The Exploding Career of Chic Gamine

Jan. 1, 2016

Ariane Jean, Andrina Turenne and Annick Bremault all grew up in the French Quarter of Winnipeg, Manitoba and all had an interest in music. It wasn’t long before they all found themselves in a big a cappella group. When that group disbanded, the three friends decided they wanted to keep making music, and so they became Chic Gamine.

SHUFFLING BANDMATES

An opportunity to perform in a musical showcase in California surfaced right around the time they decided to start their new project, so the trio found two more bandmates and quickly hit the road.

“They found me when I was singing in a bar,” Alexa Dirks said, “and they met [drummer] Sacha Daoud while touring. The showcase was imminent, so they just added in people that they liked and got along with, and we all figured we’d work the rest of it all out later.”

There would be one more shuffle before the group finally became Chic Gamine, though. Founding member Jean left in early 2014 to pursue a life off the road, with multiinstrumentalist Benoit Morier joining to take her place. Soon, they were garnering critical and fan acclaim for their unique blend of vocal-focused folk-pop.

“We had such an encouraging first year together because we were so enthused and all full steam ahead!” Dirks said.

LABOR OF LOVE

Now with five members based in two cities — Winnipeg and Montreal — a 26-hour drive apart, they do a lot of traveling and touring, much of which has influenced their new, all-original album Light a Match.

“The album is thematically based on our own lives,” Dirks said. “When one person experienced a loss or heartbreak, we all experienced it because we were always sitting on top of each other in a van while we toured. So the album was a labor of love and hope.”

The album went through its own shuffling process, as Chic Gamine had to fire their first producer, which led to an unexpected break in the recording process.

“Our first producer just didn’t work out,” Dirks said. “You know, it’s supposed to be a harmonious partnership, literally, but we just didn’t fit with him and we didn’t like how he handled our music.”

The band had to regroup, which Dirks said took the better part of a year; they ultimately ended up recording in Daoud’s home studio, where the sessions went much more smoothly.

“We recorded the whole thing in a month!” said Dirks.

Chic Gamine’s sound on the new album began leaning more toward the pop end of the spectrum, although that wasn’t necessarily the plan.

LIGHTING IT UP

“When we began, we were more grassroots, more folk, but I don’t think we ever really heard ourselves, long term, as being just an a cappella band,” she explained. “All we had at first were voices and drums, so that’s what we worked with. It wasn’t an intention of ours to be more pop, and I know that some of our more diehard fans miss hearing the voices in their ‘purest’ form, but it’s still all about the voices; there’s just more surrounding them now.”

The music video for the album’s first single, the title track, was conceptualized and produced by director Mike Maryniuk. It’s a vintage-styled piece that takes place in a tiny cabin, with a couple of what look like old prospectors playing a game of cards with photographs. In the end, the photos are shot up into space in a fiery rocket. The whole thing definitely has an indie-pop ambiance; setting up Chic Gamine for wider chart fame, perhaps?

“Making the video was interesting,” Dirks said. “We knew Mike’s style from his previous work, so we knew it would be good, but mostly we were in a black room all day with our eyes watering, staring at light bulbs.”

“In the end, though, Light a Match kind of encompasses our journey as a band. You have this fire, so are you going to let it die out or let it explode into something more?”

Chic Gamine will be in concert at the City Opera House in Traverse City on Jan. 22 at 8pm.

For tickets, visit cityoperahouse.org or call (231) 941-8082. For more information on the band, visit chicgamine.com.