The Founders of Piknic Electronik are Ready to Take Over

Montreal is truly a city meant for the summer time, as outdoor events take over the city's party culture all season long. The most famous of these events are none other than Piknic Électronik. Piknic is a weekly Sunday festival held at Parc Jean-Drapeau, the venue most famous for hosting music festival Osheaga. Every Sunday afternoon, Montrealers head to PJD to wind down the weekend to the best music the city has to offer, consisting of both local talent as well as international bookings.

In an arguably oversaturated market for electronic music events, Piknic stands strong as a testament that events that are all about the music can still thrive. And thrive it has—this weekend Piknic Électronik digs its teeth into its 12th summer with its traditional double bill. On Sunday, the Crew Love camp takes over the main stage, as Slow Hands will play a live set before passing the decks to ringleaders Wolf + Lamb and Soul Clap. Victoria Day Monday will see French legend Agoria take to the turntables, representing Infiné and celebrating the 20th anniversary of Brest's Astropolis Festival, France's longest running legal rave party.

I sat down with two vital members of Piknic's team to find out more about one of Montreal's longest-running event series. Nicolas Cournoyer is General Director of Piknic and Igloofest, and Michel Quintal acts as Programming and Sponsorship Director of the two events. Both men are part of the legendary founding four that kicked this whole thing off. It's easy to tell that these guys love the music just as much as their concertgoers, which is refreshing in an age of over-the-top, in your face EDM event promotion. These guys have seen it all, and are an integral core to the development and progression of Montreal's rich music scene over the past fifteen years.

THUMP: What's the short history about how you guys began to put together Piknic Electronik? What was the original concept behind the party?
Nicolas: In the late 1990s and beginning of the 2000s, Montreal's electronic music scene exploded. At some point, there were too many events that looked pretty much the same. The idea of Piknic was brewing, and we thought about doing something different. We wanted to take electronic music out from its "natural" environment—after hours vibe in dark, smoky venues—to make it more accessible. A healthier option open for everybody, including families, to enjoy our too short of a summer.

I've read that you guys quit your jobs to focus full-time on Piknic a few years ago. What made you guys come to that decision?
Michel: It was either that or the end of Piknic. We were on our third or fourth season and by then it was already a full time job! We needed to be fully committed to it for it to survive.

Now you guys get thousands of people through the gates every Sunday. Did you see Piknic evolving into what it is now when you guys were conceptualizing it? 
M: I guess the four of us would have a different answer for this. For me, I never thought it would be like this. Frankly, I thought we would get 2000 to 3000 people max.

How did the expansion to Barcelona come about? Any plans for other international Piknic events in the future?
N: The idea to expand had been on our minds for a long time, but became a reality when François Jozic—a friend of a friend living in Barcelona—came to Piknic and loved the concept. From there, we worked it out to make it happen.

We do have international plans for Piknic and are actually working on them right now. Our goal is, from 2015 on, to start up at least one more European city every year. So lots of work to come!

Let's talk about the venue. Parc Jean-Drapeau is really one of a kind—a huge, very green park right on the water. How important is the venue to the Piknic's vibe? Was there any inspiration in picking this venue?
N: The park has a huge impact on Piknic's vibe. In fact, it was during a visit to the park that Pascal—one of our four founders—had the idea of doing an event there. The sculpture, the green spaces, the river, and the view of Old Montreal convinced us that it would be a perfect venue. Montrealers discovered a magnificent park that was sitting five minutes away from the heart of the city!

You guys curate of the most diverse line-ups around when it comes to electronic music. Hyperdub beats, Fabric techno, Detroit techno, UK deep house, French tech-house, dubstep, Crew Love soul—you name it. How do you guys approach your music programming, and what is the thought process that goes into your bookings? 
M: The diversity of the line-up reflects the diverse listening habits of our programming team. Staying tuned-in to what's going on across the whole spectrum of dance music is part of the job, but we're all people who'd be doing it anyways.

When it comes time to sit down and plan our line-up, we're not thinking in terms of genres. We don't want Piknic to be a house party, or a techno party, or a dubstep party. We want to bring talented artists that have something exciting to offer and can fit the Piknic vibe. The quality of the music is always our main concern, and there's so much great music being made in all kinds of genres that we naturally end up with a healthy mix of them all.

I've read that you guys are all about "democratizing electronic music." Can you expand on that notion?
M: This was definitely the case in 2003, when electronic music was not very well known, and had that negative "rave" image. Now we feel like electronic music has been democratized, for better and for worse. But for the most part, electronic music is everywhere, even in ads to sell products to soccer moms. That seems to me like a one of the ultimate proofs!

You guys are very on point when it comes to representing Montreal, not only with local DJ bookings but with hosts as well. Mile End Recs, Saintwoods, Hushlamb, and more all have Piknic dates. How important is it to keep local crews and collectives in the mix?
M: These crews are the heart of Montreal. They make Montreal groove. Booking them at Piknic is a way to say thanks to them for that. It is a great way to represent what is going on right now in our city.

It's impressive that Piknic incorporates a Green Initiative and Sustainable Development in its operations. Can you guys touch on that a bit? How do you ensure that the party's environmental impact is reasonable?
N: It's part of the DNA and the philosophy of the organization. We are conscious that events and festivals are generating a lot of trash, so we are constantly thinking of measures that will reduce our impact on the environment. We try as much as possible to use recycled, recyclable, reusable or compostable material. We are very proud that, last summer, we were the first organization to use a brand-new consignment and recovery system for cups.

Top all-time Piknic moments? I think one of mine has to be the torrential storm that hit during Tiga's Turbo Recordings showcase last year…
M: Those rainy moments bring the crowd together in such a nice way. They are magical. Tiga in 2014, Guy Gerber in 2013, Josh Wink in 2009, and Paul Kalkbrenner in 2010.

How do you guys balance Piknic and Igloofest?
M: With programming, sponsorship, marketing and production, we have to start planning almost a year in advance. I usually start working sponsors in July, and programming is already in the works for Igloofest 2015!

What kind of advice would you give to a first-time Piknic attendee?
M: Come with an open mind. No high heels. Smile. Enjoy.

One track you'll never forget that was played at Piknic?
M: There are a lot of them! But first to come to mind would be a remix Josh Wink did of "Everything In Its Right Place" by Radiohead. Josh played it while it was pouring rain and the crowd kept dancing like crazy.

Same thing happened when Tiga dropped (for the first time ever) "Let's Go Dancing" by himself and Audion last June. The track didn't even come out until October!

DJ you are most looking forward to bringing back in the future?
M: Ricardo Villalobos and why not Maceo Plex.

You can click here to explore the full program of the 2014 season. Follow Piknic via its website, Facebook and Twitter.

Follow Zack on Twitter: @zackrota

Related Stories:

Montreal's Mayor Takes a Shot at Toronto Nightlife while Extending Last Call to 5:30 AM

Montreal's Mutek Festival Turns 15

The Montreal Scene