Le Belmont’s Bass Drive turns five

DJ VILIFY

Le Belmont’s Wednesday night banger celebrates its anniversary annually (along with resident DJ VILIFY‘s birthday), but tomorrow night there will be a little more shine on Bass Drive.

As VILIFY told us last year, the rise of dubstep had a lot to do with the night’s initial success, but she and her cast of regular DJs and special guests have kept the music vital and eclectic by incorporating new and developing bass music styles.

“In the past year, trap has become huge, and it’s become a big part of the night that the crowd really responds to,” she says. “I mean when we started it was a dubstep night where it was hard to diverge from that but bass music has opened up a lot.”

VILIFY has become a fixture of the local and regional DJ scene, playing events like Piknic Electronik, Igloofest, ElectroFest Tremblant, a monthly called the Shakedown at Royal Phoenix and a hip hop night every Thursday at la Cachette on top of her Wednesdays at le Belmont.

“The other nights really allow me to experiment more and do different things, so that actually lets me focus on bass music on Wednesdays,” says VILIFY, who’s also a producer on the side. “It’s hard to find time for my own productions because that always takes a backseat to DJing but I finally have a couple of tracks.”

As for VILIFY the superstar DJ, her ubiquity behind the decks and on social media (have you seen her pet snakes?), not to mention a look that makes her hard to miss out on the street, means that she gets approached by fans than your average DJ.

“It’s really weird to be recognized in the street or in the metro, but it happens and I totally geek out every time. Someone will say, ‘Oh I love your music!’ and I’m really grateful that they like what I do.” ■

Bass Drive’s fifth bday bash, with VILIFY, Henward and special guests Digital Mystikz, happens at le Belmont (4483 St-Laurent) on Wednesday, Feb. 26, 10 p.m., $10 before 11 p.m. (first 100 people only)/$15