I just got back from a great trip to Ottawa to discover some of the new folk sounds coming out of Ontario's francophone communities and I thought I'd share some of these artists. I was invited to attend the Gala Prix Trille Or, an awards ceremony for Franco-Ontarian artists and I got to check out some of these artists at later showcases. Franco-Ontarian music gets short shrift in Canada, as most francophone music is presumed to come out of the province of Québec, but the reality is that every province of Canada has a sizable francophone population, and Ontario numbers about 500,000! According to the wise sages at Wikipedia, Ontario's the province with the largest francophone population outside of Québec.

While there are interesting French-Canadian folk traditions in Ontario (see Ottawa Valley fiddlers like Pierre Schryer), most of the artists I encountered in Ottawa were more contemporary. But most were also inspired by their traditional roots, and certainly weren't afraid to take these roots in very modern directions. The best example of this is the wildly popular techno-trad band Swing. They take the rhythm and beats of French-Canadian mouth music (la turlutte) and spin them up with hip-hop beats, creating a very conscious link between the rhythm of French-Canadian songs and the rhythm of rap. It works surprisingly well, and Swing has been one of the most innovative francophone bands around for quite some time now. Check out their video for the song "La Goutte" (The Drop) off their new album Tradarnac.

Swing: La Goutte

Another artist that intrigued me was folk songwriter Louis-Philippe Robillard. He had an intense presence on stage and his songs managed to mix witty asides with straight-up anger, a great combo in a folk songwriter. It's tricky for Francophone artists whose art is based in song lyrics to have much of a chance in the States, but I'm hoping that Robillard's charming and combatative persona will cross the language barrier. He's kind of like a young Woody Guthrie who grew up around reggae and hip-hop. You can hear great urban music strains in his folky rhythms. Check out his video (which won the prize for best video at the Gala) for the song "Reflexions d'un bon citoyen" (Reflections of a Good Citizen).

Louis-Philippe Robillard: Réflexions d'un bon citoyen

My hope is that some of the great music coming out of Ontario's francophone communities will be picked up and embraced by music lovers who appreciate and follow French chansons. With artists like Serge and Charlotte Gainsbourg enjoying a renaissance, it seems that more and more American listeners are discovering just how sexy music can be when the French language is mixed in with a dash of jazz and lounge. Andrea Lindsay, another popular singer at the Gala with more than a little jazz chanson influence, is a great example of this. Check out her new video for the song "Le temps de l'amour" (The Time of Love).

Andrea Lindsay: Le temps de l'amour
 

There were other excellent artists at the Gala Prix Trille Or, like Cindy Doire, Le Diable aux Corsets, and Daniel ROA, but I wanted to close with this strangely awesome video from fan favorite songwriter Damien Robitaille. One of the most popular francophone artists outside of Québec, Robitaille won a whole bunch of awards and was beloved by the audience. If his shows have even a fraction of the crazy energy in this video, I can see why!

Damien Robitaille: On est né nu (We're All Born Naked)