Karkwa is an

indie rock Indie rock is a subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the music they produc ...

band from

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...

, Quebec, Canada, formed in 1998.

History

Formed in 1998, the group consists of vocalist and guitarist

Louis-Jean Cormier Louis-Jean Cormier (born May 26, 1980 in Sept-Îles, Quebec) is a Canadian indie rock singer and songwriter. Formerly associated with the band Karkwa,"Great Expectations; Louis-Jean Cormier reclaims his own identity with his second solo album". ' ...

, keyboardist François Lafontaine, bass guitarist Martin Lamontagne, percussionist Julien Sagot, and drummer Stéphane Bergeron. The band's name is a phonetic rendering of ''carquois'' (French for a

quiver A quiver is a container for holding arrows, bolts, ammo, projectiles, darts, or javelins. It can be carried on an archer's body, the bow, or the ground, depending on the type of shooting and the archer's personal preference. Quivers were trad ...

of arrows). After reaching the final stages of the Francouvertes contest in 2001, the band released its debut album, ''Le Pensionnat des établis'', in 2003. The album's single "Poisson cru" reached the top of Quebec's campus radio charts, and was named the best album of the year by two critics for Montreal's alternative weekly ''

Voir ''Voir'' was a francophone alternative weekly newspaper in Montreal, Quebec, published by Communications Voir. ''Voir'' was founded by Pierre Paquet in November 1986. The first issue of the newspaper was published on 27 November 1986. Later on t ...

''. The band's second album, ''Les Tremblements s’immobilisent'', won three Félix Awards in 2006. In 2007, they were featured, along with

The Stills The Stills were a Canadian rock band from Montreal, Quebec, formed in 2000 and disbanded in 2011. History The band's original lineup consisted of lead vocalist and guitarist Tim Fletcher, guitarist Gregory Paquet, bassist Olivier Corbeil and dr ...

The Besnard Lakes The Besnard Lakes ( ) are a Canadian indie rock band from Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Formed in 2003 by the husband and wife team of Jace Lasek and Olga Goreas, the band also includes Kevin Laing (drums), Richard White (guitar), Sheenah Ko (keyboa ...

and Mahjor Bidet, on the bill of Quebec Scene, a concert in Ottawa sponsored by

CBC Radio 3 CBC Radio 3 is a Canadian digital radio station operated by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, which plays a relatively freeform mix of indie rock, indie pop, alternative hip hop, folk, country and electronic music. The service, which la ...

On the third album, '' Le Volume du vent'', as the band further expanded its reach into English Canada, guest musicians included Patrick Watson and Elizabeth Powell. The album was a longlisted nominee for the

2008 Polaris Music Prize The 2008 edition of the Canadian Polaris Music Prize was presented on September 30, 2008, at the Phoenix Concert Theatre in Toronto. The prize was won by Caribou for his album ''Andorra''. Unlike in prior years, the Polaris Prize committee did ...

. Their fourth album, ''

Les Chemins de verre ''Les Chemins de verre'' is the fourth studio album by Canadian indie rock group Karkwa. The album's title literally translates as "The Glass Pathways" or "The Glass Roads", although it is also a pun on the French language phrase ''chemins de fe ...

'', was recorded in Paris, France. The album won the 2010 Polaris Music Prize and the 2011 Juno Award for Francophone Album of the Year. In December 2011, the band announced that it would release a live album in 2012, followed by a hiatus."Karkwa Plot Live Album, Announce Hiatus"
'' Exclaim!'', December 14, 2011. The album debuted at number 25 on the Canadian Albums Chart. Lead singer Louis-Jean Cormier released his debut solo album, ''Le treizième étage'', in 2012. The album won Francophone Album of the Year at the

Juno Awards of 2013 The Juno Awards of 2013 honoured Canadian music industry achievements in the latter part of 2011 and in most of 2012. The awards were presented in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada, during the weekend of 20–21 April 2013. The main ceremony was hoste ...

. In June 2013, ''Le treizième étage'' was longlisted for the

2013 Polaris Music Prize The 2013 edition of the Canadian Polaris Music Prize was presented on September 23, 2013

. Percussionist Julien Sagot has also released the solo albums ''Piano mal'' (2012), ''Valse 333'' (2014), ''Bleu Jane'' (2017) and ''Sagot'' (2021). On July 7, 2018, the band performed a reunion show at the La Noce festival in Saguenay."5000 personnes pour le spectacle de Karkwa à Saguenay"

Ici Radio-Canada ICI or Ici may refer to: Companies and organisations * ICI Homes, builder, Florida. US * Former UK Imperial Chemical Industries ** ICI Australia, later Orica * Independent Curators International, New York City, US * Indian Concrete Institute * I ...

, July 7, 2018.

Members

Past

*Stéphane Bergeron – drums (1998–2012) *Louis-Jean Cormier – guitars and vocals (1998–2012) *François Lafontaine – keyboards and acoustic guitar (1998–2012) *Martin Lamontagne – bass guitar (2001–2012) *Julien Sagot – percussions and vocals (1998–2012) File:Karkwa IMG 6735.jpg, Stéphane Bergeron File:Karkwa IMG 6738.jpg, Julien Sagot File:Karkwa IMG 6741.jpg, Louis-Jean Cormier *Michel Gagnon – guitars and vocals (1998–2001) *Martin Pelletier – bass guitar (1998–2001)

Discography

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Karkwa Musical groups established in 1998 Canadian indie rock groups Musical groups from Montreal Polaris Music Prize winners Audiogram (label) artists Juno Award for Francophone Album of the Year winners 1998 establishments in Quebec