“Having integrity, following instinct, expressing what we feel. The goal: creating good music that gives us extreme emotions.”  Such is the answer of Montréalers Emma Beko and Gab Godon, a.k.a. Hearstreets, when asked to describe the direction of their musical project – one that’s been attracting a lot of attention, lately.

Extreme emotions are what Heartstreets served to the audience during their surprise performance in the parking lot of Rouyn-Noranda’s Paramount, last September during the Festival de Musique Émergente. It was love at first sight, between the duo’s contagious enthusiasm and the small crowd’s thirst for discovery. What they discovered is a rap, R&B and soul-tinged electro-pop offering. To wit, the reaction of the crowd seconds after the duo’s short performance:

Even though Heartstreets first appeared on YouTube five years ago, things started getting serious in 2015. After a string of singles, EPs and shows, they made a big impression at Osheaga, last summer – enough that the festival is presenting their current headlining tour dates, in Toronto, Montréal and Québec City, with Ryan Playground opening.

But what’s been attracting the most attention lately is their new single “Blind,” produced by 2016 Polaris Prize winner and 2015 SOCAN Award winner Kaytranada. The single that was presented exclusively by famed music magazine The Fader, which praised the song’s qualities.

“We work with different producers on practically every song,” says Gab. “It’s important to us because it allows us to explore the various aspects of our style, and it stimulates our creative process by constantly introducing new sounds. Our collaboration with Kaytranada came about very organically. We worked together in a studio, and then worked on the song separately, and we all love the final result! We don’t follow a recipe when we’re working on a new track, it’s constantly evolving!”

What’s unchanging is the steep upward trajectory of their popularity, as Heartstreets witness their fanbase increasing both steadily and rapidly. Something tells us that’s not about to slow down…