Formed in early 2016 by prolific Montreal bedroom producer Deb Edison, the all-women sextet, comprised of mostly non-musicians, has successfully strummed their way through the local scene over the course of the past year.

These static depictions of heartache […] become rather repetitive.

Playing at a variety of local dive bars and house parties — most recently at Club Balattou — the band has conjured up a bit of a cult following, always delivering an entertaining show. Their “ritualistic” sets, as described on their Bandcamp page, include “monochrome outfits, hand-painted backdrops, ornate flower arrangements, and candid monologue recitations.”

In “Do You Really Love Me?,” every track, each less than three minutes long, stayed true to a lovesick and listless, slightly offbeat sound. A nice collection of songs for a late summer romp on the beach, perhaps. It is immediately clear that the band is going for an ironic concept, with lyrics that could have come straight out of a lovesick teenager’s mouth, but taken to extremes (“It’s true that I’d be better off with you than without you […] I’m nothing without him and I need him to speak for me.”)

[The] band has conjured up a bit of a cult following, always delivering an entertaining show.

These static depictions of heartache, though charming, become rather repetitive. Nearly every song paints a picture of a lonely girl longing for the love and support of a man. In trying to be subversive, the band has, it seems, fallen more deeply into the traps of convention.

The album is also lacking in terms of musicality. The monotone vocals could’ve put any listener to sleep, and the underwhelming musical riffs lack complexity. A live performance might have made this album more enjoyable — the band’s concerts come well recommended.

However, music should be capable of standing on its own. The Submissives’s balladic feminist tunes are too vague to act as actual critiques of compulsory heterosexuality. The band will do well against the test of time in the chaos that is the Montreal music scene, but only if they manage to mix it up with their next album, throw away the sweet and simplistic facade, and give some real slap-in-the-face sass.

Check out “Do You Really Love Me?” on limited-edition cassette or via Bandcamp.

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This past Tuesday, Shash’U sat down to talk with The Daily about his influences and experiences. Despite the freezing winter winds, his effortlessly chill and amiable demeanour shed a little sunlight on the day – reminding us that concert-going is the perfect way to keep warm.

McGill Daily (MD): Are you from Montreal?

Shash’U (S): Yeah, born and raised. Both of my parents are Haitian.

MD: Planning on staying here? Or do you hope to move eventually?

S: If I had the resources to have many residences, then yeah, sure – I’d want to have a pad in another city, but Montreal is always going to be some kind of base.

MD: I mean it is a great, culturally thriving community.

S: Well, yes it is, but at the same time there’s so many things going on in so many other cities I think it’s just proper for me to absorb everything, you know.

MD: How and when did you start DJing? You call yourself a “DJ,” right? That’s what you go by?

S: It’s one of the many things I am, yeah.

MD: What else would you call yourself?

S: Producer, that’s the number one thing. That’s what I started with when I was 17. Then I started street dancing (locking, popping, and stuff) when I was maybe twenty years old. And a year later, I got my first turntables.

PWRFNK… it’s a mix of many things. […] So the eighties and early nineties sounds – hip hop and more – mixed with the whole realm of video games, action figures, and cartoons. So all of that mixed together in a very cinematic and nostalgic way. How can I say… packaged, that’s PWRFNK.

MD: What made you decide to start doing this?

S: I guess it was the curiosity of expanding the music production, the whole element of it. Because I was so involved with the culture of hip hop itself, I think it just happened on its own. When I was a kid, my dad had turntables, and I would play records and stuff like that – I guess it just never fell off.

MD: So you definitely have a solid base in the music world. Your sound has been referred to as “power funk” – how would you define that?

S: PWRFNK… it’s a mix of many things. If I were to give you, like, a very direct example, it’s basically a mix of the sounds and the music that influenced me growing up. So the eighties and early nineties sounds – hip hop and more – mixed with the whole realm of video games, action figures, and cartoons. So all of that mixed together in a very cinematic and nostalgic way. How can I say… packaged, that’s PWRFNK.

MD: So you kind of have your own genre going on then.

S: I guess, we’ll see if people dig it, and if more and more will follow. I define it as a style.

