Did you know that you love dancehall, soca and afropop music? Montreal-based DJ and producer Poirier is going to prove that you do, even if you may not know it yet. Poirier's music is a fresh blend of big sexy beats and deep bass, with an international feel that you don't often hear in Halifax. He has a talent for blending genres and mixing beats in an unexpected ways. "My mission is to rock the dance floor but at the same time I try to introduce stuff the audience may have never heard, play some African music, some Caribbean music," he says.
Known for throwing raucous parties and blowing up dance floors, Poirier pays attention to his audience and creates a reciprocal, energetic experience. "Each set is a challenging experience. I'm building something," he says. "I'm conscious of what's going on in front of me. I'm trying to guess where I want to go, and where people want to go, but they don't know yet."
As a producer, Poirier has collaborated with a huge diversity of artists, who challenge him to grow and change, as much as he challenges his audience. He's done upwards of 40 official remixes for the likes of We Are Wolves, Quebecois MC/producer Boogat, grime star Lady Sovereign and Halifax fave Buck 65. Any of these tracks show what Poirier does best: hearing links between disparate sounds, and bringing them together to make super fun, eclectic music that is still distinctly his own.
Along with his partner Salivation Army, Poirier is bringing his monthly Montreal party, No Vacancy, to Halifax. Partiers can expect a DJ set unlike anything they've heard before. "I try to do a blend from local to global and from current to older," he says. "I'm trying to tell a story that's quite a big story, and it's not focusing on one element." You may just get a musical education while you're losing it on the dance floor. "My mission is to spread music to the most people possible, to build bridges between communities. And then make people go crazy with stuff they have never heard."
No Vacancy! Halifax Special
w/Poirier, Salivation Army
Friday, May 10, 11pm, $12
Michael’s Bar and Grill, 6100 Young Street
