I would venture to guess that when Cohen composed “Hallelujah’s” ascending refrain, he was not envisioning a spectacularly subpar karaoke rendition belting out of a Peavey Rage amplifier, sung by some unshaven doofus in a bucket hat before Sunday Mass.
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A Secret Chord
NicheMTL's latest 999 Words features notes on SOCAN v. Suno, Inc, OpenAI's rogue Hugging Face hack, and the intrinsic sociopathy of Artificial Intelligence.
nichemtl.com
September 10, 2026 at 10:28 AM
I would venture to guess that when Cohen composed “Hallelujah’s” ascending refrain, he was not envisioning a spectacularly subpar karaoke rendition belting out of a Peavey Rage amplifier, sung by some unshaven doofus in a bucket hat before Sunday Mass.
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“This was a dream, to record this kind of record. This is what I needed to express certain emotions.”
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Between Two Worlds: in conversation with Emna Mâaref
The Tunisian Montreal-based musician Emna Mâaref sits down with NicheMTL to discuss longing, displacement, and her new album, Ama Lel Hawa / أَما لِلهَوى.
nichemtl.com
August 6, 2026 at 8:34 PM
“This was a dream, to record this kind of record. This is what I needed to express certain emotions.”
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I don’t hate a posh hotel.
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Luxury Communism
NicheMTL reviews the Birks and SonoLux, two Montreal hotels that offer immersive experiences without feeling as if you're submerged in a generic atmosphere.
nichemtl.com
July 23, 2026 at 10:59 PM
I don’t hate a posh hotel.
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Beauty is regrettably constrained when it is beholden to the eyes, or age, or the fairer sex, only.
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Down With Love
NicheMTL's Play Recent features Quinton Barnes, St. Vincent Symphonique and Diana Krall, Radwan Ghazi Moumneh at Suoni, plus LUMI's 9-course tasting menu.
nichemtl.com
July 16, 2026 at 11:53 AM
Beauty is regrettably constrained when it is beholden to the eyes, or age, or the fairer sex, only.
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“Cinema is about immorality.”
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Day For Night: in conversation with Jennifer Alleyn
The artist and filmmaker Jennifer Alleyn sits down with NicheMTL to discuss the allure of night, the immortal nature of cinema, and her latest film, Kairos.
nichemtl.com
July 9, 2026 at 1:12 PM
“Cinema is about immorality.”
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There is something about darkness that is paradoxically revealing, as if another kind of light manifests in the shadows.
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Midnight Indigo
Play Recent for late June features Pur Pasteur, Vent bleu at Fondation Molinari, Max Richter with the Jazz Festival, Kairos, and a tribute to Gabor Szilasi.
nichemtl.com
June 30, 2026 at 12:07 PM
There is something about darkness that is paradoxically revealing, as if another kind of light manifests in the shadows.
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We really only notice technology when it doesn’t work as intended.
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One Weird Trick
NicheMTL's latest 999 Words column looks at the role of technology in music-making and digital innovation, questioning how intelligent machinery shapes art.
nichemtl.com
June 24, 2026 at 2:48 PM
We really only notice technology when it doesn’t work as intended.
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“I’m not interested in perfection. I’m interested in how dissonance can create discomfort.”
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Animal Instinct: in conversation with Dana Gingras
Animals of Distinction choreographer Dana Gingras speaks with NicheMTL about her "Jump Cuts" short series, the body as technology, and embracing the glitch.
nichemtl.com
June 17, 2026 at 12:52 AM
“I’m not interested in perfection. I’m interested in how dissonance can create discomfort.”
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We should redefine heroism not as victory or defeat but as resistance to the tendency to take form.
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Heroes & Villains
Play Recent features Alexei Kolakis-Landon + Tomas Dessureault, William Basinski, Quatuor Molinari, Lynda Gaudreau, & Heroes of Greece at Pointe-à-Callière.
nichemtl.com
June 9, 2026 at 3:06 PM
We should redefine heroism not as victory or defeat but as resistance to the tendency to take form.
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Escape is impossible, not even through the gift shop.
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The Dislocation of Culture: notes on Art Speaks with Homi K. Bhabha and Glenn D. Lowry
Taking aim at Glenn D. Lowry and Homi K. Bhabha's conversation defending destabilization as a cultural strategy, NicheMTL argues for historical knowledge.
nichemtl.com
June 2, 2026 at 2:39 PM
Escape is impossible, not even through the gift shop.
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Casting images back into the world is a reiteration of the chaotic impulse that obliges the reactivation of imagination.
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The Mass Ornament
Play Recent features Elim Chan with the OSM, LODE at Eli Kerr, Moin at Espace SAT, Insoon Ha at Fonderie Darling, plus David Altmejd at Bradley Ertaskiran.
nichemtl.com
May 26, 2026 at 12:19 PM
Casting images back into the world is a reiteration of the chaotic impulse that obliges the reactivation of imagination.
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It is impossible to remain passive in the presence of prettiness.
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The Pretty Things Are Going to Hell
Mid-May's Play Recent features Maskull Lassere, Andy Stott, Céline Dion's Dior dress, Turandot, and the Centre de design de l'UQAM end-of-year fashion show.
nichemtl.com
May 19, 2026 at 6:42 PM
It is impossible to remain passive in the presence of prettiness.
