Ariane Mahryke Lemire
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Ariane Mahryke Lemire

Edmonton, Alberta, Canada | INDIE

Edmonton, Alberta, Canada | INDIE
Band Folk Singer/Songwriter

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"Ariane Mahrÿke Lemire - Décousue"

Francopresse - Site d'actualité francophone - Canada
Ariane Mahrÿke Lemire - Décousue

Avec beaucoup de sensibilité, une touche de théâtralité et une belle communication, Ariane touche son public dans ce qu'il a de plus sensible, des directs au coeur. "Décousue" est le premier album complétement en français de cette jeune franco-albertaine. Écoutez cette artiste au www.myspace.com/arianemahrykelemire Regardez sa vidéo au http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=187674760579 - FrancoPresse.ca


"Ariane Mahrÿke Lemire - Décousue"

Francopresse - Site d'actualité francophone - Canada
Ariane Mahrÿke Lemire - Décousue

Avec beaucoup de sensibilité, une touche de théâtralité et une belle communication, Ariane touche son public dans ce qu'il a de plus sensible, des directs au coeur. "Décousue" est le premier album complétement en français de cette jeune franco-albertaine. Écoutez cette artiste au www.myspace.com/arianemahrykelemire Regardez sa vidéo au http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=187674760579 - FrancoPresse.ca


"Wrecked Tangles and Love Knots album review"

4/5 Stars

"Sharp Swords" opens up Ariane Mahrÿke Lemire's Wrecked Tangles and Love Knots, a melancholy, stuttering acoustic guitar accompanying the singer's haunting sentiments as she whispers, "Today will fade tomorrow / Barricade the past until only now remains." A darkness lingers nearby throughout, but the album is far from hopeless. Just the opposite, actually, with Lemire working her way through emotional twists and turns both small and large, revealing a spirit of survival. Musically, small details colour and breathe life into the record—a distant piano that slowly works its way into the mix until it becomes the pulse of "Reds + Blues"; an electric guitar injecting slinky lines into "San Diego"; or the swelling of voices and accordion on "Neurotic"—all rolling together into a moving, emotional album. - Vue Magazine


"En spectacle, Ariane Mahrÿke Lemire le 15 jan. 2010 Montréal"

15 jan. 2010 Montréal - Invitée dans le cadre de la Série Découvertes des Week-ends de la chanson Quebecor, Ariane profitait de cette occasion pour lancer son tout nouvel album intitulé Décousue dont elle nous a évidemment présenté de nombreux extraits ce soir. Depuis quelques années déjà, elle se fait connaître à travers différents événements au Québec, notamment le Coup de Coeur Francophone, le Festival de la chanson de Tadoussac, Vue sur la Relève, Petite Vallée et même en France aux Déferlantes francophones de Capbreton et aux Rencontres d’Astaffort en France (avec Francis Cabrel).

Au cours de ce périple, elle a rencontré des gens du métier qui ont servi à l'aiguiller, je pense à Luc De Larochellière, Sylvie Paquette, Marc Chabot, Marc Pérusse, et tellement d'autres qui ont su reconnaître en elle un beau talent d'auteur. C'est avec un grand plaisir que je la retrouvais ce soir après un premier contact il y a deux ans à la Maison de la Culture Frontenac.

Chantant dans les deux langues officielles (elle habite Edmonton en Alberta), son premier album Double Entendre était justement composé à peu près de 50% de chansons dans la langue de Mollière, alors que c'est le cas à près de 100% avec Décousue (hormis une chanson en espagnol). Toujours aussi attirée par les mots, on sent un besoin de dire les choses comme elles sont, évitant les détours et les figures de style, et ce avec une énergie qui est communicative. Elle bouge beaucoup, tape du pied, échange des clins d'oeil complice avec ses musiciens dont le multi-instrumentiste Cam Boyce qui a aussi travaillé à l'enregistrement du dernier album. En fin de prestation, elle s'est même permise une petite chanson en solo et en espagnol. Il faut savoir qu'elle a séjourné quelques années au Mexique durant sa jeunesse.

Avec beaucoup de sensibilité, une touche de théâtralité et une belle communication, elle touche le public dans ce qu'il a de plus sensible, des directs au coeur. Recouvrant à peine d'un grave accident de voiture, on sent même une certaine fragilité qui se traduit pas des présentations toutes personnelles qui font mouche.

