More than any other nonverbal signs, we build bonds and trust people based upon their faces and what they communicate to us.
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About Face
The Valentine's edition of Play Recent features Marie-Josée Lord with the OCM, Bibi Club, Will Straw, Richard Avedon at the MMFA, plus Toninato & Thiessen.
nichemtl.com
February 17, 2026 at 1:49 PM
More than any other nonverbal signs, we build bonds and trust people based upon their faces and what they communicate to us.
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“That’s what I look for — a chance to explore the ‘how.’”
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Wild at Heart: in conversation with the WinterWorks festival’s Rebecca Gibian
Darragh Kilkenny-Mondoux speaks with the WinterWorks Festival's Rebecca Gibian about hibernation, warmth, and the Centaur Theatre's experimental ambitions.
nichemtl.com
February 14, 2026 at 1:31 AM
“That’s what I look for — a chance to explore the ‘how.’”
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The possibility of leaning into instability politically may be manifesting in our works of art first as a form of dress rehearsal for real revolution.
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Crazy Clown Time: notes on Beth Frey and Ana Sokolović
Beth Frey and Ana Sokolović produce crazy, carnivalesque output in the context of a time and place that presents ever-fewer options for immediate survival.
nichemtl.com
February 10, 2026 at 2:01 PM
The possibility of leaning into instability politically may be manifesting in our works of art first as a form of dress rehearsal for real revolution.
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The oscillations of resemblance and change that our world undergo constitute our experience of time.
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Trick Rider
NicheMTL's Play Recent column for February 2026 features Sonya Derviz, the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal, Matthew Feyld, Le Vivier, and Betty Pomerleau.
nichemtl.com
February 4, 2026 at 12:24 PM
The oscillations of resemblance and change that our world undergo constitute our experience of time.
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“I see it as an active decision to follow intuition.”
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Infinity of Primes: in conversation with Andrea Szilasi
Andrea Szilasi sits down with NicheMTL to discuss intuition, the legacy of her famous father, and Réfléchir, her latest exhibition at McBride Contemporain.
nichemtl.com
January 26, 2026 at 3:05 PM
“I see it as an active decision to follow intuition.”
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Political leaders are like gun parts — interchangeable and infinitely replicable and deadly when assembled.
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King of the ‘Z’s
NicheMTL's first Play Recent of 2026 features Dexter Barker-Glenn, Paul Nadeau, Antonietta Grassi, Quinton Barnes, plus Emanuel Ax performing with the OSM.
nichemtl.com
January 21, 2026 at 9:46 PM
Political leaders are like gun parts — interchangeable and infinitely replicable and deadly when assembled.
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“I never really dove in a lake before with my eyes open. It’s an experience that must be very close to meditation.”
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Into The Abyss: in conversation with Andréanne Godin
The artist Andréanne Godin speaks with NicheMTL about learning to freedive, chromatic perception, and her forthcoming residency at Fondation Guido Molinari.
nichemtl.com
January 13, 2026 at 2:15 PM
“I never really dove in a lake before with my eyes open. It’s an experience that must be very close to meditation.”
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Emotional ecosystems indeed constitute the necessary path forward toward more rewarding lives.
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Reattach to Love: notes on interdependence
NicheMTL's final Massive Lecture of the holidays claims that the path toward a more rewarding life requires cultivating interdependence through attachments.
nichemtl.com
January 6, 2026 at 2:36 PM
Emotional ecosystems indeed constitute the necessary path forward toward more rewarding lives.
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Are we all just marinating in immersive experience? And if so, how do we climb out of the soup?
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Rolling In the Deep: notes on the immersive turn
NicheMTL's 2025 Massive Lecture dives into the immersive turn in contemporary art, music, and culture. Doubtless, this was the year we drowned in immersion.
nichemtl.com
December 29, 2025 at 3:53 PM
Are we all just marinating in immersive experience? And if so, how do we climb out of the soup?
