MERCURY LOUNGE OTTAWA Thursday May 28th 22:00pm with DJ Trevor Walker

Jaxpratt, aka DJ Jeff LaPratt, plays a great set on pure party anthems at the Mercury Lounge on Friday nights. This month is looking a little sparse with Jaxpratt at the Merc, but only because it’s the holidays and Friday nights are being ate by other performances. Jaxpratt has made a name for himself all over the St Laurent region playing electronic hits and mixing his own unique selection of beats. If you’re in Ottawa on a Friday night, check him out at the Mercury Lounge.

Teknobrat is from Montreal and currently lives in Ottawa. He’s a huge fan of Chicago acid House and Ghetto Trax sounds from the end of the 80’s early 90’s. He also has an almost OCD approach to collecting albums with a library of over 5,000 albums. Teknobrat has had a huge Ottawa radio presence with La Teknosphere on CHUO 89.1 FM and Planet Rave, which aired on CKCU 93.1 FM. His latest EP, Reborn, is having a release party tour starting December 12th 2008 and will hit most major Canadian and US Cities in the first quarter of 2009. Check out the flyers!

[Click here for the Ottawa Mercury Lounge show flyer]

[Click here for the Quebec City show flyer]

TCR contributor Mike Plante just sent us video of elodieO’s performace at the Mercury Lounge on November 20th 2008. elodieO is the super cute New York City LES/Nublu electro scene girl who was originally from Paris. Her sound is a mix of 60’s Nico-esque pop and 90’s golden era trip-hop. Thanks for the vid Mike!

elsiane was formed when singer/songwriter Elsieanne Caplette and drummer Stephane Sotto partnered to merge their styles into something that blends classical, jazz, rock and electronic. Stephane has a rhythmic, soft beat that nicely compliments Elsieanne’s idiosyncratic voice. Together, they make music that sounds like the soundtrack for having sex in space on your way to heaven. If you’re down, I think they’re playing either the 13th or the 20th at the Merucry Lounge in Ottawa. I’ll be sure to update.

Title: Amir Javasoul
Location: Mercury Lounge, Ottawa
Link out: Click here
Date: 2008-12-18

Amir Javasoul is originally from Iran and moved to Montreal to start DJ’ing. It was then that he started Dj’ing around the St. Lawrence region of Canada. During this phase, Amir had one of those magical rave-like epiphanies. During Derrick Carter’s now legendary “Atomic” nights in Ottawa, where he says it became obvious that he would be a DJ for life.

“It’s funny; I still remember the exact moment when I had a ‘moment’. 5:30 in the morning, Derrick stopped everything, turned the lights off, silence, and then, Lil louis’ I called you. Two hours of mid tempo, obscure old Chicago acid, disco-not-disco followed. Inspired, is an understatement. I always knew music would be an integral part of my life. But I found out on that dance floor that it will now BECOME my life.”

In 2001, Amir moved to Paris where he currently resides. In 2008, he’s coming back to Canada and the town that convinced him to follow his dream, Ottawa. He’ll be playing the Mercury Lounge on Thursday, December 18th.

Title: Fred Everything
Location: Mercury Lounge, Ottawa
Link out: Click here
Date: 2008-11-20

Fred Everything has over 12 years in the music business and over 100 productions to his credit. Born in Hull and raised in Quebec City, Fred has had a long career DJ’ing various venues around Canada. In 2003, Fred won best Electronic Artist at The Mimi’s award in Montreal. He now lives in Montreal, after having lived in San Francisco and working with Moulton Studios, where he’s working on his label’s 10th release. To hear his latest stuff, check him out at the Mercury Lounge, where he’ll be playing after elodieO on Thursday, November 20th.

Event: Rommel
Venue: Mercury Lounge, Ottawa
Date: Friday, November 21st, 2008

Rommel Teixeira Ribeiro is a Brazilian-born artist living in Ottawa. He’s quite multi-talented with his ability to play a number of string and percussion instruments from his native country, including the cavaquinho, craviola, pandeiro and berimbau. He often describes his music as being heavily influenced by his hometown of São Luís (in the northeastern province of Maranhão) which is known for its mix of African, indigenous and European cultures. He puts on a great show and he’ll be jamming at the Mercury Lounge on Friday, November 21st.

Title: JADAH followed by JazzTronic
Location: Mercury Lounge, Ottawa
Link out: none
Date: 2008-11-28

Jadah, a local Ottawa reggae band, is virtually impossible to find on the Internet. Why? It could be that having a MySpace isn’t the way this reggae band rolls, or maybe Jadah is just waiting for the right time. Ainsley is the lead singer and he’s been doing this for 20 years now. Count on Jadah to provide some great beats Friday November 28th at the Mercury Lounge in Ottawa.

Title: OKgiraffe
Location: Mercury Lounge, Ottawa
Link out: Click here
Date: 2008-11-29

OKgiraffe have a nice mix of Latin Rhythmic sauciness and bare acoustic funk. The band consists of:

The band has shared a stage with the likes of Mark Berube and The Patriotic Few, The Unsettlers, The Ladies of the Canyon, Lake of Stew, Charlotte Cornfield, The John Cohen Experimental, The Winks and The Winter Gloves. So if these bands are up your alley, you’ll get a kick out of their Eastern European gypsy soul. Check them out at the Mercury Lounge on Friday, November 29th.