Karkwa le meilleur groupe 'live' au pays ?

Bréve : Le groupe Karkwa sera chez George Stroumboulopoulos

MONTRÉAL — La formation Karkwa sera de passage à la célèbre émission «George Stroumboulopoulos Tonight» vendredi soir. Le groupe québécois, qui s'est fait remarquer sur la scène artistique canadienne en remportant le prestigieux prix Polaris pour son album «Les chemins de verre», offrira une prestation musicale. Karkwa a déjà été invité à la spéciale de Noël de l'émission, qui est diffusée sur les ondes de CBC à partir de 12 h 05 AM. Sur le site internet de l'émission, on peut lire qu'«il y a un consensus dans le bureau de George Tonight à l'effet que ce groupe pourrait bien être le meilleur groupe 'live' au pays».

Article de La Presse Canadienne 

It took a while to tear down after Karkwa

Archive : Canadian Musicfest 2011 Day Two
Photo: Karkwa @ Wrongbar – March 11, 2011

Then it was further into the dark heart of Parkdale to Wrongbar, where 2/3 of what would have beenthe best bill of the festival were ready to make an argument that it still was.

Leading their case was reigning Polaris Music Prize winners Karkwa, who’d been spending no small amount of time since the win last September introducing themselves and the winning record Le chemins de verre to English Canada

And making those introductions by way of live performance was really putting their best foot forward as their show was nothing less than electrifying. I’d seen them play at the Polaris gala and while I didn’t know it at the time, that was Karkwa at their most subdued what with frontman Louis-Jean Cormier on piano – and while that was fine, having him brandish guitars as he did this night made for a very different sort of show.

My French hasn’t gotten any better since September so I still didn’t understand any of what they were singing, but the collective musicianship of the band and melodic and visceral impact of their songs needed no translation.

Not even Le chemins de verre properly captured the intense dynamics and surprising amount of brutalism (a good thing) that was on display here. I know that there was a fair bit of head-scratching when Karkwa won the Polaris, both with respect to who they were and whether they deserved it. The former shouldn’t be an issue anymore and the latter? Just go see them live. And make sure the guitars are out.

Spinner and Chart were also on hand at the show while The Globe & Mail has a feature piece

It took a while to tear down after Karkwa’s set – to say they’ve got a lot of gear is an understatement

Article and photos By Frank Yang, Chromewaves, Tuesday, March 15th, 2011

Karkwa / Arcade Fire, destins croisés

Il y a quelques jours, la nouvelle est tombée, Karkwa assurera le levé de rideau pour Arcade Fire, le 28 Juin prochain, au Zénith de Paris.

C'est avec Local Natives qu'ils avaient fréquentés il y a peu la côté ouest des US, c'est maintenant au tour de Karkwa s'assurer la première partie d'Arcade Fire. Décidemment, nous partageons les même gouts que les talentueux canadiens, et ils trainent sur les routes des groupes qui sont passés sous nos caméras quelques mois plus tôt ! Et c'est tant mieux car au final, ce 28 juin 2011 sera une date exceptionnelle. En effet, au zénith de Paris, deux des meilleurs groupes de la scène montréalaise mettront en avant tout leur talent. (voir les videos sur le site Watch Yours Steps

Karkwa fera la première partie d’Arcade Fire au Zénith de Paris !

C’est officiel, les indispensables Karkwa ouvriront la soirée de leur compatriotes Arcade Fire au Zénith de Paris le 28 Juin. Une très bonne nouvelle pour les excellents Montréalais, qui pourront de fait présenter leur nouvel album Les Chemins de Verre à un public parisien élargi. Le moment pour tout ce qui ne l’on pas fait encore (à tort…) de se plonger dans l’univers de Karkwa.

Publié le vendredi 13 mai 2011 par Lo sur l'excellent site Green Cats, Babies !

A noter, les dates de la tournée européenne :

1/06/2011 : Fête de la Musique, place de la Bastille (Paris) avec Robin Leduc, le duo Alfa Rococo, Ariane Moffatt, Pierre Lapointe, Yann Perreau

28/06/2011 : 1ère partie d’Arcade Fire, Zénith (Paris)

29/06/2011 : Canadian Blast à la Maroquinerie (Paris) avec Jimmy Hunt et Blue Rodeo

01/07/2011 : Trafalgar Square (Londres)

03/07/2011 : Scène de la Plage, Eurockéennes de Belfort

07/07/2011 : Jour J à Orléans concert en plein air avec I Am From Barcelona et Metronomy

Karkwa Iceland Airwaves

Karkwa Ca  October 12- 16 october

Artistically fearless, Montreal band, Karkwa is riding the crest of their decade-long musical voyage. During that time, this 5 piece alternative rock band have released four albums, all to critical acclaim and commercial success. They have toured extensively across Canada and Europe, building an incredible live show and a large, dedicated fan base.

Their fourth album, Les Chemins de Verre (Highways Made of Glass), was recorded in Paris at the beautiful "La Frette Studios". Inspired by their surroundings and allowing their creativity to flow, the album was recorded without any pre-production. The result is a beautiful, lush collection of songs filled with soaring melodies and French lyrics. The album sways between delicate, acoustic, stripped-back songs to rich orchestrated pieces, taking the listener on an emotional journey that transcends language.

Les Chemins de Verre was released in Canada in March 2010 and has quickly launched Karkwa into the next stage of their career. They have been showered with popular and critical acclaim, winning the prestigious Polaris Prize for Best Album of the Year in Canada for 2010. Karkwa can lay claim to being the first Francophone artist to ever win this award. In February 2011, they were also nominated for two Canadian Juno Awards for Best Alternative Album and Francophone Album of the Year.