MD: Okay, so who are some of your influences or inspirations?

S: Ooh, a heavy question…

MD: I know, it’s really difficult.

S: My main influence… I’d have to say my dad. Definitely, because if it weren’t for him, I wouldn’t have this whole musical [inclination] that I have today. […] There are so many different kinds of rhythms and styles of music in Haiti, and also there’s a very deep connection between Haiti and other countries, like Venezuela. So often you would have musicians who would play in different countries and different cities, with different bands and different kinds of music, and my dad introduced me to that. He’d play me the records of [some] guy who also played in this Cuban band, but he’s also Haitian.

MD: Cool, so [he was] making all the connections for you, to give you background. Do you have any specific artists or musicians you can think of who have influenced your style?

S: J. Dilla, Travis Scott, Just Blaze…

MD: Funk is in the title of your style of PWRFNK. Do you have any specific funk artists from way back when who have influenced you?

S: Zapp & Roger, Prince, George Clinton –

MD: Prince! I’m from Minnesota, which is where Prince is from.

S: Straight up, I played in his club! I went there to spin for a dance battle and the after-party was at his club and I was like, say whaaat?

MD: Prince is definitely up there as a number-one icon.

S: I want to meet him one time. Even if he blasts me for remixing his songs. I have a friend who did choreography for one of his songs and it was on YouTube, but it got removed. The people who work for his label and his branding really enforce his [copyright] rules.

There are so many different kinds of rhythms and styles of music in Haiti, and also there’s a very deep connection between Haiti and other countries, like Venezuela. So often you would have musicians who would play in different countries and different cities, with different bands and different kinds of music, and my dad introduced me to that.

MD: Well he has such a strong image too […] If one little thing is off, the whole world is wrong.

S: I guess that’s different with me – PWRFNK is open for everyone, everyone can enjoy it.

MD: What has it been like as a rising star in Montreal today? How do you feel about the overall music community in Montreal?

S: I feel like the community is quite receptive when you present them content. I’m lucky enough to have a good, supportive team. It’s been good, you know – skills pay the bills, that’s what I say. Hard work, and you get what you want.

MD: Tell me about your new EP, Thru Da Night.

S: Thru Da Night is a project, five tracks – fun tracks to listen to. And it’s just like a little picture/snapshot/trailer of the whole sphere of PWRFNK that I want to present.

MD: What inspired you to make this EP?

S: I don’t know, it’s a strange combination of many different influences […] but it just happened within me. And, for some reason, I noticed that there was kind of a current happening almost at the same time, so I felt like it was proper for me to put it out as a whole project, and then have the PWRFNK following.

MD: So you worked with Mimo LaFunk for one of the songs? How was that? Who else have you enjoyed collaborating with?

S: That was great! It’s an interesting thing… we have so many projects coming up together. And she’s a dancer too – I’ve known her since I started dancing, way back. Other people I’ve worked with have been Sam I Am, Karma Atchykah, Chromeo, and a lot of other people too. Not just people from Montreal, but also people that I’ve met when touring in Europe and in the [U.S.] also.

MD: Interesting, you’re kind of picking up the pieces from all over the place.

S: Yeah, the right pieces for the right piece.

MD: Where have been some of your favourite places to play, outside of Montreal?

S: Europe has been really cool. Zurich was fun. Rotterdam… everywhere. Everywhere I go is fun. Paris! Whether it be like in an old, thrashy looking type of club where it’s packed with 200 to 300, or it could be like a big thing with thousands of people…

MD: So just a different vibe everywhere you go.

S: Well there’s a lot of gigs with different vibes but I’m happy to do them all because I still find a way to create a spark within all of them, and people have a good time regardless – so I’m happy.

– This interview has been edited for clarity and space.

 
Thru Da Night is available for listening at foolsgoldrecs.com/shashu. Shash’U has another release, his PWRFNK album, set to come out March 31. Catch Shash’U live at his next gig on March 7 at the Phi Centre.