Un beau départ pour la nouvelle saison des soirées chansons du Studio Théâtre.

Michel Parent - Quebecpop


"Coup de coeur au Relais de Saskatoon"

Coups de cœur au Relais de Saskatoon
Françoise Kartha

C'est dans une atmosphère des plus chaleureuses que les francophones de Saskatoon ont accueilli vendredi soir, le 14 novembre, dans un double Coup de cœur, deux chanteurs Pascal Lejeune venu du Nouveau-Brunswick et Ariane Mahrÿke Lemire de l'Alberta.
La salle avait déjà été bien réchauffée lors du 5 à 7 du Relais par le concert gratuit qu'offrent régulièrement Daniel Fontaine, Malika Sellami et Alexis Normand, auquel s'étaient ajoutées les danses d'un invité spécial, Matéo (4 ans). Les nappes à carreaux, les petites chandelles et le menu donnaient une ambiance parisienne, à cette soirée « les p'tits cafés » de la Fédération des francophones de Saskatoon.
Ariane Mahrÿke Lemire et Pascal Lejeune étaient heureux de se retrouver à cette occasion après avoir fait connaissance au festival en chanson de Petite-Vallée. Ils se sont donné le plaisir d'interpréter ensemble une chanson de Pascal, «Une seule nuit », amour d'un père qui attend impatiemment l'arrivée de son fils.
Ariane Mahrÿke Lemire qui habite maintenant à Edmonton est originaire de Prince-Albert. Née de parents bilingues qui ont choisi pour son deuxième prénom le titre d'une chanson de Jacques Brel, Ariane a commencé à chanter et à écrire très jeune. Avec l'aide de son père, le guitariste classique Lyall Steel, elle a vite appris à mettre ses mots en musique.
Après le lancement de son premier CD, Double Entendre, le 9 avril 2007, Ariane a chanté dans l'ouest canadien, au Québec, en France et en Irlande. Bourrée de talent, elle s'est déjà mérité plusieurs prix. Sur cet album double et bilingue, on peut aussi entendre certains des musiciens les plus intéressants d'Edmonton, Bob Tildesley à la trompette, Lyle Molzan aux tambours, Mike Lent à la basse, Moe Lefever, Mike Sterling et Jim Head à la guitare.
Qu'elle soit accompagnée de tout un orchestre ou d'une guitare solo comme vendredi, Ariane tient bien la scène et la salle, tour à tour rêveuse, sensuelle, poétique ou excentrique mais toujours pleine de naturel, de vivacité et d'humour. De sa voix claire, elle nous invite à savourer chaque mot et chaque moment. Charmante et jolie comme un cœur dans ses bottes cowboy et sa « petite robe des champs », un camaïeu de verts fleuri brodé de perles vertes qui lui donne des airs de jeune ondine vulnérable et tendre, elle étrennait fièrement une nouvelle pédale qui faisait rouler les échos en « so low » d'une rutilante guitare électrique flambant neuve dans un répertoire folk, jazz, et blues. Elle a cassé quelques nouvelles chansons dont une en Espagnol. Elle pense à un prochain enregistrement. - L'Eau vive


"En spectacle, Ariane Mahrÿke Lemire le 15 jan. 2010 Montréal"

15 jan. 2010 Montréal - Invitée dans le cadre de la Série Découvertes des Week-ends de la chanson Quebecor, Ariane profitait de cette occasion pour lancer son tout nouvel album intitulé Décousue dont elle nous a évidemment présenté de nombreux extraits ce soir. Depuis quelques années déjà, elle se fait connaître à travers différents événements au Québec, notamment le Coup de Coeur Francophone, le Festival de la chanson de Tadoussac, Vue sur la Relève, Petite Vallée et même en France aux Déferlantes francophones de Capbreton et aux Rencontres d’Astaffort en France (avec Francis Cabrel).

Au cours de ce périple, elle a rencontré des gens du métier qui ont servi à l'aiguiller, je pense à Luc De Larochellière, Sylvie Paquette, Marc Chabot, Marc Pérusse, et tellement d'autres qui ont su reconnaître en elle un beau talent d'auteur. C'est avec un grand plaisir que je la retrouvais ce soir après un premier contact il y a deux ans à la Maison de la Culture Frontenac.

