The new french-Canadian innovators of popular music

KARKWA

Stunningly put together semi- orchestral style pop with nothing but strong underlying hard hitting grooves. Drums and rythmic guitars,  unexpected twists of language and subtle but memorable melodies. You may start with this song, “Oublie Pas”

French Canadian music rises and conquers-the new quebecois aesthetic

Long gone are the deep-rooted associations stemming from my childhood concerning the artistic musical output of “La Province de Quebec”. There was, “jadis”, a great heritage of traditional music in my native territory, and then of new folklore as well, from early traditonal “chansons” to the troubadour icons of the 60′s and 70′s and beyond, see Beau Dommage, Harmonium, Richard Desjardins. 

There has been, however, an outside perception of bad taste, with a capital B, interweaved with Quebec’s musical identity. It is one associated as this by my 25-45 generation, at least, one of whose extension is perhaps unmeasurable, but is at a bare minimum acknowledged. Child of the 80′s and 90′s, victims of Eric Lapointe, Celine Dion, France D’Amour, or more currently Linda Lemay,Marie-Mai and the like, my fellow adolescent peers and I maybe expected more of a people born brave, intelligent and passionate. This is of course, is merely an opinion. Let’s just say it did not give me anything to look up to or motivate me as an artist. There were always exceptions (Les Colocs anybody?), but never a aggregate representing, and leading, something ground-breaking.

And so I stopped paying attention. My terrible mistake and loss. While i was busy catching on to every new trend band and their possibly (or not) relevant innovations and important contributions to the collective destiny of popular music, while i was busy thinking these were of english language only, by default, some great things were stirring all around me in my native province, unnoticed by my prejudice.

While bands like Arcade Fire or Bright Eyes, to name just two, have etched new paths for the contemporary sound of quality, Quebec has evolved an equally rich an interesting scope of new frontier french music, inticingly interesting and significant. Much like its creators and their humbly segregated cultural reality, it is refreshingly un-ostentatious. Yet it is making waves.

Let me walk you through a few examples of some music you should get to knowing. Yes, it does help if you understand the language, but i don’t think that is a necessity in the appreciation of what i will for now refer to as “the new french-Canadian innovators of popular music”. Genre branding has never been my strong suit. (...)

Extract from "French Canadian music rises and conquers-the new quebecois aesthetic" Maiamaiadavisdavies's Blog, July 27, 2010,