James Benjamin is a Montréal-based producer, DJ, composer, and Grammy-winning audio engineer, as well as co-owner of Breakglass Studios. His work spans club music, immersive sound, and record production, with a practice rooted in bass-heavy, vocal-forward, genre-fluid sound. Alongside his own releases and DJ work, he has collaborated with artists including Kaytranada, Purity Ring, Lunice, and many others across Montréal’s musical ecosystem. With the launch of Breakglass Records, the studio is extending its 20-year legacy into a label platform rooted in community, experimentation, and the scenes that pass through its space.

For this IRL Map to Montréal, James shares six spots that keep him grounded in the city — the places he returns to between sessions, sets, and everything in between.