“Parler aux anges,” a song co-written by Nancy Dumais and Tino Izzo in 1997, became a SOCAN Classic during the 30th SOCAN Awards Gala, held Sept. 22, 2019, at Montréal’s La Tohu. The spong was drawn from Nancy Dumais’ critically acclaimed first album, and was nominated at the time for the Popular Song of the Year Félix Award. The Lac-Saint-Jean native – who describes herself as a former timid person, transformed into a “nearly brazen” one because of music – met with SOCAN for an interview at the event. We asked about the genesis of her SOCAN Classic, and why we haven’t heard from her in a long time, even though she admitted, while accepting the award, that she has a few songs in her back pocket.
Photo by Benoit Rousseau
Photo by SOCAN
Dan Mangan wins songwriter honour at 2019 Western Canadian Music Awards
Story by Howard Druckman | Monday October 7th, 2019
Dan Mangan won the SOCAN-sponsored Songwriter of the Year Award for his song “Cold in the Summer” at the 2019 edition of the Western Canadian Music Awards (WCMAs) in Whitehorse on Oct. 3, during the BreakOut West conference. The same night, the duo also won Rock Artist of the Year honours.
Susan Aglukark was inducted into the Western Canadian Music Association Hall of Fame, while Hank Carr received the 2019 Heritage Award.
Among the other winners were Snotty Nose Rez Kids, who earned the BreakOut Artist of the Year Award (after winning the Rap/Hip Hop Artist of the Year Award last year); Carmen Braden, who the Classical Composer of the Year honour; Rayannah, who took home the Francophone Artist of the Year recognition; and Northern Haze, who won Indigenous Artist of the Year. The complete list of nominees and winners is available here.
SOCAN also presented a Song House writing camp during BreakOut West 2019, allowing our member participants the opportunity to develop the craft of writing a hit song.
Photo by Benoit Rousseau
SOCAN 30th Montréal Awards: Steve Marin steps out of the shadows
Story by Eric Parazelli | Friday October 4th, 2019
Thanks to hits like “Qu’est-ce que tu dirais ?” and “Comme avant,” both of which topped the charts for several weeks, Steve Marin has in many ways become the third brother of Sonny and Erik Caouette, better known as the duo 2Frères. Marin has become their most trusted collaborator, and even wrote a bespoke and very intimate song for the siblings, “Mom” – a tribute to their mother. While this alliance has given his career a boost, the Sainte-Anne-des-Monts-born creator is far from a newcomer. He started as a singer-songwriter, and released two albums before moving on to write professionally for other well-established artists, like Roch Voisine, Paul Daraîche, Isabelle Boulay, Ginette Reno, and Mario Pelchat. SOCAN met with him after he received the very first Non-Performing Songwriter of the Year trophy at the 30th SOCAN Awards Gala on Sept. 22, 2019, at Montréal’s La Tohu.