Valaire
Since 2004, Valaire has been blending jazz, electro, hip-hop, pop, and sampling in its creative melting pot. To date, the Sherbrooke-based collective, consisting of Kilojules, Luis Clavis, Tō, France, and DRouin, has released five studio albums, a live album, and a symphonic album with the Orchestre Métropolitain conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin. The group is gearing up for the release of their next EP on March 5, 2024, a logical follow-up to Jazz Futon, which won the Félix award for Multilingual and Other Language Album of the Year. Born from the creative process that led to the aforementioned album, the five tracks on Sofa So Good will comfortably immerse listeners in electro, jazz, soul, and funk sounds.
Since 2004, Valaire has been mixing jazz, electro, hip-hop, pop and samplings in its melting pot. First known as *Misteur Valaire*****, the Sherbrooke collective has released five studio albums, a live opus and a symphonic album with the Orchestre Métropolitain conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin.
From one project to the next, the group offers coherent and meticulous concepts: cover art, staging, clothing, nothing is left to chance. Winner of two Félix awards in the Electronic Album of the Year category, the band has been bringing the crowds in Quebec and Europe to their feet for many years by turning every show into a happening.
In 2012, the members of Valaire created the collective Qualité Motel, a project inspired by DJ sets that allows them to explore electronic sounds. They signed the music of the documentary Over My Dead Body and collaborated on the soundtrack of Moment Factory's Ode to Life show, projected on the Sagrada Familia, in Barcelona.
Over the course of their albums, Kilojules, Luis Clavis, Tō, France and DRouin call upon performers whose work they appreciate to enrich their creations, including the great Alan Prater (The Brooks). For their fifth studio offering, Jazz futon, out in February 2023, Valaire returns to their jazz roots. The pieces are carefully thought out and carefully crafted, and they flow together in an airy, danceable fashion to invite the listener to a living room party as only a jazz futon can. The album won the Felix in the Multilingual and Other Languages Album of the Year category at the last ADISQ Gala. On March 5th 2024, Valaire released the EP,* Sofa So Good*, the logical continuation of Jazz Futon.
In addition to having created* Qualité Motel,* a parallel project that tours the four corners of Quebec, the five musicians form the house orchestra of the new musical show Plaza Plaisir, hosted by Pierre-Yves Lord and broadcast on Télé-Québec. The group also accompanies playwright Mani Soleymanlou on stage with the show ZAMÂN, a crazy work at the crossroads of stand-up, musical show and unplugged theater.