Montreal house music royalty Prince Club rave about their 5 most cherished spots

In late-2000s electro land, Max-Antoine Gendron and Zacharie-Jos Montpetit secured their standing in Montreal nightlife as MadKids, at now-defunct hot spots like Coda Club and Bizou, commanding the dancing masses with their potent discharges of tech-house, fi dget, dubstep, and electro. Oh, how the times have changed. For one, Gendron and Montpetit now go by the more deluxe-sounding Prince Club moniker.

These sophisticated dance music purveyors have released on high-profile imprints like Discobelle and Riva Starr’s Snatch! Records, and have taken their infectious, upbeat cuts to some of the world’s most esteemed clubs – London’s Ministry of Sound, Barcelona’s Razzmatazz and Berlin’s Watergate. But the most glaring change of heart? Reclaiming the ‘house’ label, as the feel-good genre has experienced a massive resurgence both at home (Jacques Greene, Botnek, Ango) and abroad. “Back when we were really into electro bangers, house music was a dirty word for us,” recalls Montpetit. “We associated it with David Guetta and big, commercial clubs. Now we practically preach house! The meaning’s been flipped.” Now, with Gendron making tracks for L.A. to hone his production craft (“I won’t lie, he aspires to be a pop producer as well”, quips his partner in crime) and Montpetit off to London to further flex his musical muscle, Montreal’s house music royalty have their sights set on new dance music capitals. So we asked the prolific young guns to indulge in a bit of hometown nostalgia and rave about their most cherished spots.

 

1. Blizzarts | 3956 St-Laurent
Home of Rosé every Tuesday, a weekly where you can hear our crew play some nice deep and throwback cuts. Great place to go out on
the regular.
 

2. Les Montures | 174 Bernard W.
Great boutique to buy some cool new shades or any type of glasses, for that matter. The guy who runs this shop is a good friend of
ours, so if you’re in the Mile-End area, defi nitely drop by.

3. Lawrence | 5201 St-Laurent
Recently discovered this nice new spot for our weekly Saturday hangover brunch. Food is great, not too pricey and the waiting is just
long enough for you to really crave it.
 

4. Salon Daomé | 141 Mont-Royal E.
One of the few clubs that’s really exclusively dedicated to house music culture. The ambiance is very unique, a touch of European laidbackness mixed with an Afro-safari setup. Special note: the sound system kicks.

5. Bizou [RIP] | 4147 St-Laurent
The first underground, illegal afterhour bar where we had a residency. We used to play there every Friday and Saturday three summers ago… Real magic happened at that now newly renovated shish taouk joint. Bizou, you’ll always have a special place in our hearts…

 

Technique
New EP on Snatch! Records out in May
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