The network
- MontréalALT (this page)
- New YorkRenegade Virus · Blackkat (archive)
- OttawaGetto Blast
- TorontoMIR (archive)
- San FranciscoHavocsound (archive) · 5lowershop
A Montréal crew at the intersection of activism and party. Looking back at the roots, at the street parties, squats, teknivals, then bars and warehouses, and the network of crews they connected.
Before ALT, then ALT. The early years come from the old Flash site "Retour vers le Futur!", the rest from the alt-mtl site and the flyers. Texts translated and cut short from the French. flyers, photos and articles, each under its event. Tap one to see it full screen.
Played with Ruffle, a Flash emulator. Click a year in the menu. Sound starts only after you click.
1997
Early 1997, a flyer for the Spirals in New York, next to a big, overpriced party, pushes us to organize. We talk about a teknival for the summer. Too bold for 3 young, green promoters: it never happens. But it shows that criticizing a scene rotten by money is not enough.
A benefit party for a summer teknival that never happened. A small black and white flyer and a guest from New Jersey (Entox). The party is packed. We try to close the door around 3 am, but people keep coming. Hardcore and drum & bass in 2 rooms until morning.
The summer plans fell through, so the money goes into one BIG party. Guests Richard Devine (Atlanta), Takeshi (Miami, who came on his own) and Fishead (Winnipeg), with locals Natural Born Suckers and Paratonnerfs.
1998
The trio of promoters splits. Friends planning a trip to Chiapas spark a benefit party: party and politics together. Little money comes out of it, but a clearer wish to get involved through electronic music events.
1999
A small party (100 to 150 people) with a vibe of its own. A loft on rue Dowd shakes to hardtek, old and new generations together.
Yale (CapsCorp), Zip and Jef (CoreTexLabs) come up from New York. Only 25 people show up. Then a busted party nearby sends a crowd over around 3 am: Mistress Barbara fans.
2000
At the end of a protest, our friend Jaggi turns to us: see how your music could have a role here. A way of protesting, of expressing our art. A small group decides to form ALT, the Association pour la Libération de la Tekno, after long talks about goals and means. A few propaganda flyers are made. Maskinn and Matt LeGrind set up a meeting with Lully and TerroristKriss in a small living room on rue Fullum to gauge interest to throw free parties. Nothing concrete came out yet.
A collaboration with RAJ, the first squat party. Planned for a room by métro St-Laurent, it ends up in a squat near Marché Maisonneuve. Few people find it, but friends party in a chilly room.
2001
Journalists come to us, first about our actions at the Summit of the Americas, then about free parties. Their articles get the point across.
The first benefit party, to go to Québec. For the CLAC. DJs Maskinn, Matt LeGrind, Raggagael, Jeremaie, Selectah Gal, 1 speed bike.
Talks with the CLAC pay off: 3 days of party in Québec, under the biggest police operation in Québec's history. Sound up at Îlot Fleuri for the torch march. The next day, the CLAC-CASA march and a party packed up under tear gas in under 5 minutes. Then the legal march, the truck parked at Parc des 10 millions, and a street party around the block.
Benefit party to fund a summer teknival. The teknival never happened, so the money went to the next free party. DJs: ALT, Mutante, Hectic Red and guests.
A party for the opening of the Overdale squat. It mostly happened in the street, on the march there. About 40 minutes of Desert Storm (UK) live inside before everything was packed.
ALT free party. About 200 people. Laminated flyers in 16 designs. DJs Matt LeGrind, Mackone, 1-speed bike, Jeremaie, Maskinn, Julie, Splash, Elevator. Telecino: Bruno. Animation: Prismoptikrystal.
2002
$5. The crew on the flyer: Maskinn, Matt LeGrind, One-speed bike, Mack One, Jeremaie.
2003
A sound clash with Optic (Isolate Records, SF), the Renegade Virus crew (NYC) and ALT. Hardkore ragga jungle breakcore free tekno mashup.
Free nights every Thursday at Korova, 3908 St-Laurent. Mack One and Maskinn with VJ Telecino. Guests included LogiQ (live, from Italy), Ambrouille, Zone-33, Moebius, 1-Speed Bike, Jeremaie. It ended with an all-stars night with Black Market and Dunzy.
3 cars and the truck. On the ALT sound: MackOne, 1-SpeedBike, Matt LeGrind, Jeremaie, Maskinn, Ambrouille, plus Missill, Kasdalito and a LogiQ live set. The generator quit at 3:30 Saturday night.