Chantant dans les deux langues officielles (elle habite Edmonton en Alberta), son premier album Double Entendre était justement composé à peu près de 50% de chansons dans la langue de Mollière, alors que c'est le cas à près de 100% avec Décousue (hormis une chanson en espagnol). Toujours aussi attirée par les mots, on sent un besoin de dire les choses comme elles sont, évitant les détours et les figures de style, et ce avec une énergie qui est communicative. Elle bouge beaucoup, tape du pied, échange des clins d'oeil complice avec ses musiciens dont le multi-instrumentiste Cam Boyce qui a aussi travaillé à l'enregistrement du dernier album. En fin de prestation, elle s'est même permise une petite chanson en solo et en espagnol. Il faut savoir qu'elle a séjourné quelques années au Mexique durant sa jeunesse.

Avec beaucoup de sensibilité, une touche de théâtralité et une belle communication, elle touche le public dans ce qu'il a de plus sensible, des directs au coeur. Recouvrant à peine d'un grave accident de voiture, on sent même une certaine fragilité qui se traduit pas des présentations toutes personnelles qui font mouche.

Un beau départ pour la nouvelle saison des soirées chansons du Studio Théâtre.

Michel Parent - Quebecpop


"Album francophone de l'année"

Publié le vendredi 24 octobre 2008
Album francophone de l'année
La 6e édition des Western Canadian Music Awards (WCMA) avait lieu à Edmonton le 19 octobre. Parmi les nombreux prix décernés, Ariane Mahrÿke Lemire est repartie avec l’honneur de l’album francophone de l’année.

« Je suis vraiment émue et très surprise. Juste le fait d’avoir été nominée aux côtés d’artistes que je respecte énormément était déjà un grand honneur », avoue Ariane Mahrÿke Lemire.

Intitulé Double Entendre l’album de l’artiste franco-albertaine a été lancé au printemps dernier. L’album double comprend des compositions en français, mais aussi en anglais.

L’artiste était en nomination aux côtés de trois groupes : Kraink (Manitoba), Coulée (Manitoba) et Les Cireux d’Semelles (Saskatchewan), ainsi que de Josée Allard (Colombie-Britannique). - Le Franco


"Album francophone de l'année"

Publié le vendredi 24 octobre 2008
Album francophone de l'année
La 6e édition des Western Canadian Music Awards (WCMA) avait lieu à Edmonton le 19 octobre. Parmi les nombreux prix décernés, Ariane Mahrÿke Lemire est repartie avec l’honneur de l’album francophone de l’année.

« Je suis vraiment émue et très surprise. Juste le fait d’avoir été nominée aux côtés d’artistes que je respecte énormément était déjà un grand honneur », avoue Ariane Mahrÿke Lemire.

Intitulé Double Entendre l’album de l’artiste franco-albertaine a été lancé au printemps dernier. L’album double comprend des compositions en français, mais aussi en anglais.

L’artiste était en nomination aux côtés de trois groupes : Kraink (Manitoba), Coulée (Manitoba) et Les Cireux d’Semelles (Saskatchewan), ainsi que de Josée Allard (Colombie-Britannique). - Le Franco


"Double Entendre: double seduction"

On the evening of March 9th, The Blue Chair Cafe was transformed into a jazz cabaret with folk and blues riffs. Ariane Mahryke Lemire created a sultry and velvety atmosphere for the audience as she launched her first album, Double Entendre.

The singer, with her four musicians seduced and entertained the standing room only bilingual crowd, from the very beginning of the show, as she translated her explanations and inspirations with spontaneous humour.

The singer songwriter, who has just released a double album in both French and English had a rather simple explanation for her bilingual choice. "My reality is that I live in the West, in French. I wanted to please everyone. This allows me, in one fell swoop, to reach a larger audience." Mission accomplished for her, because the crowd at the release party seemed to appreciate this linguistic duality.

The album is the fruit of one year's labor and is a selection of songs from more than 60 pieces she has written in the past nine years. For the final product, she gathered together quality artists such as violinist Daniel Gervais and producer, bass player Michael Lent, who also works with Jann Arden.

With a rather jazzy and bluesy voice in English, Ariane Mahryke Lemire loses some of that honey and becomes more of a folk raconteuse when she sings in French. But what is even more remarkable is her ability and the fluidity with which she flows from one language to the other.

Undoubtedly her influences, which include from French as well and English singers - Francis Cabrel, Francois Guy, Tom Waits and Dick Arnagan - come into play and bring a seductive poetic bent to her work.

