The Insider Perspective on Montreal’s Festival and Club Scene

We chatted with the Montreal DJ about accessibility, community, and her ideal night out in Montreal

It’s the first day in Montreal that actually feels like fall, the last day of September, and I’ve migrated from a coffee shop across the street from McGill campus, to cafe In Gamba in the Mile End, as per Andrea De Tour’s recommendation. The cute and cosy setting made for both the perfect interview spot and the perfect spot to sit down and work away at some See You Next Tuesday projects before Andrea’s arrival (it was absolutely frigid and she very understandably needed to take a warm shower quickly before coming). 

When she arrived and didn’t see me, we realised we’d gone to two different locations of the same cafe, both in the Mile End, about ten minutes from each other. I felt a bit silly for not even realising that there were multiple locations, having just gone to the first one that came up when I googled it, but Andrea very kindly braved the cold to make her way to where I was. 

The first time we met was at the Palomosa Saturday afterparty, where we saw amazing sets from Frost Children and The Dare. She graciously got me and Sierra in via the guest list, which I am now forever indebted to her for considering The Dare ended up reposting my Instagram story from that night.

One on one, in a daytime context, she is just as personable, generous, and engaging. We started chatting away as soon as she got there, and she gave me the most fascinating rundown of the Montreal DJ nexus before I’d even started recording the interview. However, her wisdom proved endless; after asking some basic questions about her DJ background, Andrea and I talked all about the Montreal festival and club scene, including her favourite clubs to play, ideal night out in Montreal, and best festival memories. 

How long have you been DJing? 

Almost three years…I technically had three gigs before covid, but I really started DJing legit every week regularly on Halloween three years ago. So Halloween 2021, I would say!

And where was your first gig ever?

My first gig ever was at école privée for House of Work on Thursdays, and my friends were actually running it…they were very chill with having me play with literally no experience.  The only advice they gave me was to Never under NO CIRCUMSTANCES use the sync button. To this day I never have but I get when sometimes sync is your only way out alive. At Ecole, I just remember plugging my USB in for the first time on their CDJS and the track was going backwards. I had zero idea how to switch it to forwards so when I asked the lighting guy, he simply flicked the forward switch and looked at me with such fear in his eyes. It was an obvious tell tale sign to how amateur I was on the CDJS. But once I got going, I honestly look back on that and would say I put down a pretty solid set. I’m being for real when I say I learned all I know about DJing in front of a crowd… usually the hard way. All my friends from university came out to support and got a conga line going throughout the whole club at one point.

What is, at this point in your career, your favourite club to play that you always end up coming back to? 

Well, Datcha. It's just the best and more often than not I'm there every month. Basically, there’s no official residencies, but they kind of have a roster that they pick from. You settle into the community and your friend asks you to play one month, because you have a date the next month they can play on, and vice versa, so it’s fun – I’ve met so many amazing DJs and people through mixing and matching with the community of artists that pay Datcha. Everyone’s so willing to organise dates with each other even if you don’t know them that well. . 

And I love the crowd! You can always count on an enthusiastic crowd that will love and go with any curve ball you throw at them. If the DJ is into it, the crowd is.

What qualities of a venue really make you want to play there again and make it stand out, both in terms of the environment and the audience but also the physical space itself? 

That’s a good question. I really like when the DJ booth isn’t raised too much, I like being with the crowd. Like at Datcha, there’s a little platform, but not much –  you still feel like you’re with everyone. Another place I really like to play is Le Systeme on St. Hubert. That booth is on the same level as all the dancers with only really the CDJs separating you. I like to feel accessible and for there to be no hierarchical thing happening. If looking forward towards the DJ gives you an anchor, that’s great, but my goal is to have you dancing with your friends or even better, dancing by yourself , feeling really one-on-one connected to the tracks, with no idea where the DJ is even playing from. I think that element is really unique to Club DJing and if the setup helps activate that, I love it.

So something more intimate? 

Yeah. I definitely like that better. I’ve played big stages and that’s fun too, but it’s a different thing. At Piknic [Electronik], the main stage was super big this year, but before it was just this reused storage container. That’s what’s so nice about Piknic is that it’s this really communal thing, so you feel close to the artist. 

What are some of the key differences between playing a club as a regular vs. an event setting? 

I mean when I first played Datcha I didn't sleep the night before because I was like, “this is it! I made it!” because it’s so iconic. It's a super fun gig, but it’s different from the festivals, especially in Montreal. If you play Igloo fest and Piknic, it’s the two days of the year where it’s just…super fucking fun. And you can really make something of it too. It’s a good platform, because they want to support local artists, so it’s a nice opportunity to be on a big stage and open for someone who’s an established DJ, to have your name next to them, you want to make the most out of the festivals. You get way more visibility than, like, Datcha for one night.

