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TORONTO (CP) - He had monster club hits with electro-glam covers of Corey Hart's Sunglasses at Night and Nelly's Hot in Herre.

Now, Montreal spinmaster Tiga Sontag is making the move away from the turntables and onto centre stage with Sexor, on which he sings original songs. "It's something I've always wanted to do. I spent my whole life listening to other people's albums," the DJ said recently over the line from his home in Montreal.

"I wanted to add to it myself."

As a teenager, Tiga got interested in the art of spinning by seeing his DJ father, Dr. Bobby, in action.

Tiga went on to be a club promoter and is often credited with throwing Canada's first rave in the early 1990s.

He also opened the popular after-hours nightclub Sona, and DNA, an electronic music store specializing in underground talent. In 1998 he formed a label, Turbo.

These days, he's an in-demand club DJ and producer drawing crowds in clubs all around the world.

He's released two previous CDs, American Gigolo and Mixed Emotions - both filled with remixes and covers.

With Sexor, a collection of original electro-pop songs and a cover of Talking Heads' Burning Down the House, Tiga hopes to expand his audience.

With its campy attitude and infectious beats, the album - which features guest vocals by Jake Shears of the New York glam pop band Scissor Sisters - is likely to crossover to more mainstream audiences.

"The music he makes is something that people who don't listen to dance music can find familiar. That's why he's so popular . . . He's in the top two of three Canadian exports as far as producers," said Brian Bobroff, owner of 2 the Beat, a record store in downtown Toronto where Sexor immediately sold out.

"You don't need to be immersed in underground culture to know him and to like his music."

Tiga, 32, said making the record, which saw him start from scratch rather than tearing apart an old song, wasn't as difficult process as some would expect.

"I'm finding it more difficult post-album. Things move very differently once you get into the album world," he said.

"It's very different from what I was used to."

Tiga said he's more used to instant gratification, when he'd remix a song and play it a few nights later in the club.

"As a DJ you're amassing music and you're playing it that night or you're making tracks and they're coming out very soon after," he explained.

He acknowledges this new role will take some time to adjust to.

"It's a period of transition," he said. "With that transition there's new territory, new highs and new lows. It's not as straightforward as when I was just DJing and doing remixes."

His first hurdle will be to perform the songs live in a concert setting.

"That's what's tricky right now."