My Project

It is with immense pleasure that I share a project that has been close to my heart for a long time…

I am part of a French vocal trio called Les Chiclettes, that I founded with Geneviève Cholette and Nathalie Nadon seven years ago. Since 2015, I have also been a backup vocalist for the slam-poet, YAO.

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It is now as a solo artist that I wish to evolve in the Canadian cultural milieu. Making the French language shine through music, is one of the main motivations of my artistic approach. Since I am passionate about soul and funk, I decided to take up the challenge of exploring these musical genres in my mother tongue.

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After attending a Toronto concert of the French artist, Ben l'Oncle Soul, I realized that soul, funk and blues can be expressed with passion and eloquence in French. I intend to occupy this musical space that is at once current and everlasting. The album, that will be a testament of an important turn in my career will be sensual and organic, just like me.

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Although this musical genre is characterized by the quest for the irresistible groove, where bass is the key ingredient, I realized that such a project would only make sense if it were expressed with original songs. Being more of a composer than a lyricist, I have passed my ideas to writers with whom I collaborated closely to create a repertoire rooted in my reality.

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Within the past year, I’ve taken part in writing retreats with accomplished artists such as Janie Renée, Éric Dubeau and Anique Granger, to create a high caliber musical repertoire that resembles me. In addition, I am in contact with other authors to whom I have mandated song creations dealing with certain subjects that are close to my heart.

The songs resulting from this work will cover a host of themes, from the inexorable passage of time, impossible love, self-esteem, indecision and the sometimes difficult choices that life imposes. In short, subjects which the audience can identify with, all the while, bearing my signature.

My objective

First, I want to establish myself in the Ontario and Canadian scene, but also wish to spread beyond these markets to reach all Francophone countries. ‘The Groove’, which is the base of the musical style that I will be exploring, knows no geographical boundaries; thus, my music will be able to win over new audiences. It is my hope that my groovy musical universe will serve as my passport and open the doors to international markets.

My precious collaborator

To produce the album, I want to join forces with a producer who will understand the musical genre that I want to explore. After numerous meetings, it became apparent to me, that Cécile Doo-Kingué possessed the sensitivity, the know-how and the musical background to carry out this project. A citizen of the world and a New Yorker by birth, she has lived in the United States and France, having immersed herself in two cultures that are an integral part of the sound I aspire to create; a world of which she knows all the secrets. Cécile works as a producer and arranger to evoke authentic sound universes, soliciting the contributions of old school musicians, while adding new colors to the basic musical recipe.

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Julie Kim