Photo by courtesy of / courtoisie des Prix Gémeaux. Left to right/De gauche à droite : Anaïs Larocque, Patrick Lavoie, FM Le Sieur

Three SOCAN #ComposersWhoScore win in 2022 Gémeaux Awards

Story by Eric Parazelli | Wednesday September 21st, 2022

The Soirée des artisans et du documentaire (Creators and Documentary Gala) of the 37th Gémeaux Awards took place on Sept. 15, 2022. Among the 14 SOCAN members who were nominated in the musical categories of this celebration of Québec television, FM Le Sieur, Anaïs Larocque, and Patrick Lavoie each took home a trophy celebrating their outstanding achievements.

The winners in the music categories are:

Best Original Music: Fiction
FM LE SIEUR
Doute raisonnable – Episode 2
Aetios Productions
Publishers: Les Éditions FMLS Internationals (maison d’édition de FM Le Sieur), Aetios Distribution Inc.

Best Original Score: Documentary
ANAÏS LAROCQUE
La goutte de trop
Films Extérieur Jour

Best Musical Theme: All Categories
PATRICK LAVOIE
C’est comme ça que je t’aime – Season 2, Episode 11 – Les fleurs de René »
Productions Casablanca
Publishers : Éditions Chloe Inc., Productions Patrick Lavoie

SOCAN congratulates its members on their nominations and proud achievements, and commends the excellence of our film music composer members’ work. For more information on categories and nominations, visit the website of the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television.

Photo by Marie-Michèle Bouchard

2022 ADISQ Awards nominations are in

Story by Éric Parazelli | Thursday September 22nd, 2022

On Wednesday, Sept. 21, 2022, ADISQ unveiled the list of this year’s nominees for the annual ADISQ Awards, to be hosted once again by Louis-José Houde. The television Award presentation on ICI Radio-Canada Télé is scheduled for Sunday, Nov. 6, 2022.  

In total, 26 Félix statuettes will be presented in Montréal as part of three ceremonies: the Gala de l’industrie, at 8:00 p.m. ET, on Nov. 16, at Club Soda; the Premier Gala de l’ADISQ, Nov. 2, at MTELUS, airing on Télé-Québec at 8:00 p.m. ET; and the Gala de l’ADISQ, Nov. 6, at 8:00 p.m. ET, on ICI Radio-Canada Télé. 

Leading the list of nominations is Hubert Lenoir with 11 , followed by Lisa LeBlanc and Les Cowboys Fringants, with more than five nominations each, while 2Frères, Cœur de pirate, Jay Scøtt, Patrick Watson, Roxane Bruneau, and Salebarbes each have four to their credit.  

Once again this year, SOCAN members will get a chance to make their mark in the various categories, including Songwriter or Composer of the Year, for which the nominees are: 

  • Lou-Adriane Cassidy, Alexandre Martel/Lou-Adriane Cassidy for Lou-Adriane Cassidy vous dit: Bonsoir 
  • Lisa LeBlanc, Benoit Morier, Michel Roy, Léandre Bourgeois for Chiac Disco  
  • Salomé Leclerc for Mille ouvrages mon cœur  
  • Hubert Lenoir for PICTURA DE IPSE: Musique directe 
  • Vincent Roberge, Félix Petit for Crash, Les Louanges

SOCAN is partnering this year with ADISQ to present two internationally-themed awards: Artist of the Year – International influence, and International Collaboration of the Year. Nominees in those two categories are:  

ARTIST OF THE YEAR – INTERNATIONAL INFLUENCE  

  • Jean-Michel Blais 
  • Cœur de pirate 
  • Hubert Lenoir 
  • Les Cowboys Fringants 
  • Klô Pelgag 
  • Suuns 
  • Patrick Watson 

INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATION OF THE YEAR 

  • Cruzito w. Ken-Y for the song/video Como Ayer 
  • D-Track w. Akhénaton for the song/video Soroche 
  • Hubert Lenoir w. Bonnie Banane for the song/video OCTEMBRE 
  • Patrick Watson w. Teresa Salgueiro for the song A Mermaid in Lisbon 

Members of the audience will also have an opportunity to assist the Academy by voting for their favourite of the 10 songs nominated in the Song of the Year category: 

“Sous le même toit”, 2Frères
Songwriter: Steve Marin
Publishers: Éditions du Baume, Éditions Musicor 

“L’écho”,Ludovick Bourgeois
Songwriters: Steve Marin, Ludovick Bourgeois, Fred St-Gelais
Publishers: Les Éditions Bloc-Notes Musique, Éditions Lo Phat, Éditions Lao, Éditions LA-be 

