Schedule Karkwa at SXSW

Karkwa
Rock
Laval QC CANADA
Time: Wednesday March 16 10:00PM
Venue Spill 212 E. Sixth St. Austin, TX 78701

Formed in 1998 during a music contest in college, the group consists of vocalist and guitarist Louis-Jean Cormier, keyboardist François Lafontaine, bass guitarist Martin Lamontagne, percussionist Julien Sagot and drummer Stéphane Bergeron. The band's name is a phonetic rendering of carquois (French for a quiver of arrows).

After reaching the final stages of the Francouvertes contest in 2001, the band released its debut album, Le Pensionnat des établis, in 2003. The album's single "Poisson cru" reached the top of Quebec's campus radio charts, and was named the best album of the year by two critics for Montreal's alternative weekly Voir.

The band's second album, Les Tremblements s’immobilisent, won three Félix Awards in 2006. In 2007, they were featured, along with The Stills, The Besnard Lakes and Mahjor Bidet, on the bill of Quebec Scene, a concert in Ottawa sponsored by CBC Radio 3.

On the third album, Le Volume du vent, as the band further expanded its reach into English Canada, guest musicians included Patrick Watson and Elizabeth Powell.

Their fourth album, Les Chemins de verre, was recorded in Paris, France and won the 2010 Polaris Music Prize. They made several shows in Europe and Canada winning great reputation everywhere. In between rock and folk, their sound can be describe as a mutation of Radiohead instrumental section and Sigur Ros vocal harmonies. But that said, Karkwa stays unique and is not a copy of anything. Although Karkwa is solely singing in french, the power of music emerges as you don't have to understand the lyrics to fully enjoy the music of the group.