Category: World Music

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: JOVM Mainstay Super Plage Shares Breezy “MINI CLUB”

Jules Henry is a Montréal-based singer/songwriter, electronic music producer and creative mastermind behind the acclaimed, JOVM mainstay recording project and Super Plage. Founded back in 2019, Super Plage sees Henry crafting slickly produced, dance floor friendly electro pop that draws from house and nu-disco. He frequently collaborates with local French Canadian artists to create a playful, fun-loving and escapist universe, where it feels good to party. 

Since 2019, Henry has released a handful of albums including 2023’s Magie á minuit, which received an ADISQ Félix Award-nomination for Electronic Album of the Year. Building upon a growing profile, Henry has made a run of both the provincial and international festival circuits, playing sets at Francos de Montréal, FME and Festival d’été de Québec, SXSW, Wide Days and others. He has opened for Miel de Montagne, Juilen Granel, Bon Entendeur, MYD and more. 

Last year’s GROSSE MAISON featured a sleek and daring blend of house, disco and French touch anchored around catchy, downright funky grooves, much like on album single “Tip Top.” 

The French Canadian JOVM mainstay’s fourth album MINI CLUB was just released today through his longtime label home, Lisbon Lux. MINI CLUB sees Henry solidifying his place within Québec’s electronic music scene while bridging the project’s multiple sonic identities throughout its history — the electro pop of MINI CLUB track “PARIS” the house music of last year’s GROSSE MAISON and a decided shift towards tech house of “SÉOUL” feat. Zéa Calla. Rooted in synth and digital driven textures, there is more than enough room for organic textures throughout — including everyday sounds recorded in the studio and on Montréal’s streets. The album’s material sonically is suited for both the club and chilling in the park, but lyrically, it’s rooted in observations and thoughts on everyday life.

MINI CLUB is arguably one of Henry’s most collaborative efforts to date — fellow JOVM mainstay Virignie B.; Zéa Calla, a childhood friend, who he reconnected with; and Hawa B have contributed both vocals and songwriting to the album.

The album includes the previously released “POOL PARTY” featuring longtime collaborator Virginie B. and the album’s latest single, album title track “MINI CLUB.” “MINI CLUB” is a club and lounge friendly that nods a bit at Larry Levan-era house with a looping whistled melody, twinkling and bubbling synths, wobbling bass and skittering beats beneath Henry’s ethereal cooing and crooning.

Directed by Henry, the recently released accompanying video follows Henry as he’s barbecuing in a Montréal park and lounging by a pool — all while playing the song. With fall in full effect in the Northern Hemisphere, the video and the song are a fond reminder of summer — and of summers to come.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Lisa LeBlanc Shares Strutting and Funky “Too Many Cooks”

Acclaimed Rosaireville, NB-born, Montréal-based singer/songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and Acadian icon Lisa LeBlanc will be releasing her sixth album Patchwork on February 5, 2027 through Bonsound. The roots of the album stretch from Moncton, New Brunswick to Lafayette, LA, two cities separated by about 2,200 miles/3,5000 kilometers, a distance that LeBlanc traveled in her van during a two month road trip. In the years leading up to the recording of Patchwork, Leblanc also spent time in Corsica, where she was struck by the rugged landscapes and in Ireland, where the cliffs and traditional music festivals brought her a new creative spark.

While nature plays a significant role for the album, LeBlanc channels her long-held love for 60s and 70s folk and rock to create a lush and rich tapestry of melodies, harmonies and grooves. The album also sees her drawing inspiration from traditional Cajun and Acadian music. The result is a sound that’s original, timeless — and singular. The album’s title is a nod to her grandmother, who, for over 50 years, has been making quilts meticulously from fabric scapes that weren’t originally meant to be sewn together.

Thematically, much like a travel journal, the new album offers observations of everyday life set to music with both sensitivity and humor.

Patchwork will include the previously released, rollicking “Whole Lotta Talkin‘” and the album’s second and latest single, the LeBlanc, Benoit Morier and Eric Heigle co-produced “Too Many Cooks.” A strutting and seamless blend of disco country, folk and Muscle Shoals-era soul “Too Many Cooks” may arguably the most playful and funky song LeBlanc has released to date, featuring contributions from Alabama Shakes‘ Ben Tanner and Dr. John‘s and Social Distortion‘s Ben Alleman on keys and piano; Sébastian Michaud on brass; Les Hôtesses d’Hilaire‘s Mico Roy on guitar; and Maxime Gosselin on drums. Based on the idiomatic phrase “too many cooks in the kitchen . . .,” “Too Many Cooks” points out what would happen when you’d have too many cooks in the kitchen: indecision, confusion, arguments, some sabotage, a wildly disgusting, poorly cooked meal and pissed off dinner guests.

