Cp 284
J0L1A0 Calixa-Lavallee, Quebec
Canada

http://www.leventdunord.com

" A leading force in Quebec's progressive folk movement, and they leaven their hard-driving soulful music with New Orleans polyphony and R&B ", LATime

public contact

• phone: +1 450-909-0940
• fax: +1 450-909-0941
eMail:

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activities

• Artist
  • Band/Soloist
  • Composer/Songwriter
  • Manager
• Promoter
  • Concert Promoter
  • Festival
  • Tour
• Records
  • Producer

participation in

• virtualWOMEX
• WOMEX 2011

stand number WOMEX 2011: B.17-20, C.01-03

company description

Ensemble of the Year, 2010 Canadian Folk Music Awards.
Best Roots & Traditional Album, 2011 JUNO AWARDS

BIOGRAPHY:
Considered a driving force in progressive folk, Le Vent du Nord captures the energy and mirth of a Saturday night kitchen, infusing old Quebec with a breath of fresh, cosmopolitan air.

The group began by chance, when a fire alarm in 2002 brought musicians Nicolas Boulerice and Olivier Demers out of their practice rooms at music school. Boulerice noticed Demers, fiddle in hand, and asked him if he knew any old tunes. Demers, now a performer for Cirque de Soleil when not playing fiddle and foot-tapping with Le Vent du Nord, answered yes, and Le Vent du Nord was born.

In time, they joined up with Simon Beaudry, a multi-instrumentalist from one of Quebec's most musical villages, and accordionist Réjean Brunet, who hails from a musical family in a small town near the U.S. border. Together, the group has scoured archives, tracked down traditional performers, traced tunes to their sources, and written dozens of new songs faithful to the spirit of their roots.

With more than 800 performances under their belts, Le Vent du Nord have become compelling Francophone ambassadors, winning critical acclaim and audience adoration across Europe and North America. The quartet delivers catchy songs and tunes taken from or inspired by the Quebec traditional folk repertoire while others are original compositions. The group has a rich and varied instrumentation, well-polished musical arrangements, and wonderful vocals.

In addition to their traditional repertoire, the group has exhibited great finesse and flexibility, appearing regularly on Canadian and French television and radio, and participating in a striking variety of special musical projects. They've collaborated and performed with The Chieftains, with Breton musical pioneer Yann-Fañch Kemener, with Quebecois roots legend and master storyteller Michel Faubert, with hip Scottish folk band Breabach, and with the trans-Mediterranean Ensemble Constantinople.

Le Vent du Nord's unexpected orchestral rendering of its repertoire, "Le Vent du Nord Symphonique," has been presented as part of two different concerts series with the Portland Symphony Orchestra and Québec Symphony Orchestra and garnered rave reviews.

Now, the group is taking a new program, staged by Michel Faubert, on the road, continuing a successful international run of more than 100 performances. The show, La Part du Feu, showcases the band's growing focus on group performance. The majority of the pieces hail from their new album by the same name, which has garnered eloquent reviews in America and Europe and has won a 2011 Juno Award for Best Roots & Traditional Album. The quartet's intense performances, paired with the varied moods explored on La Part du Feu, make for a show with wide-ranging appeal.

Dedicated to an unmatched live experience, the four talented singers and multi-instrumentalists push their personal limits and draw together the many threads of Francophone history, sound, and culture. This show features ballsy original songs and tunes, diverse sonic textures, and magnificent vocals. The sophisticated arrangements marvelously highlight the lyrics, using the quartet's long-honed expressive skills to convey the words' emotional essence.


2010-2011 QUOTES:
THE INDEPENDANT (London)
10 BEST GIGS THIS WEEK: Quebec instrumentalist and harmonic mastery steeped in the rich waters of the Northeastern seaboard's song traditions, as well as Breton and Celtic tunes.

THE LIVING TRADITION (Scotland)
Absolutely superb. In my view, when it comes to Quebecois music, this lot are top of the pile. Paul Burgess

SONGLINES MAGAZINE (London, UK)
Their sophisticated melding of original and traditional material is informed by their backgrounds in jazz and classical music, but they generally avoid flamboyance and over-production, sticking with acoustic instrumentation. You'd be hard pushed to find such imaginative change-ups of tempo and rhythm and such freshness of sound, except perhaps among the best and brightest of contemporary Scandinavian groups - with whom Le Vent du Nord share some spirit and musical history. Jeff Kaliss

TOP OF THE WORLD ALBUM 66 : Lanlaire appears on the issue's CD covermount.

BOSTON GLOBE (USA)
Top 10 Best Folk Album, Scott Alarik

LOS ANGELES TIMES, (USA)
WORLD MUSIC: Top 10 Memorable internationally flavored albums from 2009:
This quartet is a leading force in the province's progressive folk movement, and they leaven their hard-driving soulful music (a close cousin to Celtic music) with New Orleans polyphony and R&B.

TRAD MAGAZINE, (FR) La Part du Feu affirme une évolution naturelle plus contemporaine. Le Vent s'affirme avec des compositions sensibles et tellement bien écrites et produites qu'elles nous apparaissent déjà intemporelles. Ce disque est généreux, jubilatoire - Gérard Viel

JOURNAL DE QUÉBEC ET MONTRÉAL (4 étoiles/4 stars) (QUÉBEC) It's easy to understand why our Southern neighbours like them so much: they managed to keep the Bottine's fire alight. Between their traditional folk songs about other topics than licentiousness, reels inspired by the Celtic and Irish renewals, Eastern-Europe gypsies, and New Orleans Dixie, and piano chords that could be played by Bruce Hornsby, as they say down there, they rock the house. And all this is perfectly balanced, obviously skilful, and modern enough to please pioneers like Donal Lunny and Kevin Burke. Excellent! - Jean Beauchesne

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