As for her musical structure she uses, she takes it from classical music, without forgetting Brazilian music and her father's guitar music.

"I have a profound love of people and the interactions between them
allow me to learn a lot about myself.
In fact, I write what I live." she replies when asked about the theme of interpersonal relationships that is omnipresent in her music.

A varied journey
Besides being a singer songwriter, Ariane Mahryke Lemire is also an actor, photographer, video editor, and workshop facilitator. She developed most of these talents while studying theatre and multimedia but her passion for writing quickly brought her back to music, because she has never stopped writing. "I had all these songs and I said to myself, I have to do something with all of this."

Her stage presence and the lyrics of her songs reflect her theatrical background, which she does not hide when speaking of her work. " I have been doing theatre since I was 8 years old and my songs are like little plays. That is what allows me to get the different intonations and the emotion."

After participating in the Festival en chanson de Petite-Vallee in Gaspesie, Entr'Arts in Banff, Coup de coeur francophone in Montreal and Contact Ontarois in Ottawa, Ariane will be performing this summer in the 400e anniversary celebrations in Quebec with Rencontres qui chantent, the Festival de la chanson de Tadoussac in Quebec, the Deferlantes francopohones festival in Capbreton, France and at the Sasquatch Gathering in Easyford, Alberta, as well as promoting her album.

She is also planning the production of two more albums soon, one in English and one in French. The songs are ready but the financing is not in place. Ariane Mahryke Lemire is back on stage with three shows in Edmonton, on the 25th and 26th of April as well as on the 8th of May.


- Olivier Ducharme- Le Franco (translation G. Lemire)


"CKUA's Top 10 picks of 2008"

http://www.ckua.org/top10/tony.html

Tony King's Picks:

Ariane Mahrÿke Lemire - Double Entendre

A double take is what I did when I put this new disc into the player for the first time. This youthful artist based in Alberta stunned me with her cheeky, otherworldly charm. Not to mention her songwriting chops…in both French and English. - CKUA official website


"Double Entendre: double seduction"

On the evening of March 9th, The Blue Chair Cafe was transformed into a jazz cabaret with folk and blues riffs. Ariane Mahryke Lemire created a sultry and velvety atmosphere for the audience as she launched her first album, Double Entendre.

The singer, with her four musicians seduced and entertained the standing room only bilingual crowd, from the very beginning of the show, as she translated her explanations and inspirations with spontaneous humour.

The singer songwriter, who has just released a double album in both French and English had a rather simple explanation for her bilingual choice. "My reality is that I live in the West, in French. I wanted to please everyone. This allows me, in one fell swoop, to reach a larger audience." Mission accomplished for her, because the crowd at the release party seemed to appreciate this linguistic duality.

The album is the fruit of one year's labor and is a selection of songs from more than 60 pieces she has written in the past nine years. For the final product, she gathered together quality artists such as violinist Daniel Gervais and producer, bass player Michael Lent, who also works with Jann Arden.

With a rather jazzy and bluesy voice in English, Ariane Mahryke Lemire loses some of that honey and becomes more of a folk raconteuse when she sings in French. But what is even more remarkable is her ability and the fluidity with which she flows from one language to the other.

Undoubtedly her influences, which include from French as well and English singers - Francis Cabrel, Francois Guy, Tom Waits and Dick Arnagan - come into play and bring a seductive poetic bent to her work.

As for her musical structure she uses, she takes it from classical music, without forgetting Brazilian music and her father's guitar music.

"I have a profound love of people and the interactions between them
allow me to learn a lot about myself.
In fact, I write what I live." she replies when asked about the theme of interpersonal relationships that is omnipresent in her music.

A varied journey
Besides being a singer songwriter, Ariane Mahryke Lemire is also an actor, photographer, video editor, and workshop facilitator. She developed most of these talents while studying theatre and multimedia but her passion for writing quickly brought her back to music, because she has never stopped writing. "I had all these songs and I said to myself, I have to do something with all of this."

Her stage presence and the lyrics of her songs reflect her theatrical background, which she does not hide when speaking of her work. " I have been doing theatre since I was 8 years old and my songs are like little plays. That is what allows me to get the different intonations and the emotion."