“Si jamais on me cherche”, Roxane Bruneau
Songwriters: Roxane Bruneau, Mathieu Brisset
Publishers: Les Éditions Musique Variole enr., Les Éditions Inspire 

“Bouge Ton Thang”, Clay and Friends
Singer-songwriters: Michael Mlakar, Adel Kazi-Aoual, Émile Désilets, Clément Langlois-Légaré, Pascal Boisseau 

“On s’aimera toujours”, Cœur de Pirate
Songwriter: Béatrice Marin
Publisher: Édition Bravo Musique 

“Copilote”, FouKi w. Jay Scøtt
Songwriters: Léo Fougères, Pier-Luc Jean Papineau, Tom St- Laurent, Clément Langlois-Légaré, Adel Kazi-Aoual
Publisher: Disques 7ième Ciel 

“Pourquoi faire aujourd’hui (Version radio) ”, Lisa LeBlanc
Songwriters: Lisa LeBlanc, Benoit Morier, Michel Roy, Léandre Bourgeois 

“Ensemble, sensibles”, Ariane Moffatt
Songwriter: Ariane Moffatt
Publisher: Les Éditions Laurea 

“Lord”, Salebarbes
Songwriters: Salebarbes 

“Elle n’entend plus battre son cœur”, Vincent Vallières
Songwriters: Vincent Vallières, Michel-Olivier Gasse, Mathieu Roy
Publisher: Les Éditions Trente Arpents 

SOCAN congratulates all nominees and wishes them good luck!  

For a complete list of nominations, go to the Awards section of the ADISQ website. 

Photo by couretsy of / courtoisie de Polaris Music Prize Gala

Pierre Kwenders wins 2022 edition of $50,000 Polaris Prize

Story by Howard Druckman | Tuesday September 20th, 2022

SOCAN member Pierre Kwenders won the 2022 edition of the $50,000 Polaris Prize for the best album in Canada, on Sept. 19, 2022, at The Carlu in downtown Toronto – in a gala presentation held live and in person for the first time in three years, and open to the general public for the first time.

Kwenders’ winning album José Louis and the Paradox of Love is a kind of origin story, set to songs co-written and recorded with a wide variety of musical collaborators from around the world. The result is a mesmerizing work on which the 11-person Polaris Grand Jury ultimately agreed. If you’d like to read what Kwenders had to say about his winning album when it first came out, click here.

Graciously and gratefully accepting the 17th edition of the award onstage from last year’s winner, Cadence Weapon, Kwenders talked about losing two cousins and his godfather in the past few months, and how thankful he is for all of the little things they did that inspired him, and helped make him who he is today.

“Thank you so much for believing in me,” he told the crowd. “Thank you so much for believing in the story I want to tell. This is a story about so many people: so many African, so many diaspora African guys, young, girls, whatever, moving here, and discovering themselves. I just happened to discover myself, discover who I am, in Canada. And I’m very grateful to Canada for giving me this place to really, really discover myself. This is my story, my African story, my Congolese story, my Canadian story, and this is your story if you want to take it as yours, and make it whatever you want to make it.”

The 2022 Gala featured an intense opening performance from Cadence Weapon, and captivating live performances from the short-list nominees as well, each of whom received a $3,000 prize: a stirring Afro-pop medley from Kwenders; a bouncy Chiac-disco mini-set from Lisa Leblanc; an over-the-top show with a construction-worker theme from Hubert Lenoir; the ‘90s-style rock of Kelly McMichael; the inspired moccasin-gaze music of Ombiigizi; the artful cello stylings of Ouri; some thoughtful, moving rap from Shad, who broke it down to an powerful solo a capella rap; an explosive medley of excerpts of songs from Snotty Nose Rez Kids’ nominated album Life After; and soulful R&B from Charlotte Day Wilson. Nominated indie-rock band Destroyer were touring Europe and couldn’t attend the Gala, so Toronto-based act Fresh Pepper interpreted two of their songs.

Earlier in the evening, at a packed, post-pandemic, and very friendly pre-show reception, SOCAN sponsored each attendee’s first glass of wine, beer, or liquor. As the posted signs said, “Please enjoy your first drink on us.”

In an arrangement made before his Polaris win, Kwenders will be staying at the SOCAN House in Los Angeles for a week during October of 2022, and showcasing there as part of a program co-ordinated by SOCAN, POP Montréal, and the Canadian Consulate in L.A.

SOCAN congratulates Pierre Kwenders, and all of the 2022 short-list nominees, on these great career achievements!