And for Datcha, I’ll just play songs that I’ve been accumulating on my USB, songs I like at the moment. Sometimes I’ll loosely organise them into energy levels to make it easier for myself search wise, but i’m mainly playing songs that i’ve been adding on in smaller increments, rather than building a whole new set specifically for the night  But for festivals, I have a set that I’ll put into a folder that are the 25-30 songs I’m definitely going to play. And I try to start preparing and track searching a month in advance, usually it only ends up being a day, haha, but that’s still more than I’d prepare for a normal gig. 

What are your most memorable festival experiences in Montreal and Quebec as an act and as an audience member? 

I’d say Igloofest in Quebec [City], I opened for DJ Boring, who I love, and I was playing to like 10,000 people and everyone was super into it because it was the first time that Quebec City had an Igloofest. And honestly all the Igloofests are so much fun. This year was the first time I played the second slot, and it was on the side stage, and it was the first time I ever felt I was holding a good crowd when there was a main stage act to compete with.

My favourite experience was Piknic in 2019, it was the first event we went to in my second year, and I think it was the first Boiler Room they held. I can’t remember who headlined, but we arrived with Ouri mixing vinyl and then Patrick Holland played. Two iconic Montrel artists that I’ve now met as a working DJ and continue to be inspired by. It was so much fun. And there were the cameras, and we were on the tape, it was so much fun.

Not a question obviously, but I really need to go to a Boiler Room.  

They’re here a few times a year! Montreal usually does all the smaller, more editorial boiler rooms. The last one was huge, though. You know on the waterfront how they have those massive buildings? It was like two floors of that. There were like thousands of people. It was awesome.

What’s your perfect night out in Montreal for someone who wants to get into the nightlife of the city? 

I feel like you definitely have to move around. The beauty of the city is that it’s small, so you can literally go to five different things in a night and you’re not wasting that much time. I would say start at Sans Soleil, it’s my favourite place and I don’t go enough. Of course, go for food before if you can, upstairs at Fleurs et Cadeaux, it’s so good. I always have the best time. It’s in Chinatown, and with a cap of 40 people. It’s blown up now so there’s always a big line but if you can get in there early, you won't regret it. Even on a Monday or Tuesday, they sometimes have these lowkey vinyl guys who you don’t see playing really anywhere else in the city. I guess they are just long-time vinyl DJs that just wanna hangout and play their favourite chill tracks on a tuesday night. And the drinks are very good, and kinda strong. 

And after Sans Soleil I'm going to Datcha. I feel like I always end up at Datcha at some point, because it’s just going hard the whole night, and everyone is always going in and out. 1:30-3 is like “the time”. If I’m feeling crazy and have a ride I’ll go to systeme if my friends are there. It is kind of out of the way but I’m never disappointed. I really love that space and I actually have a residency there at their radio station N10.as. 

So between the big festivals and the club scene, what do you think makes Montreal stand out as somewhere that’s beneficial to local artists working the underground club and festival circuit, and how do you think it could still be better? 

It’s a hard question because the only thing that I would want is more clubs and more festivals, as in the city to be bigger, but also I don’t want the city to be bigger. It being this size, everyone knowing each other, that’s the whole point of it. That’s why I actually want it to stay exactly the same, but then eventually travel to perform in other places and expand that way. But here, you’re always one person away from someone which is so nice. I think that's what makes this city so full of opportunities. there’s so many collaborations that can happen so easily. If you want to play somewhere, you can. Maybe not the first time you ask, but you’ll eventually meet the people and make it happen if that's your goal. 

And the events in Montreal are the coolest. Like Expo Noir and Homegrown Harvest. They have an underground energy, but are also so welcoming. They’re organised by people who take a really old school approach to events and raves. There are so many collectives here that are doing awesome stuff, and working in the scene, you always end up seeing friends you didn't expect to, so it's like a house party also which is what’s so special about Montreal. 

And I find so many artists here to be so original and new. Young and upcoming artists without financial help are more comfortable doing their own thing here. Because it’s not like New York for example, where you’re basically doing the impossible by paying your rent and keeping yourself alive every month while what’s “cool” and gonna make you the most money is being shoved in your face all the time. You can kind of take a second to just sit in your apartment and be like, “Well what do I want to do?” without that outside pressure. Having that opportunity of a low cost of living in Montreal for artists has definitely been a huge enabler of the city’s art and culture over the years. I’ve been very lucky and very grateful that I’ve been able to be doing this full time for the last 2.5 years.

Giving as always, Andrea got us an Uber back to Plateau, I returned to my apartment and she was off to meet with a friend. On the way, we kept talking, and I learned even more about the Montreal DJ experience, Andrea’s career, and receiving gems of life advice on how to be a functioning adult in Montreal, working in and around the music scene. With a whole new rolodex of Montreal music spaces on my radar, Andrea’s openness and experience made for an exceptionally enriching conversation for myself, and anyone looking to expand their knowledge of and involvement in the Montreal music scene. 

Andrea DJs at n10.as radio station every fourth Friday of the month, and you can catch her regularly at Datcha. Connect with her on socials to stay up to date on her other gigs and projects. 

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