After participating in the Festival en chanson de Petite-Vallee in Gaspesie, Entr'Arts in Banff, Coup de coeur francophone in Montreal and Contact Ontarois in Ottawa, Ariane will be performing this summer in the 400e anniversary celebrations in Quebec with Rencontres qui chantent, the Festival de la chanson de Tadoussac in Quebec, the Deferlantes francopohones festival in Capbreton, France and at the Sasquatch Gathering in Easyford, Alberta, as well as promoting her album.

She is also planning the production of two more albums soon, one in English and one in French. The songs are ready but the financing is not in place. Ariane Mahryke Lemire is back on stage with three shows in Edmonton, on the 25th and 26th of April as well as on the 8th of May.


- Olivier Ducharme- Le Franco (translation G. Lemire)


"Festival de la chanson de Tadoussac"

http://lequabel.centerblog.net/5259227-Ariane-Mahryke-Lemire

"Elle vient d'Alberta et elle est francophone, de plus, sur scène, elle est étonnante !"

"She's from Alberta, she's francophone, and on stage, she astounding!" - Lequabel - Serge Beyer


"Festival de la chanson de Tadoussac"

http://lequabel.centerblog.net/5259227-Ariane-Mahryke-Lemire

"Elle vient d'Alberta et elle est francophone, de plus, sur scène, elle est étonnante !"

"She's from Alberta, she's francophone, and on stage, she astounding!" - Lequabel - Serge Beyer


"Good Girls With Guitars"

French is her mother tongue, but she tends to giggle more than she speaks in either one of Canada's official languages. "I can't help it," laughs Lemire, 29, the daughter of Saskatchewan parents. "Life is too good!"

Her star is on the rise -- ever since her English/ French debut, Double Entendre, was named best francophone record at the Western Canadian Music Awards. She recently performed at Alberta House during the Vancouver Olympics, and she's on her way to Ottawa to perform at the 20th-anniversary celebration of a group dedicated to promoting francophone music.

Latest album: Decousue, released in February, is a 10-song album of rock, folk and acoustic tunes with French lyrics. "It's all over the map," says Lemire. "To me, it's a concept album -- you get up in the morning, you go into the kitchen and play your guitar, then you go back to bed for a bit. Then you get hungry, go to the corner shop and bump into someone you were completely nutters about ..."

Def not: Lemire's mother used to be a singer-songwriter; her stepfather is renowned classical guitarist Lyall Steel. "I used to invent songs when I was three," she says. "But I was repeatedly told I couldn't sing." (She's almost completely deaf in her left ear.)

After taking a few lessons in her late teens, she honed her chops at open stages and karaoke nights, but avoided asking Steel for guitar tips.

"Hell no!" she laughs. "Bad idea. He's so used to it, he doesn't get why you don't pick it up right away."

Lost in translation: Lemire refuses to translate her English songs into French and vice versa. ( "It doesn't work --the song doesn't have the same rhythm or connotation.") Nor can she force herself to write in one language or the other. She's completely at the mercy of her muse. "It's really strange -- I'll sit down and say, 'I'm going to write a song about this in French!' and it comes out in English," she laughs. "I have no control over my brain. It's bittersweet; when I write a really good French song, there's a part of me that grieves because I know people who don't speak French will never understand how good it is, and vice versa."

Next up: Lemire is working on an English record, tentatively due in September, and is almost finished an album of duets with lo-fipunk Eamon McGrath.
- The Edmonton Journal


"Ariane Mahryke Lemire : The Long Road Ahead"

Singer-songwriter is living life to fuel her songs
David Berry / david@vueweekly.com

With a pedigree like hers—her father a respected classical guitarist, her mother one of the first French Canadians to sing in her own language in Saskatchewan—you'd think the road into music would be paved and downhill for Ariane Mahrÿke Lemire. But while her upbringing certainly gave her a solid base on which to launch, her early attempts were, well, met with something less than enthusiasm.

"I was told several times growing up that I had no voice, that I had no business singing," explains the bilingual chanteuse with a bright kind of matter-of-factness, as though she were discussing her eye colour or something (green, incidentally.) "So I really worked on my writing, so that maybe if I wrote well enough people would let me sing."

That certainly seemed to have paid off for Lemire, whose debut double CD, Double Entendre—one album in English, the other in French—took home a Western Canadian Music Award for best francophone recording: her sly mix of cabaret, folk and jazz reveals someone well-versed in playing with musical forms and pushing songwriting limits. But as anyone who hears her soulful voice will attest, hers are hardly the pipes of someone who can't sing. To get that up to snuff, she had a slightly unusual way of training herself.