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On a rainy day in the Mile End, Barbier and Pinder-Doede took the time out of their performance schedule to chat with The Daily about July First and the band’s experience as an emerging post-punk group in Montreal. Having just played two shows this past week, with an additional one scheduled for this coming Monday, the girls were rather worn out; regardless, they were eager to chat, maintaining a calm and positive outlook as they discussed the drastic changes and new developments of the past few months.

MD: How did Moss Lime come into existence?

CPD: Hélène and I were roommates a few years ago, and I think we had talked for a while about wanting to do something, but we were kind of shy and never really managed to do anything. I came back [to Montreal] this summer and we were playing around a bit with basses.

We never really intended to be a band; we just wanted to try out a show in August. So our goal became to get songs to play [for] that show and then after that we were like, we should record them just to have a souvenir!

MD: What has it been like starting out as a band in Montreal?

CPD: It’s been really great. People have been so supportive. […] Fixture Records has been great too. They’re the best. We didn’t know what to expect, really, but they’ve done way more than we thought was going to be done.

MD: Fans and critics have been referring to your sound as “minimalist post-punk.” What does it mean to be a post-punk band in Montreal today? How would you describe your music?

HB: We were surprised to hear this. It was funny, because we were really aiming for something more surf rock. We really wanted to do something summery.

MD: So you didn’t really intend to be post-punk?

HB: No, no. I always wonder, what is post-punk, anyway? I would say it’s a nice definition for people who don’t know how to use pedal effects, reverb, whatever. As for “minimalist”— that’s really just in our inexperience.

MD: Tell me about your inspirations.

HB: I would say phone calls not answered. A lot of text messages not answered too…

CPD: Definitely a lot of frustration. And rejection.

MD: So I guess that plays a lot into your seemingly angsty lyricism. How do you go about writing songs? Where does a song like “Ice Cream Sandwiches” [from the July First EP] come from?

CPD: Well, that was cool, actually, because there was this one night where we were [playing] and “July First” and “Ice Cream Sandwiches” were actually mixed up – the lyrics were intertwined, and it was bothering all of us. I think [Hélène] suggested for everyone to just write what they want, and to put it all together. So we ended up all having a piece in that song. Really, that’s what I like the most – we each try to throw in what we can. Especially when you’re stuck, and then someone throws something in. That’s my favourite feeling.

MD: Cool. Well, even though you don’t [think of yourselves] as punk, you do kind of have this female-fronted, punky vibe going on. Do you have any thoughts on [women in punk], or feminism?

HB: It’s really interesting that you ask this, because we have talked about this before, with a French paper. They asked as what the difference is between being in France and Quebec, and we answered that in France we’re a girl band, whereas here we can just be a new band.

MD: For me, when I saw post-punk and female, I thought of [feminism] immediately.

HB: I think we’ve been processing this [punk feminism] more since watching that documentary about Kathleen Hanna [lead singer of Le Tigre and part of the punk-feminist movement of the nineties].

CPD: Maybe subconsciously that has been influencing us.

HB: Well, I watched it like four times this summer.

MD: Inspiration wise, are there any other movies or artists that have been inspiring you guys?

HB: Moonrise Kingdom!

CPD: Also, we were listening to a lot of Freelove Fenner together, and CROSSS, and Each Other … La Femme … ScHoolboy Q. And Beyoncé.

MB: Considering the visa troubles you’ve been facing, what are some of your goals as a group from here on out? Are you planning to go on tour? Can we expect some new music any time soon?

CPD: We’re in the midst of figuring everything out. I think our goal is to ultimately tour next summer.

HB: We have two new songs – “Dreamboat” and “Chou Frisé.”

MD: What’s the story behind both of these new tracks?

CPD: The three of us worked at Jean-Talon Market in August and September, and it wasn’t the greatest experience. We were working nine-hour shifts and having to repeat the same things over and over again. So one night, we were all biking together after work, and we were rapping the phrases we had to repeat all day long, because we were like, this is insane! You have to think of a million different ways to say the same thing for nine hours straight … like, “Do you want a bag?” So that’s where we got our inspiration for “Chou Frisé.”

“Dreamboat” is a love song […] just really cheesy rejection. Trying not to be tacky about it. Trying to be a bit fun.

Moss Lime is playing Monday, November 10 at Brasserie Beaubien Ltée.

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