My first time at îLESONIQ left my nerves shot and senses overloaded

I’ve never had an overwhelming desire to go to îLESONIQ before. As someone who’s attended Osheaga all three days every year since 2013, I’m usually too tired to even entertain the thought since this festival comes just one week later.

But even then, I most often associate the kind of music at îLESONIQ with my university days in the early 2010s, which are not a time I have any interest in revisiting. It was fun back then, but I’ve moved on to bigger and better things (and better music, though I still love electronic music as a whole).

That said, I decided to give îLESONIQ a shot just for one day, to see if any of my pre-existing prejudices about the festival could be eliminated. Like many things in life, the truth wound up being somewhere in the middle when I visited Parc Jean-Drapeau on Saturday.

What immediately grabs me is how I walk around the site — one virtually identical to the Osheaga layout, with a couple minor differences here and there — and overhear remixes of both Noah Kahan’s “Stick Season” and Amyl and the Sniffers’ “U Should Not Be Doing That.” Clearly, the Osheaga ghosts from last weekend haven’t yet left the park.

Luckily for everyone involved, the temperature outside is considerably nicer and breezier than last weekend, which felt overwhelmingly hot and humid throughout (minus a brief rainstorm on the last day). Sure, it was warm enough that any blast of mist and water was hugely welcomed, but far more manageable than Osheaga’s sweltering temperatures. Only downside? The wind makes sparking up my joint way more of a task than it would’ve been last weekend.

îLESONIQ clearly attracts a similar demographic to Osh, but with a higher percentage of people inclined to wear colourful, vibrant outfits you expect to see at raves. With the guys specifically, Hawaiian shirts were unavoidable wherever you looked.

It definitely feels as if people who go to this fest treat it as though they’re attending a giant outdoor rave, but it’s also one that’s visibly more corporate and very controlled, if not micromanaged — especially when compared to something like B.C.’s Shambhala Festival.

You’ll also notice a lot of folks being mostly in their 20s and 30s. There are some outliers if you look hard enough, but this festival doesn’t seem to attract as wide an age range as Osheaga often does. References to rave culture are also easy to spot, as I see merch stands promoting “peace, love, unity and respect” and plenty of people wearing smiley-face T-shirts. Ans while I don’t see too many friendship bracelets, I do notice a group of friends in matching Donkey Kong shirts and a couple dudes literally dressed as French mimes, face paint and all.

Of course, I should’ve planned ahead and brought my rain jacket to this festival, so much that I thought it was raining on my leg at one point before realizing my water bottle was LITERALLY LEAKING IN MY TOTE BAG. As far as festival rookie mistakes go, that has to be high up there.

Aside from the aforementioned Noah Kahan and Amyl and the Sniffers remixes, the DJs spinning at this festival seem to play a lot of other remixes of well-known tunes. Examples came from within the dance music world (Robin S’ “Show Me Love,” Faithless’a “Insomnia,” the Chemical Brothers’ “Hey Boy Hey Girl”), on the pop fringes of that world (Madonna’s “Vogue”), or away from that entirely (MGMT’s “Kids”, a dubstep remix of the Ramones’ “Blitzkrieg Bop” for some reason).

Generally speaking, I wasn’t exactly fawning over the lineup, especially after actor/DJ/rapper Idris Elba backed out of his announced set, which would’ve been something to see. There were some cool acts on the bill on Saturday, however, namely Seth Troxler and Ben Böhmer, not to mention DJ Snake, for those who need to hear “Turn Down for What” live.

While the overall atmosphere at îLESONIQ isn’t that dissimilar to Osheaga’s, the artists from more niche and/or maximalist EDM circles lend a different spin, and not just musically. The festival puts a significant emphasis on flashy visuals and major pyrotechnics, so much so that it could leave the uninitiated with a bit of shell-shock. Watching Knock2 — an artist I’d never heard of prior to this — make fireworks go off and shoot flames from his stage at will was certainly something.

Of course, actual rain had always threatened to pour down, and massive clouds of death were about to hover over the festival. After a spattering of raindrops, it started fucking POURING for a good 10 minutes or so. Though the mud situation seemed very under control considering the nonstop rain from the day before, that got quite literally washed away by the time this storm was done.

Watching Subtronics get through his set in front of a horde of soaked and drenched ravers was a major trip. The crowd seemed hyped despite the circumstances, too, and it leaves one to wonder how quickly his set would’ve had to be cut short if the storm continued much longer. Nonetheless, people seemed stoked to even be there. The dream of early-2010s dubstep and EDM trap is still alive, folks!

My first îLESONIQ experience was certainly an interesting one, but it’s still generally not really my vibe. Maybe I’m still coming down from the exhaustion of last weekend, and being exposed to a version of that all over again wasn’t something I was fully ready for right after the hottest Osheaga I can remember. The people-watching is excellent, the outfits are fun, and you will definitely get an experience worth remembering if you’re into that type of music.

For more on îLESONIQ, please visit their website. 

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