Franck Deweare (pronounced "de-vair"), also known by his stage name Deweare, and previously as Franck Marx, is a musician native to

Verdun Verdun (, , , ; official name before 1970 ''Verdun-sur-Meuse'') is a large city in the Meuse department in Grand Est, northeastern France. It is an arrondissement of the department. Verdun is the biggest city in Meuse, although the capital ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

, who has been based out of

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 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 ...

since 2004. Deweare's style, both lyrically and vocally, has been compared to that of Serge Gainsbourg, due to his rough yet seductive voice and dark lyrics.Bottenberg, Rupert, “Viable geometry, instant poetry >> French transplant Deweare finds momentum in Montreal”, ''Montreal Mirror'', Apr 19–25, 2007, Vol. 22 No. 43
Retrieved November 18, 2008Poitras, Marie Hélène, "Deweare: Le déserteur", ''Voir'', May 25, 2006
(French text) Retrieved November 11, 2008Risler, Clémence, "Le rêve américain", ''Voir'', Apr 19, 2007
(French text) Retrieved November 11, 2008
(French text) Retrieved November 11, 2008

Early career

Deweare's music was greatly influenced by the resurgence of French

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

cult bands such as

Bérurier Noir Bérurier noir is a French punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk ro ...

and

Ludwig von 88 Ludwig von 88 is a French punk rock and alternative rock band mostly active in the 1980s and 1990s, celebrated in the French underground scene. The band has not released any new material since 2019 but has not officially disbanded. Their music i ...

, as well as by rock musician, comedian and poet

Alain Bashung Alain Bashung (, born Alain Claude Baschung; 1 December 1947 – 14 March 2009) was a French singer, songwriter and actor. Credited with reviving the French chanson in "a time of French musical turmoil", he is often regarded in his home country a ...

and by American music artist Beck—another musician to whom Deweare's vocals have been compared. Deweare stated in a 2006 interview: "It's eckthat inspired me to sing, to produce something aesthetic." Prior to coming to Canada, Deweare moved to

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

and recorded some material under the name Franck Marx, on the same label as Belgian rock band dEUS. His work under the Marx moniker leaned towards a more aggressive rock/ grunge sound.

Move to Montreal

Deweare has stated in more than one interview that his reason for leaving France was due to the political climate and the increasing racial tensions within the country. He stated that he chose Canada because he thought of the country as "an example of integration working." By chance, Deweare struck-up a conversation with Québécoise musician

Ariane Moffatt Ariane Moffatt (born 26 April 1979) is a Canadian singer-songwriter. Known for working across multiple musical genres, Moffatt's music combines elements of electronica, jazz, folk, and pop. A francophone, she is bilingual and has recorded track ...

in 2004 during a flight delay at

Charles de Gaulle Airport Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport (french: Aéroport de Paris-Charles-de-Gaulle, ), also known as Roissy Airport or simply Paris CDG, is the principal airport serving the French capital, Paris ( and its metropolitan area), and the largest intern ...

on his way to Canada for the very first time. After listening to some of his demos, Moffat connected Deweare with some local, Montreal talent—including the members of electro-jazz band

Plaster Plaster is a building material used for the protective or decorative coating of walls and ceilings and for moulding and casting decorative elements. In English, "plaster" usually means a material used for the interiors of buildings, while "re ...

, who wound up backing him on his debut album, ''High Class Trauma''. Since coming to Canada, Deweare has collaborated with many North American artists: He performed live with Moffat and wrote the song "Tes invectives" on her 2008 album ''Tous les sens'', he provided vocals for

Afrodizz Afrodizz is an eight-member afrobeat/afrofunk band from Montreal. Their music is a modern mix of afrobeat, jazz and funk, that has been described as having nuances of The Herbaliser and Tony Allen.McLeod, Erin, "Reach to teach >> Montrealer And ...

on their song "Fashion Terrorist" from their album ''Froots'', and he has also worked with

Cyndi Lauper Cynthia Ann Stephanie Lauper Thornton (born June 22, 1953) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and activist. Her career has spanned over 40 years. Her album ''She's So Unusual'' (1983) was the first debut album by a female artist to achi ...

and

The Herbaliser The Herbaliser is an English jazz hip hop group formed by Jake Wherry and Ollie Teeba in London, England during the early 1990s. Although currently releasing on their own label and having previously been signed to !K7 Records, they were one o ...

.Robillard Laveaux, Olivier "Ariane Moffatt: Soutenable légèreté de l'être", ''Voir'', Apr 24, 2008
(French text) Retrieved November 9, 2008

''High Class Trauma''

''High Class Trauma'' was released in 2006 on the Milagro Records label, and was the first album that the artist had released under the moniker "Deweare". The album is a mixture of grunge-like guitar and electronica and is at times atmospheric, much like a movie soundtrack; the songs are all performed in English and some contain hints of trip-hop and jazz. On the album Deweare collaborated with many Québécois artists; Deweare received assistance from Éloi Painchaud from the band Okoumé as well as Plaster bandmembers Jean-Phi Goncalves and Alex MacMahon. The first single off the album "The New Dawn" features fellow Montreal vocalist

Béatrice Bonifassi Béatrice "Betty" Bonifassi (born 1971) is a Canadian vocalist based in Montreal. She has a deep, contralto singing voice, sometimes referred to as "masculine",> Montreal’s Beast pairs a famous singer with a beatsmith to the stars”, ''Montr ...

—the song is a cover of

Nina Simone Eunice Kathleen Waymon (February 21, 1933 – April 21, 2003), known professionally as Nina Simone (), was an American singer, songwriter, pianist, and civil rights activist. Her music spanned styles including classical, folk, gospel, blu ...

's rendition of Feeling Good which appeared on her 1965 album ''I Put a Spell on You''. The album was also mixed by Carl Bastien, who has worked with many Québécois artists such as

Daniel Bélanger Daniel Bélanger (born December 26, 1961) is a Canadian singer-songwriter. His music is eclectic, inspired by alternative rock, folk and electronic music, sometimes humorous, sometimes wistful. Biography In middle 1983, he founded the band Hu ...

, Dumas and

Jean-Pierre Ferland Jean-Pierre Ferland, (born June 24, 1934, in Montreal, Quebec) is a Canadian singer and songwriter. Life and career Ferland began work with Radio-Canada in 1956 as an accountant, but his career there was short lived. Shortly after, he began ...

Other projects

Deweare is currently working on a new album which will feature songs sung in French. The album's release has been planned for the fall of 2008 and the single ''Laisse aller'' can be heard on Deweare's MySpace page.Robillard Laveaux, Olivier, "Chronique Scène Locale: Le papa de Fred", ''Voir'', Jul 9, 2008
(French text) Retrieved November 11, 2008 In early 2009, Deweare collaborated with

and co-wrote "L'homme de la situation" on

Amandine Bourgeois Amandine Bourgeois (; born 12 June 1979, in Angoulême, Charente) is a French singer. She was the winner of the sixth edition of the French version of the ''Pop Idol'' series ''Nouvelle Star'' in 2008. On 26 July 2014, Bourgeois participated i ...

's first album (released June 1).Paperblog,"Amandine Bourgeois, L'Homme De La Situation (video)", ''Paper Blog'', May 19, 2009
(French text) Retrieved May 19, 2009

References

External links

Deweare on MySpace

Deweare's bio on the Milagro Records website
{{authority control French expatriates in Canada French Quebecers Musicians from Montreal French rock singers French rock guitarists French male guitarists Canadian rock singers Canadian rock guitarists Canadian male guitarists Place of birth missing (living people) Living people Year of birth missing (living people)