"I started going to karaoke," she says with a similar bubbly normalcy. "I went three times a week, about. I tend to be obsessive compulsive about certain things. When I first started, my hand would actually shake with the mic. But as soon as I could belt out 'Moon Dance' and 'American Woman,' I quit.

"There's something about Van Morrison, which is slightly cheesy, but ... I don't know, it's just satisfying, despite the cheesy edge. And 'Moondance' has sort of a complicated arrangement in terms of timing," Lemire explains further, when pressed on what it was about mastering Van Morrison and the Guess Who that told her she was ready. "And 'American Woman' is sort of a give-it-your-all song. But it was more in retrospect that I realized it, I didn't plan it out. But once I got those two, I quit."

The move from karaoke all-star to singer-songwriter has obviously worked out quite well for her: she's set to release the French follow-up to Double Entendre, Décousue, this month, with an English album to come in the fall, since she doesn't want to "cheat one of the languages." But her time toiling away in music trenches also gave her a chance to pursue other interests—photography, television presenting, design, just to name a few—that she's found has only helped with her music, too.

"I heard someone say that, in order to be a good musician, music should only be 20 percent of your life, because you need the other 80 percent of your life to write about," Lemire explains. "I kind of take that to heart. There's a lot of stuff to do. I spend a lot of time with my great uncle, who's 86, so I kind of figure that if the family track record plays out, I'll have a lot of time to do stuff." - Vue Weekly Magasine


"Ariane Mahrÿke Lemire - Décousue (Critique/Review)"

Ariane Mahrÿke Lemire - Décousue

Un premier album totalement en français ou presque pour cette auteure-compositrice-interprète francophone de l'Alberta. Ariane Mahrÿke Lemire nous propose DÉCOUSUE, un album avec une plume qui peint le quotidien avec tendresse et nostalgie.

La première plage en est un bon exemple, MICH-L est une petite pièce électroacoustique qui décrit bien le quotidien. BONNE JOURNÉE est un petit moment de tendresse où nostalgie et douceur sont au menu. Pour une couleur un peu plus blues, JE SUIS LE GENRE rend hommage à la paresse d'une grâce matinée. Du côté de la pièce titre DÉCOUSUE, on se laisse porter par une ballade blues décrivant un coup de foudre.

Je disais totalement français ou presque dans mon intro, c'est qu'un de mes coups de cœur est la pièce en espagnol ROPA DE ORO, tout à fait charment. Il y a aussi cette petite pièce d'inspiration Gum Boots Dance CLAQUE!, qui est une petite anecdote d'une séduction ratée. SOUFFLE, superbe ballade folk pour le texte de l'album sur l'incompréhension qui nourrit la noirceur dans un couple. Et finalement TIC TIC TIC un bon pop rock avec un autre texte magnifique.

Un album bien produit, offrant une variance au niveau des couleurs musicales pour une plume qui peigne le quotidien avec tendresse nostalgie et un brin d'humour. Ariane Mahrÿke Lemire nous offre Décousue, son deuxième opus, comprenant de très bons textes et des mélodies qui nous accrochent. Découvrez cette auteure-compositrice-interprète de l'Alberta et son univers via le www.myspace.com/arianemahrykelemire - Quebecpop


"Ariane Mahryke Lemire : The Long Road Ahead"

Singer-songwriter is living life to fuel her songs
David Berry / david@vueweekly.com

With a pedigree like hers—her father a respected classical guitarist, her mother one of the first French Canadians to sing in her own language in Saskatchewan—you'd think the road into music would be paved and downhill for Ariane Mahrÿke Lemire. But while her upbringing certainly gave her a solid base on which to launch, her early attempts were, well, met with something less than enthusiasm.

"I was told several times growing up that I had no voice, that I had no business singing," explains the bilingual chanteuse with a bright kind of matter-of-factness, as though she were discussing her eye colour or something (green, incidentally.) "So I really worked on my writing, so that maybe if I wrote well enough people would let me sing."

