Ghislain Poirier
Encyclopedia
Poirier is a DJ
/producer
from Montreal
who is signed to the Ninja Tune
record label. He has, however, also worked with other labels such as Chocolate Industries, Rebondir, Shockout, Musique Large, Intr_version and 12k
. His work mainly consists of original instrumental mixes and mixes featuring Montreal hip hop
MCs including Omnikrom
, Face-T and Séba. He also has collaborated with Beans
, TTC
, Lotek HiFi and Nik Myo. He is noted for popular remixes of tracks of rock and hip hop artists such as Les Georges Leningrad
, Clipse
, Editors
, Bonde do Rolê
, Kid Sister, Pierre Lapointe
, DJ Champion and Lady Sovereign
. Though he has worked in many different genres of electronic music, he is known for his eclectic taste in music and appreciation of tropical bass sounds.
(Université de Montréal
). During this time he had a radio show entitled "Branché: Monde". He began his career performing and recording under his full name with his debut album, Il N'y A Pas de Sud being released in 2001. It has been described as "an uncompromising minimal electronics record that fit part and parcel with the laptop zeitgeist". Along with Deadbeat, Tim Hecker
and Mitchell Akiyama, Poirier was part of "what became known as the Montreal minimal techno movement". Sous le manguier features cover art by Poirier himself.
The middle few albums were more hip hop
in genre. Conflits and Beats As Politics were all mostly instrumental, though Conflits features two songs with Poirier doing spoken word (he also was responsible for the cover art). Other hip hop vocalists who collaborated on these records are Québécois rappers Séba and Diverse. Poirier's fifth album, Breakupdown, was more a combination of hip hop and techno sounds, described as "big synth sounds ripped from angrily forgotten techno, gooey basslines, and choice samples". Soon after the album's release, Porier was remixing Buck 65, Lady Sovereign, Pole, Bassnectar, Cadence Weapon, and others. He then founded Rebondir, his own imprint and released an EP.
As well, during this time, Poirier was also involved in collaborations with contemporary choreographer and dancer Dana Michel.
Festival.
In 2009 Poirier began the release of three EPs to be completed over the course of a full year, the first of which was Soca Sound System (April 2009) which included guest appearances by MC Zulu as well as soca
performer Mr. Slaughter. Where Soca Sound System experimented with soca, the second Run The Riddim experimented with dancehall
and the third, Low Ceiling, which came out in early 2010, focused on dance music with no vocals, "said to be inspired in part by his early years in the underground rave scene" Run The Riddim was the first release under the shortened name Poirier. All of the three EPs featured cover art by Montreal-based photographer Guillaume Simoneau.
Also in 2009 he was featured on a Truckback Records remix project for dancehall artist Erup's hit "Click My Finger" alongside Grahmzilla of Thunderheist
, Nick Catchdubs and Lunice.
In January 2010, Poirier's music was used alongside Flying Lotus
and Roberto Carlos Lange, among others, as the soundtrack to New York artist Brian Alfred
's It’s Already the End of the World, "a solo exhibition of new work by Brooklyn artist Brian Alfred...featur[ing] 14 new paintings, collage works, and a major new video work". In March, Poirier released Running High, an album that brought together tracks from the previous three EPs as well as additional new material and remixes by "Wildlife!, Mungo, Uproot, Marflix, Maga Bo, Stereotyp, and Poirier himself".
on St-Jean Baptiste in 2009. As Megasoid's Speakerbruiser Rob describes: "Bridge Burner has really become an amazing event, mostly because it has received support from a good diverse group of people...with great promoters getting on deck, Pop Montreal, RedBull, Mike D, Khiasma, Ghislain and a lot of heavyweight local volunteers. [2009] was the biggest, and most visible, and most successful, but truthfully, the first one will always hold the space in my heart." In October 2009, Poirier introduced a new event called Karnival. Paul Devro (Mad Decent
), Dub Boy (Ruffneck Diskotek, Bristol) and Face-T were featured. The second edition was held in February 2010 and included performances by Bonjay, Ghostbeard, Boogat and Face-T as performers and was filmed for a video for the new single "Arena" by Crookers
featuring Poirier and Face-T.
Disc jockey
A disc jockey, also known as DJ, is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience. Originally, "disc" referred to phonograph records, not the later Compact Discs. Today, the term includes all forms of music playback, no matter the medium.There are several types of disc jockeys...
