Most music producers looking for a hot dollar would normally look in Los Angeles, Miami, London or other ‘hot sonic cities’ of the globe. Nevertheless, often overlooked are cities which enjoy a thriving local scene; a scene that does not care much about making it top charts, record stores and top hits, and instead quite pleasantly basks in its home grounds’ diverse culture, low cost of living and flippant, resilient, and brave attitude toward capitalism, the cancer of the modern music industry.

Montreal is one of such cities, very much like a northern Miami, located on the not-so-warm coast of the St. Lawrence river. It has been long impregnated with cool vibes and funky tunes, insomuch and ever so often giving birth to names that your grandma has probably even heard of: Arcade Fire, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Grimes, Blue Hawaii… many such cases! While a good soil, though, turns seeds into sprouts only once before needing fertilization again, Montreal’s soil keeps producing more and more hot acts, merrily flowing and leaving a beautiful, exciting footprint - like a fresh, warm, yellow stream on a crisp white Canadian snow. It’s not always easy to spot, but if you know where to look for it, you will be truly mesmerized. This article should help you in doing so.

1. La Sécurité

It's one band that the whole city is buzzing about right now like a hive of bees. They play art-punk built on goonsy beats, mega arrangements, and minimalistic melodic bing-bangs. It's super hype and extra cool. Their debut Stay Safe! was long-listed for the Polaris Music Prize in 2024, and they've performed at SXSW (landing among NPR's Best of SXSW 2025), End of the Road, The Great Escape, and Reeperbahn.

You can listen to them on Bandcamp.

2. Fresh Wax

Absolute killer trio of a banger music, already praised by media and critics for their driving bass lines, frenetic drumming, and discordant synthesizers, these guys produce a Molotov cocktail of music which can be best received live, in a car or just in a nice Montreal park. They make noises and also play music - what can be better than this? 

You can listen to them on Bandcamp.

3. Population II

It can be called a megalodon (giant shark) of Montreal’s psych underground. They are muscular, sexy, improvisational fury defined by shifting time signatures and distorted as hell guitars. They ride krautrock and avant-garde jazz like your cowgirl rides a jungle horse, and following a Polaris Prize shortlist nod for their 2025 LP Maintenant Jamais, they are maximizing the blowout output in 2026 with a blistering new EP, Gimmicks.

You can listen to them on Bandcamp.

4. DJ Antivaxx & DJ Foreskin

What started as a 2021 lockdown side project quickly morphed into a massive Twitch and social media phenomenon called “Forestream”. But don't mistake this Montreal two-piece for a polished corporate internet brand. DJ Antivaxx’s and DJ Foreskin’s sole existence serves as a brutal, satirical act of defiance against the music industry machine - a beautiful, chaotic reverence to GG Allin and other true provocateurs of the modern era. They are unpredictable, deeply anti-establishment, and tearing up the digital rulebook.

You can listen to them live at their monthly show on www.n10.as, at 9 pm EST every 4th Friday of the month.