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Presenting NicheMTL’s 2025 Albums of the Year list:
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Vibe Code: NicheMTL’s top eleven albums of 2025
Read NicheMTL’s second annual unranked list of our favourite underrepresented albums from the underground produced in Montreal over the past twelve months.
nichemtl.com
December 24, 2025 at 3:23 AM
Presenting NicheMTL’s 2025 Albums of the Year list:
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Tradition is immanence anticipated. It resists melancholia, decline, failure. The antidote for simulation is reality, if even reality relived.
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Soldiering On: notes on nostalgia versus tradition
NicheMTL's first Massive Lecture of 2025 examines Christmas tradition vs. nostalgia via Handel's Messiah, The Nutcracker, and Stanley Kubrick's The Shining.
nichemtl.com
December 17, 2025 at 2:09 PM
Tradition is immanence anticipated. It resists melancholia, decline, failure. The antidote for simulation is reality, if even reality relived.
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When does the present turn into the past? At what point does the future become ‘now?’ And how long does ‘now’ last?
Can ‘now’ change history?
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Can ‘now’ change history?
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The Immediate Data of Consciousness
NicheMTL's signature Play Recent column for December features Yuki Isami, Pascale Jean, Quatuor Molinari, plus new music from Solitary Dancer & Corporation.
nichemtl.com
December 11, 2025 at 8:05 PM
When does the present turn into the past? At what point does the future become ‘now?’ And how long does ‘now’ last?
Can ‘now’ change history?
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Can ‘now’ change history?
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“I need to create because it helps me to go through all I see.”
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Tool For Love: in conversation with Alain Lefèvre
The Montreal-based pianist Alain Lefèvre speaks with NicheMTL about the city's municipal politics, seeing the big picture, and his new album, "Consolation."
nichemtl.com
December 4, 2025 at 5:03 PM
“I need to create because it helps me to go through all I see.”
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Capital is not so much undead as it is never-having-lived and therefor can never be killed.
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Galaxy Brain
NicheMTL's Play Recent column for November features Hannah Claus, the OSM performing 2001, SMCQ at UdeM, Pulse Mag's 2nd issue launch, plus M for Mothland.
nichemtl.com
November 26, 2025 at 3:10 AM
Capital is not so much undead as it is never-having-lived and therefor can never be killed.
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Time thickens when we are forced to throttle our maximum velocity.
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Dead Cities
NicheMTL's Play Recent for November features David Altmejd, Quatuor Molinari, Angela Grauerholz, Joseph Tawadros with the OSM, plus Poolgirl at Bâtiment 7.
nichemtl.com
November 13, 2025 at 7:21 PM
Time thickens when we are forced to throttle our maximum velocity.
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“One of my favourite things about the organ is this kind of acousmatic listening experience.”
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Vapours & Spectre: notes on Les Vespérales de l’orgue du Sacré-Cœur
NicheMTL contributor Jesse Eckerlin speaks with Adrian Foster, founder of Les Vespérales, the ambient concert series that blurs the secular and the sacred.
nichemtl.com
November 8, 2025 at 12:55 PM
“One of my favourite things about the organ is this kind of acousmatic listening experience.”
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“Great things are going to happen, and terrible things are going to happen. But at the end of the day, your life is valuable.”
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Last City Standing: in conversation with Natalia Yanchak
The Dears' Natalia Yanchak speaks to NicheMTL about nostalgia, and the band's ninth studio album, "Life is Beautiful! Life is Beautiful! Life is Beautiful!"
nichemtl.com
November 4, 2025 at 3:25 PM
“Great things are going to happen, and terrible things are going to happen. But at the end of the day, your life is valuable.”
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All of life fits some pattern; there is no such thing as a random event. Zoom out far enough and you will see that what we perceive as chaos or chance is in fact divine design.
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Amethyst Deceivers
Play Recent, NicheMTL's signature column features Esse Ran, Irene F. Whittome, Daniel Lanois, James Ehnes with the OSM, plus Autechre in the dark at SAT.
nichemtl.com
October 28, 2025 at 7:06 PM
All of life fits some pattern; there is no such thing as a random event. Zoom out far enough and you will see that what we perceive as chaos or chance is in fact divine design.
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It is counterintuitive for the underground press — a publication like NicheMTL — to attempt to shed light on underground artists as well as itself via these technical means while remaining underground.
