Local Music: A Talk with Nick Navati of Allo Fren

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I recently went to a show at L’Escogriffe to see some friends play and Allo Fren was one of the other bands on the bill. They had a unique sound and a laid-back, comical attitude between songs. The lead singer, Nick Navati, was bopping back and forth like a Beatle and his voice cut through the mix well.

Allo Fren is an alternative/indie Montreal band with four members; Nick on vocals and guitar, Loïc on bass, Matthias on drums and Brian on keys/synth. They released their first EP called Allo World Pt. 1 on December 25, 2023.

During a phone call with Nick, he explained that the band plans to live-track the new songs next month and possibly even re-record pt. 1, in which each member recorded their parts separately. He said the vocals and most instruments were recorded in one take and they had only about a week to complete the process.

Nick was making electronic music before the pandemic and was feeling burnt out with it but wanted to continue playing music with a fresh start. He wrote some songs and decided to play in a new format. “Well ya know, my mom kinda tells me I have a nice voice so why don’t I just go to an open mic.”

He started writing the songs in July of 2022 and said that each one was written about a month apart and came in the same order that they appear on the EP. After playing open mics, Nick looked for band-mates to join him.

Nick said the band then found a space in one of “Montreal’s seemingly inexhaustible supply of these sort of run-down industrial units.” They ended up finding a rehearsal space at The Crumper, which doubles as a venue. It’s Nick’s favorite venue at the moment and is “currently having its day in the sun” he said. In terms of traditional venues, Nick mentioned that two of his favorites are Casa Del Popolo and L’Escogriffe.

When I asked about his influences, Nick didn’t have any in mind though he joked, “If I can rip off something I will but if nothing comes up that way then I’ll just write it the way I was writing it … People tend to tell me who I sound like.” He said he’s been likened to Jonathan Richman, Silver Jews and The Strokes.

“My favorite song I’ve written so far is still ‘Anon’, the third track on the EP.” He called “Anon” a clear ripoff of “Smells Like Teen Spirit” adding, “And I thought, alright let’s go for it.”

The first bass player of the band left abruptly and Loïc offered to join. He was in a band that also rehearsed at The Crumper and Nick described him as a “mellowed-out Frenchman with good indie credentials.”

The current drummer, Matthias, is also from France and added a new touch to the band when he joined. Nick said that Matthias joining the band has been extremely fruitful as he adds parts that Nick “never would have thought of at all.”

Brian has been there, he said, from pretty much the beginning. He’s on the keys/synth and Nick calls him “probably the most technically gifted musician in the band,” adding that “he can definitely shred.”

I asked Nick about his side-to-side swaying while on stage and he said, “After our first show, somebody said, ‘You should move on stage’ and I thought, ‘I agree’ and then I was practicing with the band and I had a vision of The Beatles playing Ed Sullivan and I thought ‘that’s really funny’ and I’ll just do that for a while.”

“Currently I’m hard at work, lowering my guitar to play like Tom Delonge, like I want to have my guitar hanging as low as possible.”

You can expect pt. 2 from Allo Fren in the coming months. They are currently on Spotify and Bandcamp.