www.youtube.com/watch?v=JtH68PJIQLE1
As a proud Montrealer, I enjoy sharing many of the things that I believe make my city so great: the food, the coffee, the people, the stories, and, most notably, the impressive amount of terrific musical acts to come out of here in the last decade or so. I could probably go on and rant for days about the contributing factors and players, as well as why and how this all happened; but instead I like to remain focused on what’s happening now and what there is to come. Scenes evolve, and the moment we fall victim to glory-day type ‘remember when’ talk, whatever we have starts to slowly flee. Moving forward is a challenge I hope our city keeps embracing. And despite what can sometimes come across as a cold and jaded façade, our ears are open, provided that as an artist you have something honest to say and that it contains at least a little bit of substance.
One of the latest artists to charm our town is actually from the other side of the country: Claire Boucher moved to Montreal from Vancouver a few years ago, at which point she started performing under her stage name, Grimes. In the next few years, her dreamy-electro-pop sound had not only become the talk of the town, but also earned her a spot at last year’s SXSW in Austin, Texas. As a direct result of her performance, she landed a deal with Arbutus Records.
Her third record Visions was released on January 31st of this year and the first single, Oblivion, is a definite highlight. Grimes’ vocals give her a pixie-like status for the electronic generation. Once you’ve listened to the song, be sure to also check out the fantastic video. The Emily Kai Bock-directed clip features a whole lot of dancing from Grimes in some very uncommon settings, including sports stadiums, motocross events, and concession stands. Brilliant stuff!