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The Underground City
The inaugural NicheMTL Massive Lecture looks at The Underground as an historically revolutionary site and what the role of the underground press is in 2025.
nichemtl.com
October 23, 2025 at 8:19 AM
It is counterintuitive for the underground press — a publication like NicheMTL — to attempt to shed light on underground artists as well as itself via these technical means while remaining underground.
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“Having transformative experiences along with people who are working towards making change is a real thing. It’s not just entertainment.”
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This Continuous Spectrum: in conversation with Jessica Moss
The Montreal violinist Jessica Moss sits down for an interview with NicheMTL to unpack her collage-type recording process, and her latest album, Unfolding.
nichemtl.com
October 14, 2025 at 6:37 AM
“Having transformative experiences along with people who are working towards making change is a real thing. It’s not just entertainment.”
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The necessity of violence is the definitive subject at the heart of every revolution.
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Monkey Warfare
Play Recent, NicheMTL's signature column, features No Hay Banda's 10th season opener, Don Giovanni, Do Make Say Think, Ensemble Urbain, plus Africa Fashion.
nichemtl.com
October 8, 2025 at 12:17 AM
The necessity of violence is the definitive subject at the heart of every revolution.
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“When you don’t have money, everything is money.”
To understand how location shapes creative practice and artistic possibility, our newest contributor Anya Leibovitch spoke with working artists in New York and Montreal, two of North America’s most culturally vibrant cities.
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To understand how location shapes creative practice and artistic possibility, our newest contributor Anya Leibovitch spoke with working artists in New York and Montreal, two of North America’s most culturally vibrant cities.
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Dirty Boulevard: Montreal vs. New York City
Anya Leibovitch speaks with artists Markus Floats, Alex Wolfe, Willow Loveday-Little and Gavin Sewell about the dynamics between New York City and Montreal.
nichemtl.com
October 1, 2025 at 12:46 PM
“When you don’t have money, everything is money.”
To understand how location shapes creative practice and artistic possibility, our newest contributor Anya Leibovitch spoke with working artists in New York and Montreal, two of North America’s most culturally vibrant cities.
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To understand how location shapes creative practice and artistic possibility, our newest contributor Anya Leibovitch spoke with working artists in New York and Montreal, two of North America’s most culturally vibrant cities.
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The experiences in life that teach us the most are those we would have never chosen for ourselves.
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Gratitude
Autumn's first Play Recent features Suzy Lake at Bradley Ertaskiran, the OSM's season premiere, Josèfa Ntjam at Centre PHI, plus Marion Wagschal at Pangée.
nichemtl.com
September 22, 2025 at 3:31 PM
The experiences in life that teach us the most are those we would have never chosen for ourselves.
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“I feel like it’s a city that is open to the world. And I think that reflects in the Orchestra.”
Read the NicheMTL interview with Marianne Perron who speaks with us about the OSM’s 2025-‘26 season, which launches with “The Damnation of Faust” tonight at Maison Symphonique.
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Read the NicheMTL interview with Marianne Perron who speaks with us about the OSM’s 2025-‘26 season, which launches with “The Damnation of Faust” tonight at Maison Symphonique.
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Forever Young: in conversation with Marianne Perron
The Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal's Marianne Perron speaks with NicheMTL about her background in music and management and highlights of the next season.
nichemtl.com
September 17, 2025 at 1:17 PM
“I feel like it’s a city that is open to the world. And I think that reflects in the Orchestra.”
Read the NicheMTL interview with Marianne Perron who speaks with us about the OSM’s 2025-‘26 season, which launches with “The Damnation of Faust” tonight at Maison Symphonique.
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Read the NicheMTL interview with Marianne Perron who speaks with us about the OSM’s 2025-‘26 season, which launches with “The Damnation of Faust” tonight at Maison Symphonique.
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Not only do we never step in the same river twice; each time, the river fails to recognize our feet.
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Joy & Pain
Play Recent for September features Alicia Clara, Beth Taylor, Shunk at Casa del Popolo, ~Ondes~ at White Wall Studio, plus the summer's final organ recital.
nichemtl.com
September 9, 2025 at 5:51 PM
Not only do we never step in the same river twice; each time, the river fails to recognize our feet.
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