When I moved to Ottawa in the summer of 2000, some of the first folks I met were a lovely gal named Sophie and her partner Nico. It's our 16th friend-a-versary this year, guys! These two have been with me through thick, thin, ups, downs, bad dating choices, kitty adoptions, the whole bit. And for as long as I've known Nico, he's been hugely influenced by and hugely involved in music.
Nico's a talented bassist, and for years Sophie and I were the official hand-stampers and coat-checkers at Nico's gigs with his former rock/shoe gaze band, Deep Red Meteor (shout-out to frontman Jason Millar!), what a blast. That's them below.
Hey guys, remember that gig at the biker bar in Gatineau where one of the bikers actually rode his Harley inside and parked it next to the dancefloor? WTF was up with that?! But as the years rolled on, Deep Red Meteor wound down and Nico's musical style kept on evolving.
He's always loved modular synthesizers and over the past few years he's become a synth DJ called Paraphonique, creating ambient, kraut, and electro sounds. With four EPs and one full-length album under his belt (and after getting signed to local label Low Noise Productions!), he's really carving out his sound. And you can see him live tomorrow night at House of Common!
Tomorrow from 8:30pm til midnight you can take in a pretty swell night with sets by Paraphonique, Crépuscule Solaire, and Big River Dream, who'll be launching their new split album with Forest Management. Plus visuals by VJ Papierdevitre. It's gonna be sweet. The full deets:
WHAT: Big River Dream // Forest Management split album launch
WHERE: House of Common, 11b Fairmont Ave., Hintonburg, Ottawa
WHEN: Saturday March 5, 2016, 8:30pm - 12:00am
COST: $8 at the door; (pay-what-you-can, no one will be turned away)
If you've never been to House of Common, it's a pretty neat space tucked into a former mechanic's shop smack in the middle of Hintonburg. Grab your pals and bring 'em out! Soph and Nico, I'll see you there. :)