DJ Champion’s return at Metropolis!
The champion returns! He’ll be adding rock and dance to the Montreal Jazz Fest‘s impressive genre line-up at Metropolis on Thursday, June 30th, and you’re encouraged to come on down.
If you don’t know him yet, DJ Champion (or just Champion), alias Maxime Morin, has been a fixture of Montreal’s dance scene since the mid-’90s. He began releasing albums with 2005’s Chill ‘Em All, a sensual trip into downtempo Americana and beat-laden electronic blues that has since become an award-winning genre classic. The guitar-infused album’s tongue-in-cheek name is perhaps an homage to Champion’s early ’90s career as a metal guitarist, but Chill ‘Em All is praised for its subdued vibe, which never gets heavier than back-country twang — although the bass is guaranteed to shake the floor.
Soulful vocals from fellow Montreal local Betty Bonifassi (lately of electronic duo Beast) add a warm and soulful touch to the album’s sound, although Champion would switch it up for his next studio release, 2009’s Resistance. A little darker and more varied, Resistance sees Champion cranking up the distortion and employing hard guitar rhythms and male vocals into his electronic sound – all adding up to a most rocking effect. Like Chill ‘Em All before it, tracks from this album have become hits on the soundtrack circuit, adding energy to clips for games like Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood, seen here.
Severe health problems have sidelined Champion until recently, which means June 30th’s show will be a return to form and truly something special to witness – it’ll also be his only show this summer! Champion will be pulling out all the stops, accompanied by his live band, G-Strings, for the full effect.
If you don’t mind a little rock mixed in with your dance beats (and Champion has proven the combination irresistible) you’d best come on down to Metropolis on Thursday! Tickets are still on sale at $34.50 at L’Astral and Metropolis or through admission.com (Tel.: 514-790-1245).