“The music video for ‘Too Many Cooks’ is inspired by a reality cooking show where contestants host the other participants in their homes,” explains LeBlanc. “I’m competing against little mischievous puppets who are trying to sabotage my chances to win. Based on the turn of phrase ‘Too many cooks in the kitchen,’ it’s a quirky, kinda funky, kinda country fun tune!”

Video by William Ruben Helms

Throwback: Happy 102nd Birthday, Celia Cruz!

JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates the 102nd anniversary of the birth of Celia Cruz.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Montréal’s DONALDA Share a Glitchy, Politically-Charged Banger

Montréal-based electronic dance music duo DONALDA — Florence Lafontaine and Olivier Martin-Fréchette — derive their project’s name from the name given to the first women admitted to college in Québec in the late 19th century, and is a nod to the fictional character introduced in Claude-Henri Grignon’s 1933 novel Un homme et son péché, who, for several generations, embodied the consequences of patriarchy. 

Lafontaine and Martin-Fréchette both have an academic background in digital, contemporary mixed-media and instrumental composition, as well as in jazz interpretation. Inspired by UK garage, dubstep, left field bass and other British electronic music sub-genres as well as the queer nightlife scene, the duo take a pedagogical approach to music in order to deconstruct the boundaries of musical genres. While getting people onto the dance floor is their ultimate goal, they also seek to spark musical curiosity among their audience, something that is at the core of their inclusive, unifying philosophy. 

Through composition, sound design and creative coding, the Montréal-based duo tap into their wide-ranging experiences to bring every stage of DONALDA’s creative process to life. And fittingly, their versatility imbued their sound with a coherent and deeply personal artistic identity rooted in a celebration of diversity and inclusion, freedom and the French language. 

Earlier this year, the duo signed to Bonsound. And since then, French Canadian outfit have released “C FOU,” “C BEN D’VALEUR” and their latest single “C CHER.” Translated into English as “It’s expensive,” “C CHER” is one-part footwork, one-part Larry Levan/Chicago-styled house and one-part glitchcore with wobbling bass that references Daniel Lanois’ 1989 song “O Marie,” which focused on the grueling, back-breaking labor of French Canadians who used to work in Ontario’s tobacco fields while also being a critique of the frantic pace of capitalism and its physical and psychological effects. The result is a song that turns collective physical and mental exhaustion into a visceral, deeply universal anthem — and is both a cry of frustration and a call to question a broken system that hinders individual and collective fulfillment.

Directed by Cori & Zacksta, the accompanying visualizer features the French Canadian duo making beats, brushing their teeth, stopping a bloody nose, making beats and hanging out with VHS video glitch and in heat mapped-style footage. It’s as trippy and high energy as the song it accompanies.

Video by William Ruben Helms

Throwback: Happy 88th Birthday, Fela Kuti!

JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates the 88th anniversary of the birth of Fela Kuti.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: JOVM Mainstay Elisapie’s Ethereal Take on The Cranberries’ “Dreams”

Acclaimed Salluit, QC-born, Montréal-based singer/songwriter, musician, actor, activist and JOVM mainstays Elisapie‘s fourth album, 2023’s Inuktitut features inventive re-imaginings of songs by Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Blondie, Fleetwood Mac, Metallica and more, with the album being an act of cultural re-appropriation that reinvigorates the poetry of these beloved songs by placing them within Inuit traditions.

Through the album’s 10 songs, the acclaimed Montréal-based artist tells her story, while offering its songs as a loving gift to her close knit community. But the album is also a testament to the power and remarkably universality of pop music and an ode to the experiences, memories, places and people, who have shaped us.

Recorded for the CBC, APTN and Netflix original series North of North, “Sinnatuumakka (Dreams)” marks the first bit of new material since 2023’s Inuktitut and sees the acclaimed Inuk artist translating and adapting The Cranberries‘ beloved smash-hit 1992 song “Dreams” into her mother tongue. While retaining the familiar and beloved melody of the original, Elisapie’s rendition of the song is a slightly slowed down, more ethereal take that pulls a yearning, escapist thread out to the forefront.

“It’s a song that really resonates with the Inuit world,” says Elisapie. “In the North, it’s cold, and life isn’t always easy. That’s why dreams take on a special place. They’re a way to escape and imagine something else.“

North of North‘s second season, which includes episodes featuring the acclaimed Iunk artist and her new song will launch globally on Netflix later this fall. Set in the Canadian Arctic, the show’s second season sees Siaja (Anna Lambe) still making bold decisions and even bolder mistakes in her effort to level up her life and prove she’s ready to take charge as winter closes in on the Ice Cove community. “It was very moving to see Siaja’s character open up and dream throughout the episodes,” Elisapie says. “This series allows us to dream, and I think the Inuit need that.”

