Les Cowboys Fringants are a

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

folk rock Folk rock is a hybrid music genre that combines the elements of folk and rock music, which arose in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom in the mid-1960s. In the U.S., folk rock emerged from the folk music revival. Performers suc ...

music group formed in 1995 in

Repentigny, Quebec Repentigny () is an off-island suburb of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is located north of the city on the lower end of the L'Assomption River, and on the Saint Lawrence River. Repentigny and Charlemagne were the first towns off the eastern tip ...

. The French word ''fringant'' can be translated as "dashing", or "frisky". They perform '' Québécois''

néo-trad Néo-trad is a musical style from Quebec that arose around the turn of the 21st century. It can be considered a subgenre of '' Québécois'' Folk music. The term combines the Greek prefix ''neo'', meaning ''new'', and the contraction of the word ...

music (modernized Quebec

folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has b ...

with a rock flavour) and draw on

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

. They have an international underground following, especially in France, French-speaking

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

and

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

. Band members hail from the

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 ...

suburbs of Repentigny and L'Assomption. The entire band collaborates on the lyrics, although guitarist Jean-François Pauzé often contributes more than the others. The band are known for their live performances, captured on the ''

Attache ta tuque! ''Attache ta tuque !'' is a 2003 double live album by Québécois néo-trad band Les Cowboys Fringants Les Cowboys Fringants are a Quebec folk rock music group formed in 1995 in Repentigny, Quebec. The French word ''fringant'' can be transla ...

'' live album and the ''Centre Bell 30 décembre 2003'' DVD. The band has won 17

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, ...

, including five at the 2020 edition of the ceremony.

Overview

''Les Cowboys'' represent an important part of modern ''Québécois'' music. They are part of the

movement that appeared in Quebec around the turn of the 21st century, and they embody a resurgence of

political Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that studies ...

songwriting. As the néo-trad movement adapts Quebec folklore into contemporary crafts, the political message of the band is a re-occurrence of 1970s

chansonnier A chansonnier ( ca, cançoner, oc, cançonièr, Galician and pt, cancioneiro, it, canzoniere or ''canzoniéro'', es, cancionero) is a manuscript or printed book which contains a collection of chansons, or polyphonic and monophonic settings o ...

activist messages of left-wing

solidarity ''Solidarity'' is an awareness of shared interests, objectives, standards, and sympathies creating a psychological sense of unity of groups or classes. It is based on class collaboration.''Merriam Webster'', http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictio ...

and, recently,

sovereignism Sovereigntism, sovereignism or souverainism (from french: souverainisme, , meaning the ideology of sovereignty) is the notion of having control over one's conditions of existence, whether at the level of the self, social group, region, nation o ...

. They also sometimes adopt a

minimalist In visual arts, music and other media, minimalism is an art movement that began in post–World War II in Western art, most strongly with American visual arts in the 1960s and early 1970s. Prominent artists associated with minimalism include Don ...

and dadaesque style, a trend of the Quebec music scene of the 2000s – a decade of voluntary simple yet nonetheless quite intelligent and

joual ''Joual'' () is an accepted name for the linguistic features of Quebec French that are associated with the French-speaking working class in Montreal which has become a symbol of national identity for some. ''Joual'' is stigmatized by some and ce ...

lyrics, therefore

subversive Subversion () refers to a process by which the values and principles of a system in place are contradicted or reversed in an attempt to transform the established social order and its structures of power, authority, hierarchy, and social norms. Sub ...

and akin to a sort of lyrical

naïve art Naïve art is usually defined as visual art that is created by a person who lacks the formal education and training that a professional artist undergoes (in anatomy, art history, technique, perspective, ways of seeing). When this aesthetic is ...

. The group's songs cover environmentalism, and poverty, as well as the denouncing of

consumerism Consumerism is a social and economic order that encourages the acquisition of goods and services in ever-increasing amounts. With the Industrial Revolution, but particularly in the 20th century, mass production led to overproduction—the supp ...

exploitation Exploitation may refer to: *Exploitation of natural resources *Exploitation of labour ** Forced labour *Exploitation colonialism *Slavery ** Sexual slavery and other forms *Oppression *Psychological manipulation In arts and entertainment *Exploi ...

, state-controlled gambling, and

political apathy In political science, political apathy is a lack of interest or apathy towards politics. It can consist of interest apathy, voter apathy, and information apathy. It can be categorized as the indifference of an individual and a lack of interest in ...

. While some of those subjects are serious in appearance, they are often treated in a light manner, sometimes even in a fun or ironic way. The band also deals with themes of Quebec history,

Quebec independence The Quebec sovereignty movement (french: Mouvement souverainiste du Québec) is a political movement whose objective is to achieve the sovereignty of Quebec, a province of Canada since 1867, including in all matters related to any provision of ...

, suburban life, childhood and adolescence,

kitsch Kitsch ( ; loanword from German) is a term applied to art and design that is perceived as naïve imitation, overly-eccentric, gratuitous, or of banal taste. The avant-garde opposed kitsch as melodramatic and superficial affiliation with ...

, relationships and sports. Their songwriting is renowned for having woven an elaborate tapestry of fictional characters with

interpersonal The concept of interpersonal relationship involves social associations, connections, or affiliations between two or more people. Interpersonal relationships vary in their degree of intimacy or self-disclosure, but also in their duration, in t ...

relationships, and sometimes a number of these characters appear in more than one song. Much like their writing, the clothes of the male members of the band are quite unique, sometimes purposely ''normal'' or ''kitsch'' and something of a

postmodern Postmodernism is an intellectual stance or mode of discourseNuyen, A.T., 1992. The Role of Rhetorical Devices in Postmodernist Discourse. Philosophy & Rhetoric, pp.183–194. characterized by skepticism toward the " grand narratives" of moderni ...

