When long-time friends and current neighbours Ashley Fortier and Oliver Fugler decided to launch a small, independent press back in 2015, they didn’t have specific goals in mind for the future. With a focus on producing quality materials relevant to queer, feminist, and social justice communities, the two co-publishers of Metonymy Press, who met back…
Read MoreThe Main
Issue 001: Illumination
Welcome back. After a short hiatus, The Main is back in full force and ready, more than ever before, to serve up stories that Montreal needs to read. We’re a digital magazine. We’re a curatorial platform. We’re a local collective. As part of our new mission, The Main will be driven by a specific editorial theme…
Read MoreOne Montreal Family’s Quest to Bring Neon Back
In a converted, two-story factory workshop, the Atelier Neon Family logo hangs high above a work table. Classical music from a boombox radio fills the room as morning sunshine beams in. The strange glow of neon seems almost eerie in the day but doesn’t suffer for beauty or artistry. Company founder and family patriarch, Gérald…
Read MoreThomas Vernis: Meet the Real ‘Tommy’ Behind Montreal’s Beloved New Tommy Café
When Desjardins asked The Main to find a local professional whose work would be inspirational to aspiring entrepreneurs, we were happy to help. In keeping with their desire to inspire and support young people in realizing their own passion projects, we sought to tell the story of a self-made local businessperson who’s taken a creative approach to building their own business, picking…
Read MoreLook Vibrant: Adding a Dose of High Energy to Montreal’s Music Scene
This article was originally written for Le Dépanneur magazine: a new Montreal publication dedicated to showcasing local creatives of all sorts. Read the full feature in their 1st edition, to be released October 2015. —“You sure you don’t want a cookie?” The two halves of Montreal-based duo Look Vibrant, Justin Lazarus and Matthew Murphy, sit side…
Read MoreThese Breathtaking Photos Give You the Best Views from Montreal’s Benches
With every bench comes a view, and the support needed to truly sit back and appreciate it. Inspired by the various Montreal benches he encounters every day and the breathtaking views they give us, staff photographer Kalden Dhatsenpa decided to document a series of benches that offer the city’s best perspectives. Take look at some of Montreal’s most spectacular scenes, from…
Read MoreJohn Jacob Magistery: a Powerful New Voice in Montreal’s Indie-Folk Scene
“I feel like we deserve to be here, for sure,” says Johnny Griffin as he squints at me from across the large picnic table, sun in his eyes, “I just didn’t expect us to play this year.” The rest of John Jacob Magistery laugh or nod in agreement, knowing full well that while they are labelled ‘up-and-coming,’…
Read MoreInterview: Seoul on Sound, Images, and Vulnerability
Surprisingly minimalist yet ultimately affective, Seoul are a dream-pop band on the rise. Recently signed to Last Gang Records, the enigmatic Montreal-based trio are set to release their debut LP, I Become A Shade on June 9th. We had the chance to chat with Julian, Dexter, and Nigel—responding together as a unit—before the release. “Everything we…
Read MoreInterview: Yardlets Are Here to Tell You to Shut Up and Have a Good Time
Yardlets have a partnership that would make most other musicians jealous. A power-duo of sorts and friends since forever ago, Sam Goldberg Jr. (of Broken Social Scene) and Jeff Edwards both live by the same set of principles: create what you want when you want to, and have fun doing it. While this may be…
Read MoreMeet Sam Olson: Montreal’s Newest Pop Darling
“Regardless of what festival it is, when I look up, I always think ‘I need to get on that fucking stage’.” Sam Olson laughs a big, infectious laugh. She knows full well that she doesn’t want her budding career to be some ‘singing project,’ some personal experiment that will eventually fizzle out when she…
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