Les Colocs

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Les Colocs
The main members of the Colocs in 1998 BC l. To the right: André Vanderbiest, André Fortin and Mike Sawatzky.
The main members of the Colocs in 1998

v. l. To the right: André Vanderbiest, André Fortin and Mike Sawatzky.

General information
origin Montréal , Québec , Canada
Genre (s) Blues , jazz , rock , reggae
founding 1990
resolution 2000
Website www.colocs.qc.ca
Founding members
Singing, rhythm guitar, drums, percussion, tap dance
 André Fortin (1990–2000) † 2000
Drums, percussion, occasionally singing
 Jimmy Bourgoing (1990-1998)
Bass, double bass, occasionally singing
 Serge Robert (1990-1995)
Harmonica, occasionally singing
 Patrick Esposito Di Napoli (1990–1994) † 1994
other members
Solo guitar, harmonica, saxophone, occasionally vocals
 Mike Sawatzky (1991-2000)
Bass, double bass
 André Vanderbiest (1996-2000)

Les Colocs was a musical group from Montréal , Québec , Canada particularly active in the 1990s. The group is particularly known for the different styles used and the suicide of its founder André "Dédé" Fortin.

The group had a strong influence on the development of the Quebec music scene and represents a milestone in Quebec's musical history.

history

In 1990 André "Dédé" Fortin and Louis Léger, who had played together in the Cha Cha and the Chain Gang group for several years, founded the Les Colocs group on the third floor of 2116 Boulevard Saint-Laurent in Montréal. Yves Desrosiers, a friend of Dédé, suggested Marc Déry as bassist and Jimmy Bourgoing as drummer. Louis met the harmonica player Patrick Esposito di Napoli and invited him to join the group.

In October 1990 the group performed for the first time in public at the Tallulah Darling as part of the international rock festival. Soon afterwards Marc Déry Par left the group to start his own group "Zébulon". In response to a newspaper advertisement in Voir , Serge Robert became the group's bass and double bass player. After a few appearances in late 1991, founding member Louis Léger left the group. His place was taken by a friend of Patrick named Mike Sawatzky. He is the only member of the group who does not speak French as his mother tongue. After joining, several songs in English followed.

In 1992 the group took part in L'empire des futurs stars , a professional competition for music from Quebec. The Colocs made it to the finals, but eventually declined to participate because they wanted to choose their own record publisher. In the same year they signed a contract with the plate publisher BMG . In 1993 the group released their first album Les Colocs . It sold 150,000 times. In October 1993, the group received three Félix including the Discovery of the Year.

The harmonica player Patrick Esposito di Napoli died in November 1994 as a result of his untreated AIDS.

In 1995 the Colocs released their second album Atrocetomique .

After Serge had checked the group's manager, Raymond Paquin, through the Montréals Palace of Justice for his criminal record, Dédé encouraged him to leave the group, despite the fact that he had asked Serge to review the finances. Serge Robert now took up a solo career under the pseudonymous Mononc 'Serge . He was replaced the following year by Belgian bassist André Vanderbiest, who brought reggae elements into the group's musical style. In 1996 guitarist Mike Sawatsky suffered a serious car accident.

In May 1998 the group released their third album Dehors Novembre . André Vanderbiest previously supported André Fortin in forcing Jimmy Bourgoing to leave the group, as he did not agree with the musical innovations - such as the introduction of klezmer and African reggae elements by the Diouf brothers. The album was dedicated to group member Patrick Esposito di Napoli, who had died of AIDS four years earlier.

As before, there were depressive and sad lyrics on the album that contrasted with the happy music. Some of the lyrics strongly suggest Fortin's depressed and guilty character. The album sold over 100,000 times. In November, the Colocs won the Félix for rock album of the year with the album.

After the suicide of the front man André "Dédé" Fortin on May 8, 2000, the group was disbanded.

The members of the Colocs and some supporters paid their last respects to the founder by producing the album Suite 2116 in 2001.

Jean-Philippe Duval's film Dédé, à travers les brumes , which was released on March 13, 2009, not only dealt with the depressive side of André Fortin, but also portrayed the creative and cheerful character of the singer and the entire group environment. The title of the film comes from the song Paysage from the album Suite 2116 (written by Charles Baudelaire ).

In 2009 André Vanderbiest found an unedited recording by André "Dédé" Fortin. The song was edited and released on August 3, 2009. Part of the profit goes to the André Dédé Fortin Foundation, which has made suicide prevention its task.

Mike Sawatzky, André Vanderbiest, El Hadji Diouf, Karim Diouf, Benoit Piché, Joel took part in the performance of Colocs Poussières d'étoiles avec les Colocs (Sternstaub mit der Colocs) on August 3, 2009 (as part of the Francofolies de Montréal festival) Zifkin, Michel Dufour, Benoit Gagné, Guy Belanger, Justin Allard. la famille Botte, Marc Déry, Martin Léon, Sébastien Plante, Loco Locass (the singer who embodies Dédé in the film Dédé, à travers les brumes ), Pierre Lapointe and Paul Piché. A few days later the performance was presented again, this time at the Festival d'été de Beloeil with Antoine Gratton instead of Pierre Lapointe.

Discography

  • 1993: Les Colocs
  • 1995: Atrocetomique
  • 1998: Dehors novembre
  • 2000: Les années 1992-1995
  • 2001: Suite 2116
  • 2003: Les Colocs live
  • 2009: Il me parle de bonheur

Music videos

  • Julie
  • Passe-moé la puck
  • Rue principale
  • Dédé
  • Bonyeu
  • Pis si au moins
  • Tassez vous d'là
  • Tout seul

swell

  1. ↑ Le référendum du 30 October 1995: une analyze des résultats, Pierre Drouilly, Université du Québec à Montréal. Consulté le 9 mars 2009.

Web links