- The 2010 edition of Montreal's Igloofest brought dubstep to the city's masses thanks to a standout performance by party-starter Rusko. The impact was immediate: increased attendance at shows but also an intense focus on the more obvious elements of the genre among the newly converted. Thankfully, the free outdoor festival's 2011 edition sought to elevate the city's bass music discourse and succeeded by any measurable metric, bringing in DJs that both moved the crowd and also reflected the shifts that occurred in the post-dubstep diaspora during the past year.
The January 20th edition started out in a comparatively conservative fashion with Quebec City resident Marc Remillard delivering an opening set mixing glitch, electro and lots of half-time dubstep. Though hardly next-level material, the reaction to the bass drops was almost Pavlovian, sending early arrivers into conniptions. Chicago hipster-rapper Kid Sister fared equally well with the crowd, delivering a surprisingly lively performance despite her tepid electro beats showing their age. Overheard during her set: "I wouldn't listen to this at home but out here after a few beers, this is alright!" In any case, she looked good in that mink coat.
By the time Terror Danjah took the stage, the crowd had swelled to over 6,000 and his combination of sure-fire dubstep anthems, introductory grime classics and his own recent productions proved the highlight of the night. Though his set featured a few too many reloads early on, the recent Hyperdub signee soon found his groove, even playing some early Eskibeat, a bit of an inside joke at an event named "Igloofest." The standout moment however was undoubtedly D.O.K's "Missing Step," which had an awestruck crowd singing along to the sample's every word. Finally, headliner Eskmo delivered his signature blend of dark dubstep and more party-oriented material, landing in between the more aggressive material necessary to move the masses and his more atmospheric side.
If the January 20th edition tentatively dipped a toe into post-dubstep sounds, January 28th gladly dove in headfirst. Montreal producer Bowly began with a live set of his own techno-indebted production before seamlessly transitioning to a crate digger's arsenal of house styles. It was the perfect foundation for SBTRKT to build on, as the masked DJ seamlessly blended Funky anthems and compatible styles for an eager crowd of thousands, many of whom were hearing these sounds for the first time. For everyone else, it may as well have been: hearing Redlight's "MDMA" on a stadium-sized soundsystem was enough to blow away both the most cynical of ravers and the most staunchly aggressive dubstep fans.
Returning to Montreal, Ikonika's music proved a better fit for the snowsuit-clad Igloofest massive than the chinstroking Mutek crowd she played to in 2010. Seamlessly mixing garage, house, techno and even some set-ending disco pop, the Hyperdub producer destroyed the notion that accessible bass music need be wantonly masculine or aggressive, with the massive crowd eating it up. It's worth mentioning that at 9,000 revelers strong, this was now undoubtedly the single biggest turn out ever for a bass music show in Montreal, an amazing feat considering the entirely local nature of the scene just a year and a half earlier.
Finally, with local producer gone big Poirier taking the stage, the night ended with positive vibes and party-rocking beats, the perfect conclusion for a record setting evening. Igloofest 2010's dubstep night set the trend for that year, generating a wave of interest in the style, leading to increased activity and terrific events. If the 2011 edition does the same, I look forward to spending the year here because a whole lot of people just got turned on to some very interesting music. Let's see where they go with it.