From Nov. 12 -15, 2022, the Association des professionnels de l’édition musicale (APEM), in collaboration with the Chambre Syndicale De l’Édition Musicale (CSDEM), hosted six songwriters from Canada and six from France for a songwriting camp at Planet Studio in Montréal. Groups of three were created each morning, and each group created one song every day. The camp concluded with a listening session of all the songs that were created during this collaborative effort. Meetings between music publishers also took place on the sidelines of the camp, just before the 2022 M for Montréal Festival kicked off. The SOCAN Foundation, as well as SODEC, Musicaction, and the Consulate General of France in Québec, participated financially to support the camp, which focused on pop and urban music. 

The participants from Québec were:
– Vanessa Roque (Bloc-Notes Music)
– Urhiel Madran-Cyr (Outloud)
– Shawn Jobin (1 2 3 Productions)
– Miro Belzil (Rosemarie Records)
– Étienne Dupuis-Cloutier (Bloc Notes Music)
– Antoine Poireau (Coop Faux-Monnayeurs) 

The participants from France were:
– Marion Aldebert (Essembe)
– Rémy Béesau (Balandras Éditions)
– Lister Haussman (Melmax Music)
– Yacine Mdarhri Alaoui (Musigamy)
– Sébastien Victoire (Sakifo Production)
– Louis Dureau (Universal Music Publishing France) 



The 2022 edition of the annual Gala alternatif de la musique indépendante du Québec (GAMIQ) was held both online and in person on Nov. 28, 2022, at Montréal’s Plaza Theater. All told, 37 Lucien Awards – the trophy named in honour of the lead singer of legendary band Aut’Chose, Lucien Francoeur – were given out during the event.

Among the most prestigious honours, Lou-Adriane Cassidy won the Artist of the Year Award while Tamara Weber won Breakthrough Artist of the Year, while Bibi Club won the 2023 Artist to Watch award. This year’s event was dedicated to the late Karim Ouellet, and paid tribute to René Lussier, a prolific and innovative musician, and creator of the cult album Le Trésor de la langue, among others.

Here’s the full list of award winners at the 17th annual GAMIQ:

  • ARTIST OF THE YEAR: Lou-Adriane Cassidy
  • ARTIST TO WATCH IN 2023: Bibi Club
  • BREAKTHROUGH: Tamara Weber
  • ROCK: Gros Mené – Pax et Bonum
  • POST-PUNK/POST-ROCK: Yoo Doo Right — A Murmur, Boundless to the East
  • ELECTRO: Super Plage – Électro-vacances
  • ROOTS: Les Tireux d’Roches – Tapiskwan Sipi
  • EXPERIMENTAL : Ping Pong Go – Ping Pong Go
  • PUNK : Fuck Toute – Coké Computer
  • METAL: BARF – Région Sauvage
  • INDIE ROCK EP: Allô Fantôme – Allô Fantôme
  • INDIE-ROCK ALBUM: Choses Sauvages – Choses Sauvages II
  • COUNTRY : Ben Claveau – La route est longue jusqu’au top
  • JAZZ: Jazz Street Boyz—JSB3
  • WORLD MUSIC: Le Winston Band – Enwèye à Lafayette
  • FOLK EP: Natasha Kanapé – Nui Pimuten
  • FOLK ALBUM : Mon Doux Saigneur – Fleur de l’Âge
  • NON-QUÉBEC-BASED: Les Hôtesses d’Hilaire – Pas l’temps d’niaiser
  • RAP/HIP HOP EP : Magi Merlin – Gone Girl
  • ROCK EP: Elephant Stone – Le voyage de M. Lonely dans la lune
  • RAP/HIP HOP ALBUM: Naya Ali – Godspeed: Elevated
  • POP EP : Clay and Friends – AGUÀ
  • POP ALBUM : Lydia Képinski – Depuis
  • VIDEO (ANIMATION+) : P’tit Belliveau – “RRSP/Grosse pièce”
  • VIDEO (PUBLIC’S CHOICE) : Laura Gagné – “ L’amour me va”
  • VIDEO (DIY): Cirrhose et Cendrier – “Ça sent l’brûlé”
  • VIDEO (BIG BUSINESS) : Lydia Képinski – “MTL me déteste”
  • VIDEO (SME): Barry Paquin Roberge – “Eyes on You”
  • VIDEO (WTF): P’tit Belliveau – “J’feel comme un alien”
  • COMMUNITY ORGANIZATION OR INITIATIVE: Le Phoque OFF PRO
  • FESTIVAL : La Noce
  • PRODUCER: Spectacles Bonzaï
  • PRESS RELATIONS AND PROMOTION: Larissa Relations Médias
  • VENUE: Le Pantoum
  • LABEL: Secret City Records
  • MANAGEMENT TEAM: Coop Les Faux-Monnayeurs
  • MEDIA: Le Canal Auditif

 



One would think the pandemic would have been fatal for a group like Bon Enfant. In a collective like this – some might call it a “supergroup” – where virtually every member has either a history of various musical experience, or a well-established solo career, even a temporary ban from performing in front of their fans could have easily resulted in a loss of motivation to move the project forward. However, the main creative duo of Daphné Brissette and Guillaume Chiasson, supported by Alex Burger, Étienne Côté (Lumière), and Mélissa Fortin, have doubled down. Thanks to their waiver, giving them the right to gather to record their second album, Diorama, they’ve beaten the odds, and even went on to win the Félix for Album of the Year – Rock, at the First Gala de l’ADISQ, on Nov. 2, 2022.

We spoke with the band after their win to find out how they manage to make everyone’s ego feel creatively equal.

Bon Enfant video thumbnail

Click the image to watch the Bon Enfant interview