/producer
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
from Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
who is signed to the Ninja Tune
Ninja Tune
Ninja Tune is a London-based independent record label started by DJs Matt Black and Jonathan More, better known as Coldcut and managed by Peter Quicke. The label has a strong leaning towards mostly Electronic Music...
record label. He has, however, also worked with other labels such as Chocolate Industries, Rebondir, Shockout, Musique Large, Intr_version and 12k
12k
12k is an independent record label, based in Pound Ridge, New York, USA. It was founded on January 1, 1997 by Taylor Deupree. The label focuses on experimental electronic music, specifically on digital minimalism and contemporary forms; as of January 2007, it has released over 40 CDs and become one...
. His work mainly consists of original instrumental mixes and mixes featuring Montreal hip hop
Hip hop music
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...
MCs including Omnikrom
Omnikrom
Omnikrom is a rap, crunk, and electro group formed in Montréal, Québec, Canada.- Members :Omnikrom is composed of two MCs, Jeanbart and Linso Gabbo, and their producer Figure8.They are also produced by Tepr, Kid Rolex and Ghislain Poirier....
, Face-T and Séba. He also has collaborated with Beans
Beans (rapper)
Beans hails from White Plains; a suburb of New York City. He is one of the founding members of New York's legendary Antipop Consortium, who disbanded in 2002 but have since reformed: new material was released in the form of the group's 2009 album Fluorescent Black on Big Dada Records.With his...
, TTC
TTC (band)
TTC is a four member hip hop and electronic band from Paris, France. It is composed of MCs Tido Berman, Teki Latex and Cuizinier plus DJ Orgasmic. They were signed to Big Dada for their first LP Ceci N'est Pas Un Disque, the title of which referred to René Magritte's painting La trahison des...
, Lotek HiFi and Nik Myo. He is noted for popular remixes of tracks of rock and hip hop artists such as Les Georges Leningrad
Les Georges Leningrad
Les Georges Leningrad are a rock band from Montreal, Québec.The band originally consisted of four members, although they were reduced to a trio with the departure of bassist Toundra LaLouve after their first album was released....
, Clipse
Clipse
Clipse is a Virginia Beach, Virginia-based hip hop duo. Formed in 1992 by brothers Malice and Pusha T , the group is heavily affiliated with production team The Neptunes and signed to Star Trak Entertainment.- Exclusive Audio Footage :The Thornton brothers were born in The Bronx, New...
, Editors
Editors
Editors are a British indie rock band based in Birmingham, who formed in 2002. Previously known as Pilot, The Pride and Snowfield, the band consists of Tom Smith , Chris Urbanowicz , Russell Leetch and Ed Lay .Editors have so far released two platinum studio...
, Bonde do Rolê
Bonde do Rolê
Bonde do Rolê is a Funk Carioca-influenced electropop group from Curitiba, Brazil, consisting of MCs Pedro D'Eyrot, Laura Taylor, Ana Bernardino, and DJ/MC Rodrigo Gorky...
, Kid Sister, Pierre Lapointe
Pierre Lapointe
Pierre Lapointe is a Canadian singer. He has won many prizes since his debut, including six Félix in 2005 and at least one in 2006. He is well known for his voice and his obscure, esoteric lyrics, which tend to be melancholic. Another distinctive characteristic of his lyrics is their literary style...
, DJ Champion and Lady Sovereign
Lady Sovereign
Louise Amanda Harman , better known by the stage name Lady Sovereign, is an English rapper & grime artist. She is noted for her professional success in performing styles of music generally dominated by males...
. Though he has worked in many different genres of electronic music, he is known for his eclectic taste in music and appreciation of tropical bass sounds.
Early work
From 1995 until 2000, Poirier was involved in campus community radio at CISM-FMCISM-FM
CISM-FM is the official radio station of Université de Montréal. It is student-run on a volunteer basis and can be heard in Montreal, Canada, and its outlying regions, or by internet users around the world through live-streaming technology...
(Université de Montréal
Université de Montréal
The Université de Montréal is a public francophone research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It comprises thirteen faculties, more than sixty departments and two affiliated schools: the École Polytechnique and HEC Montréal...
). During this time he had a radio show entitled "Branché: Monde". He began his career performing and recording under his full name with his debut album, Il N'y A Pas de Sud being released in 2001. It has been described as "an uncompromising minimal electronics record that fit part and parcel with the laptop zeitgeist". Along with Deadbeat, Tim Hecker
Tim Hecker
Tim Hecker is an electronic musician and sound artist based in Montreal, Canada. Hecker previously recorded under the moniker Jetone, but has become better known internationally for his ambient recordings released through Kranky, Mille Plateaux, Alien8, Force Inc, Staalplaat, and Fat Cat under his...
and Mitchell Akiyama, Poirier was part of "what became known as the Montreal minimal techno movement". Sous le manguier features cover art by Poirier himself.
