Sixtoo Doing Major Moonlighting With Megasoid

With a record release date just around the corner, you'd think that Sixtoo (a.k.a. Robert Squire) would be all about pushing his new material. Well, you'd only be half right. In addition to prepping for the release of Jackals And Vipers In Envy Of Man on Ninja Tune on Sept. 11, Montreal's purveyor of big beats has been equally busy rocking clubs and breaking laws with his new project, Megasoid.

Since Squire and his new Montreal partner-in-crime, Wolf Parade knob-twiddler Hadji Bakara, joined forces earlier this year under the Megasoid moniker, they've been garnering some serious attention for their aggressive DJ sets and illegal dance parties.

"We started out just having this club residency at Zoobizarre in Montreal, and now we've started branching out and doing illegal parties and setting up a sound system in the van and just going and doing all this illegal shit," says Squire over the phone from his Montreal home.

Due to the huge response in Montreal over the last six months, the duo recently started a monthly residency at Toronto's Drake Hotel. They have future designs on launching a similar night in New York City.

"Although both Hadji and myself have careers outside of Megasoid, it's actually, I think, what's probably going to become at least my main focus over the next year," says Squire.

But the line between Squire's two projects isn't exactly clear-cut.

"When I was working on the Sixtoo record, there's processing on that record which is more Megasoid than it is Sixtoo," he says.

Although Squire made a name for himself as Sixtoo in the '90s indie hip-hop scene while being closely affiliated with U.S-based Anticon Records, Jackals features nary a hint of his MC skills. It also marks a clear departure from 2004's acclaimed Chewing On Glass And Other Miracle Cures.

"There's less songwriting on it," he says. "It's more of a beat record in that it's stuff running off a drum machine, but then I'm using synths and processing and recording locations to sort of act as the songwriting."

It's all part of Squire's desire to move on. "Anybody who's making stuff is gonna have to face the fact that those days of the huge first wave of indie hip-hop shit is over, and Anticon being able to ship 15,000 copies of a record is not going to happen again," he says.

That's just as well for Squire, who's more interested in performing live than sitting in his studio these days. He has a European tour slated for October and plans to take the new album on the road across North America in early 2008.

"I love touring," says Squire. "That's actually a big part of the Jackals record.

"So much of that record was actually recorded live, and then I just took the source material and edited it into a record. It's a big part of what spills over into the other project [Megasoid] and where I think the state of music should be and actually is."

For Squire, it's all about keeping things interesting for himself. Luckily, Ninja Tune has been more than willing to indulge his impulses.

"It's ultimately a selfish act that is about me being creative, and they've been really able to help me with that, whether it's doing Sixtoo stuff or even showing support and saying, 'Oh, any Megasoid stuff that you do that's illegal sound systems, we'll pay the fines on them.' Now how many labels would do that? Not very many."

Whether it's as Sixtoo, Megasoid or both, you'll have plenty of chances to see Squire in action soon. Here are his Canadian dates:

Sept. 8-9 Montreal, QC @ Parc Jean-Drapeau (as Sixtoo at Osheaga Music & Arts Festival)
Sept. 21 London, ON @ Lola Outdoor Stage (as Sixtoo)
Sept. 29 Toronto, ON @ Drake Hotel (as Megasoid)
Sept. 30 Montreal, QC @ Parc Jean-Drapeau (as Sixtoo at Piknic Electronik)
Oct. 31 Montreal, QC @ Yves Laroche Gallery (as Sixtoo)
Nov. 17 Montreal, QC @ Zoobizarre (as Megasoid)
Nov. 23 Toronto, ON @ Drake Hotel (as Megasoid)
Dec. 15 Montreal, QC @ Zoobizarre (as Megasoid)