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“I really look for integrity in the work that I do. Not to sell away what’s really important. That to me is political.”
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Practically Magic: in conversation with Myriam Bleau
The visual artist and Montreal-based musician Myriam Bleau speaks with NicheMTL about technology, magic, and Hypermobility, her forthcoming show at the SAT.
nichemtl.com
May 5, 2026 at 3:13 PM
“I really look for integrity in the work that I do. Not to sell away what’s really important. That to me is political.”
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The margins of society are always the testing grounds for mass culture.
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The Structure of Spirit
NicheMTL's most recent Play Recent features the Torlonia Collection, Paola Pivi at PHI, Bizet's Carmen, Art Souterrain, and Angine de Poitrine at Club Soda.
nichemtl.com
April 28, 2026 at 5:10 PM
The margins of society are always the testing grounds for mass culture.
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Canada is a small country in a big body, and Quebec is its limb that survives amputation, our contributor writes.
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This Montreal Manifesto: notes on Melissa Auf der Maur at the Blue Metropolis Festival
Melissa Auf der Maur's Grunge Cinderella story "Even the Good Girls Will Cry" fits almost perfectly into the archetypal Hero’s Journey, Nadia Trudel writes.
nichemtl.com
April 23, 2026 at 6:25 PM
Canada is a small country in a big body, and Quebec is its limb that survives amputation, our contributor writes.
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NicheMTL proudly presents ECHOS XIII at Ateliers Belleville 24 April 2026.
Info & tickets:
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Info & tickets:
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ECHOS XIII : Musique pour grand espace
ECHOS XIII : musique pour grand espaceTreizième concert d'une série présentée aux Ateliers Belleville faisant la place aux musiques d'exploration / improvisées / concrètes / d'écoute et / ou à l'art a...
www.zeffy.com
April 21, 2026 at 11:29 AM
NicheMTL proudly presents ECHOS XIII at Ateliers Belleville 24 April 2026.
Info & tickets:
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Info & tickets:
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“I always try to make something that makes me feel something. That’s the only guideline I have.”
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Throwing Shapes: in conversation with Mathieu Arsenault
The Montreal-based artist Mathieu Arsenault, aka, Seulement, sits down with NicheMTL to discuss glitch aesthetics, imperfection, and Bricolage Architecture.
nichemtl.com
April 14, 2026 at 5:49 PM
“I always try to make something that makes me feel something. That’s the only guideline I have.”
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If it were God’s will, who should be resurrected today?
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Graceland
April's Play Recent features Solitary Dancer at Le Système, Wayfinders at MAI, Simon S. Belleau at Eli Kerr, Genevève Ackerman, and St. John Passion at A&P.
nichemtl.com
April 7, 2026 at 10:31 AM
If it were God’s will, who should be resurrected today?
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The McCord Stewart exhibition ultimately tells a story of the 1976 Summer Olympics in which sport is a supporting actor in the Games’ sociocultural cast.
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Torching the Record: notes on Montreal’s Olympic Legacy
The McCord Stewart's "Montreal 1976: An Olympic Feat" is a delightfully nuanced Olympic history that honours Montreal’s complex and contradictory character.
nichemtl.com
April 1, 2026 at 7:51 PM
The McCord Stewart exhibition ultimately tells a story of the 1976 Summer Olympics in which sport is a supporting actor in the Games’ sociocultural cast.
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Pain is a productive energy.
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The Problem of Pain
NicheMTL's Play Recent features FIFA screenings of Viktor, Jean Cocteau, and The Designer is Dead, Myriam Gendron, plus Bradley Ertaskiran's new exhibition.
nichemtl.com
March 25, 2026 at 5:02 PM
Pain is a productive energy.
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We chase after dreams and try to turn them into realities.
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The Goddamn Weight of Dreams
Play Recent for the Ides of March features Maxime Corbeil-Perron, Walter Scott and Megane Voghell, Annie Bloch, Sabrina Ratté, plus André-Line Beauparlant.
nichemtl.com
March 17, 2026 at 11:32 AM
We chase after dreams and try to turn them into realities.
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“What I’m doing is less about fashion and more about craftsmanship.”
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Mysterious Skin: in conversation with Genève-Florence
The designer and textile artist Genève-Florence speaks with NicheMTL about a love of leather, the spirituality of creating, and the pleasure of taking time.
nichemtl.com
March 12, 2026 at 11:57 AM
“What I’m doing is less about fashion and more about craftsmanship.”
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Common ground is the point of origin, not the destination.
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The Audience is Listening
NicheMTL's signature Play Recent column for March features Roger Tellier-Craig, Angela Hewitt, Le Vivier, The Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir, and Hush.
nichemtl.com
March 5, 2026 at 7:07 PM
Common ground is the point of origin, not the destination.
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“I feel really light and alive when I’m working with material that has a history.”
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Elegantly Wasted: in conversation with Dexter Barker-Glenn
The artist Dexter Barker-Glenn sits down with NicheMTL to parse his fascination with value, waste, and his current exhibition, First Water, at Centre Clark.
nichemtl.com
February 24, 2026 at 11:04 PM
“I feel really light and alive when I’m working with material that has a history.”
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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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