Biography

Poirier

Drawing from a wide range of tropical riddims and urban electro, the power of Montreal-based DJ/producer Poirier’s bass blasts through any flimsy attempt to classify his music. Pinpointing the bits and pieces of dancehall beats, soca energy and electronic intensity is futile in the face of Poirier’s dance-driven creativity and air horn-worthy excitement. This is a man who just understands what works in the dance.

Poirier is constantly evolving. Landscapes of vibrant drums lead to pulsating, pitch-shifting, and infectious bass and synth patterns. He tears through new genres constantly, leaving a trail of packed, chaotic dancefloors in his wake. From his legendary Bounce Le Gros parties in Montreal, sell off events for two years running, to the bigger, better, bass-ier Karnival Poirier has been unstoppable in his ability to mash styles, expand minds, and move asses. Now he’s running the famous Sud-West events in the summer for five years in a row (still counting) with his partner in crime Ghostbeard. Finally, he started a new monthly called No Vacancy with partner The Salivation Army on July 2012 focusing on dancehall, soca and azonto and they’re holding the fort at Royal Phoenix Bar, a new hot place in Montreal.

Although based in Montreal, Poirier is also always moving—in just the past few years he has been invited to virtually every continent. Poirier on the bill equals a sure fire jam. No surprise that he’s shared the stage with Modeselektor, Diplo, Kode9, Amon Tobin and Toddla T, as well as taken Fabric London, Australia’s Big Day Out, SXSW, the Montreux Jazz Festival, Barcelona’s Sonar Festival, London’s Notting Hill Carnival and Mexico’s Cervantino Festival by storm.

Poirier’s signature skill of effortlessly linking disparate genres has led to worldwide collaborations with MCs and DJs from global hip hop, soca, grime, dancehall, booty bass, and much more. Electro sensations Crookers, dancehall veteran Burro Banton, the ever-eclectic dj/rupture, London’s tough gyal Warrior Queen, and Trinidadian soca master Mr Slaughter have all connected with Poirier, as well as longtime collaborators Face-T, Boogat and MC Zulu.

Remixes are part of Poirier’s powerful repertoire, and he knows just how to pick apart a song and put it back together: bigger and heavier than before. Tracks by Popcaan, Gotan Project, Salif Keïta, Busy Signal, Erup, Schlachthofbronx, Pole, Ariane Moffatt and Bassnectar have all been given the Poirier treatment, garnering him attention from publications such as the Independent, the London Telegraph, Pitchfork, the New Yorker, the Wire and XLR8R.

Every Poirier release presents a new, yet equally slammin’, perspective. The critically acclaimed Breakupdown (2005) and No Ground Under (2008) were warm ups for 2009′s cavalcade of dancehall-soca-electro EPs, culminating in Running High (2010). In 2012, Poirier released Soca Road on the label Mixpak and the dancehall/bashment riddim “Alert Riddim EP” with featuring by Natalie Storm, MC Zulu and Face-T on Man Recordings. In 2013 he released the “Gal U Good Remix EP” on Man Recordings a collection of four remixes based on the key track from the “Alert Riddim EP”.

Giving the massive what it wants, yet providing a musical education in what it needs, Poirier is a producer and DJ who has no boundaries except, perhaps, the rule that it’s gotta have bass, and it’s got to bounce. With this philosophy, Poirier will keep the dance rammed.