For his 16e edition, the Alternative Gala of Independent Music of Quebec (GAMIQ) once again invited the public to the Café Campus last night to celebrate, in the flesh (and digitally for those who could not be there) the diversity of our scene. musical, thus reviving the joyful chaos that characterizes this extraordinary ceremony. With Kayiri at the animation, Fuck Tout for house orchestra, twenty-five artistic prizes were awarded, the singer-songwriter Laurence-Anne receiving two Lucien prizes for indie-rock EP of the year (for Accident) and Artist of the year.
It was almost reassuring to find this gala live, carried at arm’s length by the instigator Patrice Caron and his team, with its hiccups and false notes, but above all its deserved victories and its singular performances. The house orchestra has injected a dose of decibels that will make us immune to sanitized music for the year to follow; among the artists invited to perform on stage, Super Plage softened the mores with its electro-candy pop, the colorful chiptune composer R41ÑB0W TR4 $ H (Dominique Pelletier) played Game Boy and the rock group The Braze Velluto Collection did honor to his victory in the Rock Album of the Year category.
The event rewarded Vincent Dufour, alias Valence, author of the tender Maximum, collection of sophisticated pop songs released last September. To him, the Lucien Prize (a tribute to Lucien Francœur) for the Revelation of the Year – not to be confused with the 2022 Hope Prize, a crush as much as a push in the back, given to Meggie Lennon who has offered the brief and warm album Sounds from Your Lips last summer.
The two prizes in the hip-hop categories were given to musicians: Calamine, Lucien of the Rap album of the year (for Proof Dumpling), and Marie-Gold, that of the EP rap of the year (for Rule two). The first has just launched an album with her sidekick Kèthe Magané (their project Little daddy), the second announces the release of his next album for next February, Welcome to Baveuse City.
However, the strength of this ceremony is to highlight the work of artists evolving on musical stages neglected in other galas. Metal album of the year? The Singularity, Phase I, drummer Away (Michel Langevin, Voïvod) and guitarist-multi-instrumentalist Thisquietarmy. Punk album of the year? A new form of joy from composer and man-orchestra Maxime Gervais, released last year on the productive Montreal label Cuchabata Records. Experimental album of the year? The competition was fierce, with SUUNS, René Lussier, Julien Sagot, Simon Léoza and Navet Confit (among others) in the ranks; the Lucien was awarded to the Bell Orchestra for the album House Music.
All evening met on the podium established artists – Antoine Corriveau, Indie rock album for Dandelion, Dany Placard, rock EP of the year for Astronomy (continued) – and newcomers (Super Plage, Electro album for Super Beach II, Léa Jarry, Country album for Summer time), reserving a few happy surprises in passing. For the Lucien of the Trad Album of the Year, the exquisite marriage between folklore and contemporary music succeeded by Cédric Dind-Lavoie (Archives), or the lewd and festive Gab Paquet, his The strength of Eros earning him the Lucien for Pop Album of the Year.
P’tit Belliveau (Album outside Quebec), Pierre Kwenders & Clément Bazin (world EP), Maude Audet (folk EP), Beat Sexü (pop EP), MISC (Jazz album), Turnip Confit (electro EP), Quebec Redneck Bluegrass Project (Folk album) and Jesuslesfilles (Music video of the year – Choice of the jury) also received congratulations from the jury made up of members of the industry, or fans, for the category of Music video of the year – Choice of public, won by the Hay Babies for In California.
Finally, eight “industrial” prizes were also distributed. Let us just mention those who emphasized excellence as much as resilience in this year disrupted by health restrictions. The Lucien de la Salle de spectacle of the year was awarded to L’Esco, which wished to highlight its 20e birthday last year. The BleuBleu Festival in Gaspésie was awarded the Festival of the Year award, which was one of the first events of its kind to benefit from reduced sanitary measures last summer. Finally, the Lucien for Cultural Initiative of the Year was awarded to Aire Ouverte, inaugurated last May and which has continued to attract cultural businesses from here and elsewhere to its virtual world ever since.