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Conrad Montana (Les Gigantiques) on Sled Island, Calgary’s Music Scene & a 20-Year-Old Album Finally Released

Darren Scott of The Sonic Collective continues the Sled Island series with a conversation featuring Conrad Sawatzky (Conrad Montana of Les Gigantiques), a longtime Calgary musician who has been active in bands including Anxious Poets, the Shinolas, Cripple Creek Fairies, and The Deadly Skulls. Conrad shares his musical beginnings, his role in local preservation efforts like the Rat’s Nest Recording Society, and his early connection to Sled Island through Zach Peshack and Pop Montreal. He recalls standout Sled memories (Guided by Voices, Television, Yo La Tengo, and more), highlights Calgary venues supporting live music (Loophole, Blocks, Palomino), and discusses what makes Sled unique, including its diversity and discovery-focused playlists. The episode also covers Les Gigantiques’ newly released album—recorded 20 years ago, rediscovered by Trap One Records—now streaming, with vinyl coming in August and a release show August 23 at Blocks.

https://www.instagram.com/lesgigantiques/

00:00 Show Intro
01:08 Sled Island Series Setup
02:13 Guest Conrad Montana
04:12 How We Met
04:48 Conrad Music Origins
07:12 Preserving Calgary Tapes
09:08 First Sled Island Connection
10:50 Favorite Sled Memories
12:53 Calgary Venues Today
14:43 Day In The Life
17:03 What Makes Sled Unique
20:17 Les Gigantiques Album Story
22:32 Sound And Stage Energy
24:44 Tour Plans And Sled 2026
26:15 Local Band Shoutouts
28:24 Advice For New Musicians
29:34 Show Plug And Farewell
30:57 Host Wrap Up
32:44 Subscribe And Closing Credits

The theme music for The Sonic Collective is Dust by Les Gigantiques from Calgary. Our thanks to the band for letting us use and feature their music. Be sure to check them out. https://www.instagram.com/lesgigantiques/

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Cartel Madras on Sled Island, Sub Pop & Their New Era - The Sonic Collective Interview

Darren Scott of The Sonic Collective continues the Sled Island interview series with Cartel Madras, the Calgary-raised, Chennai-born sister duo Eboshi and Contra, discussing their roots, early hip hop influences, and rapid rise from SoundCloud demos to their 2018 debut show and a standout Sled Island performance that led to being noticed by Ishmael Butler and ultimately signing with Sub Pop Records. They reflect on Calgary venues and Alberta’s broader music scene, share artists they’ve discovered at Sled Island, and describe the festival’s unique audience, community, and role in creating career-changing opportunities. The duo previews their return with the new single “Evident 2 Me,” leading into a new chapter and a debut full-length album planned for 2027, plus upcoming festival and tour appearances.

Evident 2 Me Releasing June 18. Pre-save here: https://music.subpop.com/cartelmadrasandjide_evident2me

https://www.instagram.com/cartel.madras
http://www.youtube.com/@cartelmadras

Cartel Madras Bio

Beckoning you down narrow hallways and into smoke-filled, bass-pumping rooms, Cartel Madras returns with a new world and a new sound. After four years of experimenting, traversing, and creating since their 2021 EP, The Serpent & The Tiger, sisters Eboshi and Contra emerge from the smoke of a shattered global era with vengeance on their mind and adventure laid out before them.

Building off their signature experimental electronic hip-hop foundation, the duo expands their sonic domain, summoning listeners onto the blazing hot tarmac of their motherland and into a seductive world, they call you to the beach, the streets, and the uncertainty of this timeline through a new sound. Radical, racy, and raucous as ever, Cartel Madras continue to unfold an uncharted epoch entirely their own.

Born in Chennai, Tamil Nadu and raised in Alberta, Cartel Madras crafts a cultural syncretism of house, trap, punk, industrial electronics, and razor-sharp rap. Known for explosive live performances that channel the energy of underground queer and punk scenes, the duo have built a reputation for music that is confrontational, playful, cinematic, and impossible to pin down. After being scouted during their 2018 Sled Island performance, they signed to Sub Pop Records and have since released three acclaimed EPs alongside a growing body of striking visual work directed and produced through their own multidisciplinary practice.

Cartel Madras have shared stages with artists including M.I.A., JPEGMAFIA, Jack Harlow, Wu-Tang Clan, clipping., Mac DeMarco, and toured with Sudan Archives. In 2023, they returned to India to open for M.I.A.. Alongside their music career, Eboshi and Contra have expanded their artistic universe into film, installation, and visual storytelling through their production house FOREIGNERZ, creating immersive worlds that blur the boundaries between music, cinema, fashion, and contemporary art.

Their full-length studio album is set for release on Sub Pop Records & Royal Mountain Records in 2027.

00:00 Show Intro
00:42 Cold Open Track
01:12 Sled Island Series Setup
03:46 Origins and Influences
05:50 First Shows and Breakthrough
08:26 Discovered at Sled Island
11:00 Sub Pop Signing Story
14:00 Calgary Venues and Scene
15:47 Sled Island Discoveries
18:01 Festival Crowd and Etiquette
22:13 New Era and Upcoming Music
23:33 Shows and Tour Plans
25:05 Local Artist Recommendations
26:38 Final Thoughts and Farewell
28:03 Outro and Credits

Photo Credit: Michaela Neuman @Equidem

The theme music for The Sonic Collective is Dust by Les Gigantiques from Calgary. Our thanks to the band for letting us use and feature their music. Be sure to check them out. https://www.instagram.com/lesgigantiques/

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Sun Glaciers’ Evan Resnik on Sled Island, Calgary’s Music Scene & New Album “Spiritual Content” | The Sonic Collective

The Sonic Collective hosts Darren Scott in a Sled Island interview with Evan Resnik of Calgary band Sun Glaciers, discussing the group’s origins from early basement jams to evolving into a steady lineup, their early acceptance into Sled Island in 2016, and Resnik’s influences from grunge and classic rock to post-punk and eclectic artists. Resnik reflects on discovering Calgary’s scene through Chad VanGaalen while living in France, describes Calgary as a diverse “melting pot” of genres, and explains what makes Sled Island unique, including its curation, guest curators, and energized crowds. They cover Sun Glaciers’ fourth album, “Spiritual Content” (released late March), its more stripped-down live-ready approach, the “Only Love” video shot at a house on Mission Road, upcoming festival dates like Dandy Fest, and local venue shout-outs including Palomino, The Legion, Dickens, and Ship & Anchor.

https://www.instagram.com/sunglaciers/
https://www.sunglaciers.com/

00:00 Show Intro
01:06 Sled Island Series
01:31 Meet Evan Resnick
02:47 Band Origin Story
04:51 Calgary Roots
05:18 Early Influences
06:20 Finding The Scene
07:28 Calgary Sound Today
08:41 Discovering Sled Island
09:27 Festival Connections
10:51 Playing Sled Crowds
11:45 What Makes Sled Unique
12:41 New Album Spiritual Content
13:48 Only Love Video
14:53 Upcoming Shows
15:17 Venues That Support Music
16:30 Diversity And Inclusion
17:01 Must See Sled Acts
18:18 Final Plug And Thanks
19:20 Host Wrap Up
20:58 Subscribe And Credits
21:27 Signing Off

Photo Credit: Sebastian Buzzalino

The theme music for The Sonic Collective is Dust by Les Gigantiques from Calgary. Our thanks to the band for letting us use and feature their music. Be sure to check them out. https://www.instagram.com/lesgigantiques/

Support the show