The middle few albums were more hip hop
Hip hop
Hip hop is a form of musical expression and artistic culture that originated in African-American and Latino communities during the 1970s in New York City, specifically the Bronx. DJ Afrika Bambaataa outlined the four pillars of hip hop culture: MCing, DJing, breaking and graffiti writing...
in genre. Conflits and Beats As Politics were all mostly instrumental, though Conflits features two songs with Poirier doing spoken word (he also was responsible for the cover art). Other hip hop vocalists who collaborated on these records are Québécois rappers Séba and Diverse. Poirier's fifth album, Breakupdown, was more a combination of hip hop and techno sounds, described as "big synth sounds ripped from angrily forgotten techno, gooey basslines, and choice samples". Soon after the album's release, Porier was remixing Buck 65, Lady Sovereign, Pole, Bassnectar, Cadence Weapon, and others. He then founded Rebondir, his own imprint and released an EP.
As well, during this time, Poirier was also involved in collaborations with contemporary choreographer and dancer Dana Michel.
Ninja Tune
Poirier's first Ninja Tune full length release was 2007's No Ground Under. Though rappers Omnikrom appear on the album, the record deviated from his previous work, focusing instead on dancehall, including vocalists Face-T and MC Zulu. In 2008, he was invited to perform at the New YorkerThe New Yorker
The New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...
Festival.
In 2009 Poirier began the release of three EPs to be completed over the course of a full year, the first of which was Soca Sound System (April 2009) which included guest appearances by MC Zulu as well as soca
Soca music
Soca is a style of music from Trinidad and Tobago. Soca is a musical development of traditional Trinidadian calypso, through loans from the 1960s onwards from predominantly black popular music....
performer Mr. Slaughter. Where Soca Sound System experimented with soca, the second Run The Riddim experimented with dancehall
Dancehall
Dancehall is a genre of Jamaican popular music that originated in the late 1970s. Initially dancehall was a more sparse version of reggae than the roots style, which had dominated much of the 1970s. In the mid-1980s, digital instrumentation became more prevalent, changing the sound considerably,...
and the third, Low Ceiling, which came out in early 2010, focused on dance music with no vocals, "said to be inspired in part by his early years in the underground rave scene" Run The Riddim was the first release under the shortened name Poirier. All of the three EPs featured cover art by Montreal-based photographer Guillaume Simoneau.
Also in 2009 he was featured on a Truckback Records remix project for dancehall artist Erup's hit "Click My Finger" alongside Grahmzilla of Thunderheist
Thunderheist
Thunderheist is an electronic music duo from Toronto and Montreal, Canada. Thunderheist is made up of producer Graham Bertie and Omolola Isis Salami . The two began collaborating before they had ever met in person, sending MP3 files to each other over the Internet.They are signed and released one...
, Nick Catchdubs and Lunice.
In January 2010, Poirier's music was used alongside Flying Lotus
Flying Lotus
Flying Lotus, is an experimental multi-genre music producer from Winnetka, California. His debut album, 1983, was released on Plug Research Records in 2006...
and Roberto Carlos Lange, among others, as the soundtrack to New York artist Brian Alfred
Brian Alfred
Brian Alfred is a painter in Brooklyn, New York, who specialises in depictions of banal, urban spaces. Alfred is represented by Haunch of Venison New York/London/Zurich/Berlin, Studio La Citta Verona, and SCAI the Bathhouse Tokyo...
's It’s Already the End of the World, "a solo exhibition of new work by Brooklyn artist Brian Alfred...featur[ing] 14 new paintings, collage works, and a major new video work". In March, Poirier released Running High, an album that brought together tracks from the previous three EPs as well as additional new material and remixes by "Wildlife!, Mungo, Uproot, Marflix, Maga Bo, Stereotyp, and Poirier himself".
