Alix Fernz - Symphonie publicitaire sous influence
Mothland
Released on October 17th, 2025
Have you ever heard of the legend of Montreal's Bermuda Triangle? It’s a place where it’s always 2:15 am, a perfect time to drink with the same culprits, pretend you will find the love of your life, show off your best look and smoke cigarette after cigarette on the dirty concrete. You might even cross paths with a crazy wacko vampire with bleached hair and chromosome damage, who makes music that sounds like it's from hell. That must be Alexandre Fournier, also known as Alix Fernz. His second album, Symphonie publicitaire sous influence, has just been released on Mothland.
This young Montreal-based singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer from Sainte-Thérèse plays unusual distorted synth-pop music in a rock band format, creating what he likes to call “hypnagogic pop”. Produced in a DIY spirit in his bedroom, his music is influenced by contemporary artists such as Ariel Pink and Crack Cloud (oops), but is increasingly reminiscent of a claustrophobic, alien soundtrack from industrial pioneers Chrome and synth-punk Nervous Gender. The lo-fi quality and mannered, psychotic tone of the vocal recordings create a spontaneous, intimate and quirky aesthetic, as if they were recorded on the spot, like secrets and confidences shared over the phone on a crisis helpline. This simplicity also evokes the legacy of electro-punk songs such as ‘TVOD’ and ‘Warm Leatherette’ from The Normal.
With its roots in synth-punk, electro-punk, early industrial and new wave, the album reflects Alix Fernz's surroundings and addresses issues that can only come to light dark at night, such as social problems, maniacal behaviour and drug abuse. His aim is not to judge but to simply transcribe the reality of the nightlife and its darker side. “For I will reveal to thee, the shadow of this time”, he says on the opening track, “Ouverture”. This line actually comes from the ultra-low-budget dystopian satire Jubilee (1978) by Derek Jarman, in which punk bands have sadly become cheap industrial entertainment, playing music loud enough so that we can't actually hear the world falling apart. There's a punk band just like that in Montreal, called DVTR. But anyway, we’re not here to talk about them.
Just like the punk squat in the film Jubilee, Alix Fernz is surrounded by his tight-knit community of friends, a good reminder that authentic art is rarely created in total isolation. The album cover was designed by multimedia artist and graphic designer Nora Mejdouli, while Annabelle Fournier and Justine Lacoste handled the production and artistic direction of the music videos. Photographer Aabid Youssef took the pictures, and musician François Lemieux (Milanku, Solipsisme) designed the album release poster. The music video for “Couteau à la gorge” brings together the best ideas of the album and represents the best of what Alix Fernz has to offer. Surrounded by musician and illustrator Aidan Domenis, who plays the sadomasochist and night-owl alter ego of Alix Fernz, contemporary dancer Lou Amsellem and DJ Baby Lafrance, the track reveals the true cinematic potential of his Symphonie publicitaire sous influence. An interesting dialogue between the music and the video has clearly begun. While the rest of the album feels somewhat unfinished, it still contains many good ideas, leading me to wonder what would have happened if the videos and visuals had come before the music. If Alix Fernz started taking inspiration from unconventional weirdos like synth-punk pioneers The Units, electro-punk Nervous Gender, techno-punk The Screamers and Montreal-based petrochemical legends Les Georges Leningrad, he would probably gain more confidence in his art. Alix Fernz and his tribe of weirdos have great potential and could definitely bring something exciting to the scene. We can’t wait to see him blow up on his own terms.
Alix Fernz will be launching his album alongside Crasher, Olga, DJ Jampire and DJ Distraction4ever at La Récré in Montreal (5860 Avenue De Lorimier) on November 8. Bring your mates and vampires !