, second degree artistic statement. The band themselves are noted fans of ''

Passe-Partout ''Passe-Partout'' (; ) was a Quebec French-language children's television program produced by Radio-Québec (later Télé-Québec) that was originally in production from 1977 to 1993, and was revived in 2019 with a new cast. It aired on Radio- ...

'' composer Pierre F. Brault and have performed shows in his honour. They have also been influenced by French singer

Renaud Renaud Pierre Manuel Séchan (), known as Renaud (), born 11 May 1952, is a French singer, songwriter and actor. His characteristically 'broken' voice makes for a very distinctive vocal style. Several of his songs are popular classics in F ...

, and his songs with political messages and local popular language. Many of the idiosyncrasies of their music stem from Marie-Annick Lépine, a versatile musician, who makes the band line-up distinct from the conventional guitar-bass-drums-singer. Her talents contribute to the vivacious sounds of instruments like the violin,

mandolin A mandolin ( it, mandolino ; literally "small mandola") is a stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally plucked with a pick. It most commonly has four courses of doubled strings tuned in unison, thus giving a total of 8 ...

and

accordion Accordions (from 19th-century German ''Akkordeon'', from ''Akkord''—"musical chord, concord of sounds") are a family of box-shaped musical instruments of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone type (producing sound as air flows past a reed ...

. The band went on tour in summer of 2011, visiting cities in Quebec, France and Switzerland. In 2021, the band released a

concert film A concert film, or concert movie, is a film that showcases a live performance from the perspective of a concert goer, the subject of which is an extended live performance or concert by either a musician or a stand-up comedian. Early history The ...

, ''L'Amérique pleure'', featuring songs performed in wild locations in Quebec, directed by Louis-Philippe Eno. It was released as an on-demand digital film.

Members

2016-10 Les Cowboys fringants Concert metropolis 03

Current lineup: * Karl Tremblay - vocals * Jean-François "J-F" Pauzé - rhythm guitar * Marie-Annick Lépine - violin, mandolin, accordion, piano, banjo * Jérôme Dupras - bass guitar, double bass Previous members: * Dominique "Domlebo" Lebeau - drums – Left in 2007, citing personal reasons

Discography

;Studio albums *''12 Grandes chansons'' (1997) *''Sur mon canapé'' (1998) *''

Motel Capri ''Motel Capri'' is the third album by Québécois néo-trad band Les Cowboys Fringants. Track listing #Su' mon big Wheel (c'tait le fun) (Pauzé) – 0:11 #Le plombier (Pauzé) – 3:03 #Québécois de souche (Lebeau) – 2:04 #Awikatchikaën (Tr ...

'' (4 April 2000) *''

Break syndical ''Break syndical'' is the fourth album by Québécois néo-trad band Les Cowboys Fringants. Track listing #En berne (Pauzé) – 4:08 #La tête à Papineau (Pauzé, Lépine) – 4:30 #Toune d'automne (Pauzé, Lepine) – 3:34 #Heavy metal (Pauzé ...

'' (5 March 2002) *''

La Grand-Messe ''La Grand-Messe'' is the sixth album by Québécois néo-trad band Les Cowboys Fringants. Track listing #Intro (Lépine) - 1:05 #Les étoiles filantes (Pauzé) - 4:25 #Ti-cul (Pauzé) - 3:08 #8 secondes (Pauzé) - 4:05 #Plus rien (Pauzé) - 3:3 ...

'' (23 November 2004) *''

L'expédition ''L'expédition'' is an album by Les Cowboys Fringants. It was released in September 2008 and reached the number one spot on the Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the officia ...

'' (23 September 2008) *''

Sur un air de déjà vu ''Sur un air de déjà vu'' is a studio album released in 2008 by Québécois néo-trad band Les Cowboys Fringants Les Cowboys Fringants are a Quebec folk rock music group formed in 1995 in Repentigny, Quebec. The French word ''fringant'' can ...

'' (14 October 2008) *''

Que du vent ''Que du vent'' is a studio album released in 2011 by Québécois néo-trad band Les Cowboys Fringants. It reached number 1 in Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the officia ...

'' (14 November 2011) *'' Octobre'' (23 October 2015) *''Les antipodes'' (4 October 2019) *''Les nuits de Repentigny'' (12 March 2021) ;Compilations *''

Enfin Réunis ''Enfin Réunis'' (''Finally Reunited'') is the name of the fifth album by Québécois néo-trad band Les Cowboys Fringants. It's a double album (2 CD). This album is actually the first two albums by Les Cowboys Fringants '' 12 grandes chansons'' ...

(12 grandes chansons + Sur Mon Canapé)'' (20 November 2001) ;Live albums *''

'' (13 May 2003) *''Au Grand Théâtre de Québec'' (2007) *''

En concert au Zénith de Paris ''En concert au Zénith de Paris'' is a live album recorded in Paris, France, which was released in 2010 by the Québécois néo-trad band Les Cowboys Fringants Les Cowboys Fringants are a Quebec folk rock music group formed in 1995 in Repen ...

'' (2010) ;Recorded concerts *''Centre Bell 30 décembre 2003'' – (13 April 2004)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cowboys Fringants, Les Musical groups established in 1997 Musical groups from Montreal Canadian folk rock groups People from Repentigny, Quebec 1997 establishments in Quebec Félix Award winners Quebec sovereigntists

Overview

Members

Discography

See also

References

External links