ALT-MTL free party. The whole crew together for a night in the city.
Tout droit sorti du terrier, by Mack One and Alex D. 30 minutes of jungle-rhizome.
2004
Every Wednesday at Syndrome. A Zone-33, Neurotik and Omnijectiv collaboration.
Neurotik and ALT join up for Seb's visit to Montréal. Hardtek live set, with Maudites-Machines, Zone-33, Maskinn, Moebius, Julie D, Mad K, Mack One, Jahremaye, Ambrouille.
Same site. A small sound under blue tarps. Neurotik came too, and Renegade Virus arrived in a bus of 20.
Mack1 and AlexD's second record. Singers Polak, Haiti Muffin and Megado over the music, mixed live.
An underground soundsystem gathering in Montréal, with Renegade Virus, Havoc, Banditos, Neurotik, ALT and Omnijectiv. "The night went by without trouble." A 6-hour live recording went up as a torrent, with lots of photos on Rave.ca.
2005
Breakcore and hardtekno. 1 speed bike, Seb, Sarcastic, Black Market, Fishead, Maskinn. A big tekno room with a fat soundsystem, plus a chill out room. $5 strongly suggested at the door.
With Jason (Black Kat soundsystem, NYC), 1-Speed Bike (Broklyn Beats), Seb (Banditos), Ambrouille, Maskinn and Meuh! (FPN).
Tekno reggae dub. Zone autonome temporaire: a temporary autonomous zone. With 1 speed bike, Ambrouille, Maskinn and more.
Nuit électronique, a benefit for Komiteal. black market [g25] drill&bass, seb [banditos] electro-tekno, fishead mash-up, maskinn [alt] jungle-hardtekno, Y.R.D.M. chill beat. 9 pm, $7, métro Jean-Talon.
First time at the camp, for the opening weekend.
The 3rd Ontario teknival. ALT came with RenegadeVirus, Havoc and 5lowershop. Lots of questions about the gathering, the events, the future. The plan: renewable energy for a small-scale tekno-libertarian ideal, and nights centered on exchange and experiments.
2006
A bus with Havoc (SF), 5lowershop (SF) and Blackkat (NYC) stops for a wild night, its last stop before Northtek. Heartworm live (5lowershop, Slum Records), Rtype (Teen Suicide), Sour live (Havocsound), Flail (Low Viz), Jason BK (Blackkat), joined by Seb (Banditos). And the locals: 1speedbike, fishead, black market, Ambrouille, jere, mackOne, maskinn.
No date
- A
- ssociation
- L
- ibération
- T
- ekno
ALT is a collective of friends, DJs, artists. We'd like to be a soundsystem, but all we have is records, turntables, determination to express our resistance to the system. Loud.
The e-zine the network started in 2006. Issue 0.1 was a work in progress.
somewhere in north america, may 2006: after years of isolated tekno activism where teknivals appeared like the ultimate gathering point, teknoxpress appears as a knowledge exchange place. ideas meet music meets people.
As a first issue, expect group presentations, some music and free "educational" videos.
"we build our own spaceships from the scrapheap"
mir soundsystem makes social gatherings, public free parties inside and outside the city, operating anonymously...
this world as profoundly warped as it exists, is the raw material for any move against it, and as much as any move against it is obviously a social question, the technology of control is still all over the place.
we build our own spaceships from the scrapheap
the communications networks are being monitored, and are being used to build fortified zones, outer space is being used for surveillance and weapon systems, really there's lots of examples out in plain sight, let alone the hidden ones.
mir soundsystem makes social gatherings, public free parties inside and outside the city, operating anonymously to avoid reproducing the leisure industry star-structure on a pathetic micro-scale. It is a lab for collaborative rhythmic and tonal creation and destruction and a work-group for those that want to learn, build, and share the technical side of every step of the way.
freeparty hedonism is a startingpoint to gathering to take control of the tools and techniques that shape our lives and the world around us and also a trap if it never moves beyond party for party's sake.
technology is presented to us as sealed boxes and the anti-capitalist perspective on tech is often to abandon it, it creates false needs, opens us to corporate control, destroys direct human community. It's not accept or abandon tho that's a choice between being consumer or target. It's breaking apart, seizing/sharing the skills, and building what's needed thats the way.
skeeter (Toronto)
"a fairly ridiculous song that's a mishmash of a billion genres: hardcore, tekno, speedbass, jungle, idm"
Never written.
-- teknoXpress is free to spread --