Still fresh from winning a 2009 Juno award, a cappella group Chic Gamine is finally returning to Winnipeg for a long awaited hometown concert and a two-year anniversary celebration.

Annick Bremault, Ariane Jean, Andrina Turenne and Alexa Dirks are all former Winnipeggers who moved to Montreal to meet drummer Alexandre Sacha Daoud and form the group Chic Gamine. With much of their time spent in Montreal or on tour, the band rarely gets a chance to visit their home city and is very excited to play for fellow Winnipeggers.

“We’ve never really done our own show in Winnipeg,” said Turenne. “We’ve only played festivals so it’s exciting to put something on by ourselves.”

This show is extra special because the band is also celebrating their second anniversary.

Touring encompasses a lot of the band’s time as they try to tour for at least a couple of weeks each month. The group has traveled all over North America in their own 16-passenger van and seems to find adventure wherever they go.

“We just spent the last two days sleeping in a school bus and teepees,” Turenne explained.

 

Chic Gamine often prefers to “find” places to sleep as opposed to renting out hotel rooms. They believe part of touring involves exploring and socializing with the people you play for. As a result, the band has had many fortunate and interesting experiences.

“Lots of people are accommodating and willing to help us out,” Dirks said. “We put our faith in the universe and it provides us with magnificent people who illuminate the way and make us feel at home no matter where we are.”

For Chic Gamine, another important part of touring is listening to music on long van rides from gig to gig. The band said they are influenced by many genres and listen to a wide range of artists from Paul Simon to Brazilian pop star, Ed Motta.

However, when writing music the band does not rely on influences to think of new ideas, instead they do whatever comes naturally.

“We are all about not forcing things in this band. It is all about the natural writing progression,” said Jean.

After touring for what is left of the year, the band has plans to begin recording their second studio album in February. With more experience, Chic Gamine believes their next recording will be more cohesive and stronger then their first Juno award-winning album.

“We have better idea of what our sound is now and so we can maximize more on our strength. The band is always growing,” Dirks said.

Besides a drum set, the band is completely void of instruments. However, each vocalist in the band is a voice virtuoso in her own right. All four singers have been playing music since a very young age and some have been working in the industry for as long as 10 years.

Published in Volume 63, Number 30 of The Uniter (August 13, 2009)