kate and Lauren Kurdyak share their intertwined harmonies over a vibrant performance. Sporting warm-tinted sunglasses, the band embrace a free-flowing, almost psychedelic identity to their craft, leaning into hazy strums, bright notes and punchy drum patterns. At their most refined, the outfit dip into 2015\u2019s \u2018Primitive\u2019, a track that best captures their collaborative forces and builds momentum, one verse and hook at a time. An all-round joy to watch and, for those wondering, we just about managed to resist the urge for some new ink.<\/p>\n \n