Elisapie was invited by Red Marrow Media and Northwood Entertainment, North of North‘s production team to take part in the show’s second season, which was filmed earlier this year in Iqaluit, NU and Toronto. In addition to making a cameo, she can be seen performing “Sinnatuumakka (Dreams)” and “Arnaq.”

“During the shoot, there were times when I wasn’t sure if it was reality or fiction,” says Elisapie. “And I was lucky enough to share this experience with my band!”
 
“When we wrapped, Elisapie played a couple more songs just for the crowd so they could enjoy a performance without having to hold back their reactions,” say Stacey Aglok MacDonald and Alethea Arnaquq-Baril, North of North’s co-creators and executive producers, and founders of Red Marrow Media. “She dedicated a song to any residential school survivors in the room, and there wasn’t a dry eye. There are a few hundred Inuit who will carry that experience with them for the rest of their lives, us included.”

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Yari M Shares Breezy “Adicta”

Yari M is a Carolina, Puerto Rico-born singer/songwriter and pop artist, who blends elements of Latin pop, Afrobeats and urban rhythms into a unique sound of her own. Her debut EP, 2020’s Yo Soy introduced her fearless energy, with EP track “Freshy” getting attention through a remix with Randy Nota Loca and Brray. The Puerto Rican artist appeared on Randy Nota Loca’s 2021 effort, Romances de Una Nota, 2021 Vol. 2 as the only female guest artist to appear on the album.

2023’s “Está Lloviendo” was her first Billboard-charting single. And adding to a big year, she launched her label Black Diamond Music and opened one of Miami‘s first Dolby Atmos studios.

Building upon a growing profile, the Puerto Rican-born, Miami-based artist’s highly-anticipated full-length debut Momentos, which will include “Últimta Vez,” a hit in Venezuela and “Sin Ti,”which reached #1 in the Dominican Republic features songs that explore joy, heartbreak, nostalgia and celebration.

Momento‘s latest single “Adicta” is a hook-driven blend of Latin pop, reggaeton and Afrobeats built around an an atmospheric production featuring squiggling bursts of funk guitar, skittering polyrhythmic beats and glistening synths beneath the Puerto Rican-born artist’s yearning delivery. While being a much-needed breezy and summery blast on a dreary and damp fall afternoon, “Adicta” is simultaneously club and lounge friendly — but at its core it captures the wooziness, the desperate longing of a new love.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Carolina Oliveros Teams up with Orquesta Akokán on Disco-Tinged “RAYO”

Colombian-born, New York-based singer/songwriter Carolina Oliveros is best known for being the frontperson of acclaimed act Combo Chimbita. Oliveros will be stepping out into the spotlight with her solo debut Ya Rompimos el Silencio, which is slated for a November 6, 2026 release through Chulo Records.

Inspired by her journey of healing from childhood trauma, Ya Rompimos el Silencio is an act of reclaiming voice, body and memory. The album’s material follows the path forward towards truth, resilience, queer love, collective healing and liberation. Each song is both a personal testimony and an invitation for others to break their own silences.

Sonically, the album reflects Oliveros lifelong dialogue between worlds. Anchored in the Afro-Indigenous musical traditions of Colombia and the Caribbean, vocal harmonies serve as connective tissue marrying bullerengue, cumbia, tambora, rumba, bolero, dembo, salve and other ancestral rhythms with adventurous contemporary production. The result if a sound that’s simultaneously intimate and expansive, ritualistic and contemporary — and honors tradition while boldly pushing it forward. Throughout the album’s runtime, its songs move effortlessly between ceremony and celebration, contemplation and the dance floor, revealing that healing can be a defiant, joyful act.

While showcasing another dimension of Oliveros’ artistry, Ya Rompimos el Silencio is rooted in the belief that music carries memory across generations, that telling the truth can be liberating and transformative, and breaking silence is not an ending, it’s a decision to choose a freer way of living.

The album will include the previously released “Oye Camina” and the album’s second single, “RAYO” feat. Orquesta Akokán. “RAYO” features a Santeria chant delivered by Oliveros and the members of Orquestra Akokán in unison and in call-and-response over a disco groove, Afro-Caribbean/Afro-Colombian percussion and dusty, old-school breakbeats. Sonically, the song continues a run of material that feels simultaneously ancient and remarkably contemporary while bridging the Latin American world.

The song celebrates the possibility of reconciling the opposing forces that live within all of us. It’s also a reminder that even in heart of a storm, there is a harmony between the fire that ignites change and the water that sustains it. “Together, we pay tribute to two of the most revered Orishas of the Yorùbá pantheon: Shangó and Oshún,” Oliveros says.

Video by William Ruben Helms

Throwback: Robert Charlebois’ “Je reviendrai à Montréal”

Robert Charlebois’ “Je reviendrai à Montréal” and some quick thoughts upon my return.