Bounce Le Gros and other performances
Poirier is well known in Montreal for a series of successful club nights entitled Bounce Le Gros (roughly translated as "Bounce Dude"). At these events Poirier experimented with "grime, crunk, hip-hop, ragga, reggae, booty house, Baltimore breaks...original urban music from all over the world”. Bounce Le Gros began in 2005 at small local club Zoobizarre and then moved to larger venues as Poirier experienced increasing success. The last edition was held in the summer of 2007. During the same summer, Poirier, alongside Megasoid and DJ Khiasma held a large illegal outdoor party on St-Jean Baptiste Day, 24 June. The party was so well received that it recurred in August 2008 and again, alongside Pop MontrealPop Montreal
Pop Montreal is an annual music festival occurring in Montreal, Quebec, Canada in the early fall, usually at the end of September or the beginning of October. More than 400 acts are scheduled to play in more than 50 venues across the city, mostly located in the Mile End area...
on St-Jean Baptiste in 2009. As Megasoid's Speakerbruiser Rob describes: "Bridge Burner has really become an amazing event, mostly because it has received support from a good diverse group of people...with great promoters getting on deck, Pop Montreal, RedBull, Mike D, Khiasma, Ghislain and a lot of heavyweight local volunteers. [2009] was the biggest, and most visible, and most successful, but truthfully, the first one will always hold the space in my heart." In October 2009, Poirier introduced a new event called Karnival. Paul Devro (Mad Decent
Mad Decent
__FORCETOC__Mad Decent is the name of the Philadelphia via Los Angeles based record label spearheaded by Thomas Wesley Pentz, who's better known as Diplo, the Grammy-nominated producer of M.I.A’s “Paper Planes”, and one half of the collaborative music project Major Lazer...
), Dub Boy (Ruffneck Diskotek, Bristol) and Face-T were featured. The second edition was held in February 2010 and included performances by Bonjay, Ghostbeard, Boogat and Face-T as performers and was filmed for a video for the new single "Arena" by Crookers
Crookers
Crookers are an Italian DJ/production duo who have worked together since 2003. When the two artists met, both were trying to branch out of their genre and explore dance music. Their first collaboration worked...
featuring Poirier and Face-T.
Albums
- 2001 Il n'y a pas de sud
- 2002 Sous le manguier
- 2003 Conflits
- 2003 Beats As Politics
- 2005 Breakupdown
- 2007 No Ground Under
- 2010 Running High
EPs
- 2006 Rebondir
- 2007 La Ronde
- 2009 Soca Sound System
- 2009 Run the Riddim
- 2010 Low Ceiling
- 2010 Las Americas
Singles
- 2004 Tribute To Tiger feat. Wayne Lonesome
- 2004 Be Strong feat. Daddy Screw
- 2004 Cold as Hell feat. Beans
- 2006 Mic Diplomat feat. DJ Collage
- 2006 Dem Nah Like Me feat. Mr Lee G
- 2007 Blazin feat. Face-T + Running High
- 2008 No More Blood feat. Face-T
- 2008 Go Ballistic feat. MC Zulu
Remixes
- 2004 Diverse – Big Game (Poirier rmx)
- 2005 Lady Sovereign – Fiddle With The Volume (Poirier rmx)
- 2005 Les Georges Leningrad – Supa Doopa (Poirier rmx)
- 2005 Pulseprogramming – Off To Do Showery Snapshots (Poirier rmx)
- 2006 Cadence Weapon – Sharks (Poirier rmx)
- 2006 Champion – No Heaven (Poirier rmx)
- 2006 Millimetrik – Contempler l’auto-destruction (Poirier rmx)
- 2006 The Editors – Munich (Poirier rmx)
- 2007 Bassnectar – Bomb Tha Blocks feat. MC Persia (Poirier rmx)
- 2007 Buck 65 – Way Back When (Poirier rmx)
- 2007 Pierre Lapointe – Deux par deux rassemblés (Poirier rmx)
- 2007 Pole – Winkelstreben (Poirier rmx)
- 2007 TTC – Téléphone (Poirier rmx)
- 2007 Thunderheist – Bubblegum (Poirier rmx)
- 2007 We Are Wolves – Fight & Kiss (Poirier rmx)
- 2008 An-Ten-Nae – Citoyen du Monde (Poirier w/ Face-T rmx)
- 2008 Boogat – Le Jour où rien n’a changé (Poirier rmx)
- 2008 DJ C – Darling feat. Zulu (Poirier rmx)
- 2008 Yoav – Club Thing (Poirier rmx)
- 2009 Bassnectar – Art Of Revolution (Poirier rmx)
- 2009 Fauna – Gauchito Gil (Poirier rmx)
- 2009 Fedaden - Verdad (Poirier rmx)
- 2010 Gotan Project – La Gloria (Poirier rmx)
- 2010 Mr. Fogg – Keep Your Teeth Sharp (Poirier rmx)