That certainly seemed to have paid off for Lemire, whose debut double CD, Double Entendre—one album in English, the other in French—took home a Western Canadian Music Award for best francophone recording: her sly mix of cabaret, folk and jazz reveals someone well-versed in playing with musical forms and pushing songwriting limits. But as anyone who hears her soulful voice will attest, hers are hardly the pipes of someone who can't sing. To get that up to snuff, she had a slightly unusual way of training herself.

"I started going to karaoke," she says with a similar bubbly normalcy. "I went three times a week, about. I tend to be obsessive compulsive about certain things. When I first started, my hand would actually shake with the mic. But as soon as I could belt out 'Moon Dance' and 'American Woman,' I quit.

"There's something about Van Morrison, which is slightly cheesy, but ... I don't know, it's just satisfying, despite the cheesy edge. And 'Moondance' has sort of a complicated arrangement in terms of timing," Lemire explains further, when pressed on what it was about mastering Van Morrison and the Guess Who that told her she was ready. "And 'American Woman' is sort of a give-it-your-all song. But it was more in retrospect that I realized it, I didn't plan it out. But once I got those two, I quit."

The move from karaoke all-star to singer-songwriter has obviously worked out quite well for her: she's set to release the French follow-up to Double Entendre, Décousue, this month, with an English album to come in the fall, since she doesn't want to "cheat one of the languages." But her time toiling away in music trenches also gave her a chance to pursue other interests—photography, television presenting, design, just to name a few—that she's found has only helped with her music, too.

"I heard someone say that, in order to be a good musician, music should only be 20 percent of your life, because you need the other 80 percent of your life to write about," Lemire explains. "I kind of take that to heart. There's a lot of stuff to do. I spend a lot of time with my great uncle, who's 86, so I kind of figure that if the family track record plays out, I'll have a lot of time to do stuff." - Vue Weekly Magasine


Discography

Albums : Double Entendre (2008)
Décousue (2010)
Wrecked Tangles and Love Knots (October 2011)

Compilations : - Women That Like to Folk (2010)
- Vue sur la relève (2010)
- Great Northern Revival: Notes from the
Edmonton Underground Vol.1
- Alberta Music Compilation (2009)
- La compilation Trille Or (2009)

Radio play :
"In Passing"
"Décousue"
"Je suis le genre"
"Tic tic tic"
"C'est fini"
"Bath For 2"
"lucidité"
"The Dock Song"
"Nu-pieds"
"Fake Japan"
"En sourires"
"Comment oublier"
"C'est instantané"
"Encapsulé"
"Mes mains"

Photos

Bio

Western Canadian Music Award winner Ariane Mahrÿke Lemire seamlessly moves between French and English. Raised in Alberta and Saskatchewan, this prairie girl fuses folk, jazz, blues, a touch of cabaret and electro-acoustic elements to create a unique sound and theatrical performances.

Tony King's Top 10 of 2008 (http://www.ckua.org/top10/tony.html) :
"A double take is what I did when I put this new disc into the player for the first time. This youthful artist based in Alberta stunned me with her cheeky, otherworldly charm. Not to mention her songwriting chops…in both French and English."

“Quand à 12 ans on décrète: ‘je serai écrivaine’, quand on a un père guitariste qui vous endort avec son instrument, on peut attendre que l’ensemble mène à la chanson. C’est ce qui est arrivé à Ariane Mahrÿke, qui glisse ses mots dans une musique folk-blues-jazz. L’aventure se poursuit ajourd’hui avec la sortie d’un album double intitulé ‘Double Entendre’. Mère francophone et père anglophone, elle a décidé de ne pas choisir et d’assumer sa double appartenance d’une voix claire, sur des textes intimistes qu’elle livre avec la simplicité de l’évidence, avec l’aisance que donne l’expérience d’études théâtrales. La demoiselle aux yeux de mer laisse naviguer ses chansons en toute candeur.” (Déferlantes Francophones, Festival de Capbreton)

Cette franco-albertaine vient de vivre un année très chargé. En plus de lancer son premier album, elle à participé au Rencontres qui chantent à Petite Vallée, Ottawa, et au 400ième de Québec; au festival du Coup de coeur francophone à Montréal; au Festival de la chanson à Tadoussac; au Déferlantes francophones à Capbreton en France; au Sasquatch Gathering au sud de l’Alberta; elle a été nomée pour un prix Trille or dans la catégorie "Artiste ou groupe de l'ouest par excellence"; et elle vient de remporter un Western Canadian Music Award dans la catégorie “meilleur album francophone”.