Karkwa is an

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, 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 mu ...

band from

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

, 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 Julien Sagot is a Canadian musician. Formerly a percussionist for the indie rock band Karkwa from 1998 to 2012, since that band's breakup he has released four albums as a solo singer-songwriter.Philippe Renaud"Julien Sagot en solo" ''Le Devoir'', ...

, and drummer Stéphane Bergeron. The band's name is a phonetic rendering of ''carquois'' (French for a quiver of arrows). After reaching the final stages of the

Francouvertes Francouvertes is an annual music festival in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, which spotlights emerging francophone musical artists from Quebec. At the end of each year's festival, three finalists are named, following which a jury presents an award of $1 ...

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 Campus radio (also known as college radio, university radio or student radio) is a type of radio station that is run by the students of a college, university or other educational institution. Programming may be exclusively created or produce ...

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 Felix may refer to: * Felix (name), people and fictional characters with the name Places * Arabia Felix is the ancient Latin name of Yemen * Felix, Spain, a municipality of the province Almería, in the autonomous community of Andalusia, ...

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 dru ...

, The Besnard Lakes and Mahjor Bidet, on the bill of Quebec Scene, a concert in

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

sponsored by CBC Radio 3. Karkwa-2009

On the third album, ''

Le Volume du vent ''Le Volume du vent'' is the third studio album by Canadian indie rock group Karkwa, released in 2008. The album's title literally translates as "The Volume of the Wind". Guest musicians on the album include Patrick Watson, Marie-Pierre Arthur a ...

'', 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 fer' ...

'', was recorded in Paris, France. The album won the

2010 Polaris Music Prize The 2010 edition of the Canadian Polaris Music Prize was presented on September 20, 2010.Juno Award for Francophone Album of the Year The Juno Award for Francophone Album of the Year is an annual award presented by the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (CARAS) for the best French-language album in Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten pro ...

. 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! ''Exclaim!'' is a Canadian music and entertainment publisher based in Toronto, which features in-depth coverage of new music across all genres with a special focus on Canadian and emerging artists. The monthly Exclaim! print magazine publishes 7 ...

'', December 14, 2011. The album debuted at number 25 on the

Canadian Albums Chart The Canadian Albums Chart is the official album sales chart in Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocea ...

. 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. 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, 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