Cécile Doo-Kingué

Soul, Versatility and Passion compose the triumviral force behind Cécile Doo-Kingué’s sound. Born in New York City, first generation from Cameroon, Cécile Doo-Kingué has lived in France, USA and is now an adopted Montrealer. This meeting of cultures is reflected in the eclecticism of her music. She has rapidly become one of the city’s most renowned musicians. Her bewitching and incomparable fretwork as well as her deep and suave voice are no longer secret to Montreal’s night-owls. Cécile has sizzled and dazzled with Montreal cult bands Dibondoko and Aliens, played or recorded with Corneille, Senaya, Tricia Foster, Montreal Jubilation Choir, Bernard Purdie, Ismael Isaac, Soul City, to name but a few, as well as opened for Manu Dibango and Youssou N’Dour. She has also done her share of mixing, including United Steel Workers of Montreal’s albums Broken Trucks and Bottles and Kerosene & Coal, producing (Dibondoko) and musical directing, including Passion Francophonie, the main show for the XIIe Sommet de la Francophonie.

Dayv Poulain-Le Paysagiste

A native of Sudbury, Ontario, Dayv Poulin has been passionate about music from an early age. When he was just 11, he announced that his life’s ambition was to be able to play (flawlessly) the Guns and Roses song “Patience.”

A supertalented singer and guitarist, he started performing in high-school concerts when he was 12, and at 15 he joined Les Chaizes Muzikales. The group toured its memorable show across Ontario and recorded a CD that received extensive radio airplay. At this point Dayv opted to do most of his songwriting in French—still a fairly risky choice in Ontario.

Dayv then joined Konflit Dramatik as co-lead singer and co-composer. The group’s mix of rap and hard-hitting political rock revolutionized the Franco-Canadian music scene; they toured their over-the-top concept shows across Canada, recorded three albums, and released four music videos, including the hugely popular “Fait à la maison.”

An accomplished performer, Dayv also appeared with half a dozen classic English rock tribute bands. Listeners loved his powerful, smooth and supple voice, and he could barely keep up with the demand. Since 2000 Dayv has fronted the group Toe Jam Tequilla, which has performed for thousands of fans and appears regularly at music events around Ontario.

But Dayv’s talents shone brightest in his performances of songs by the 1970s Quebec progressive rock band Harmonium. His show featuring top hits by Serge Fiori, the group’s lead vocalist, was a huge hit, and fans applauded Dayv’s talent as both a singer and an arranger.

Aside from his performing career, Dayv Poulin worked full-time at Radio-Canada in Ontario, where he was responsible for, among other things, music selection and record reviews. It’s also where he acquired his taste for contemporary Francophone music by such artists as Daniel Bélanger, Ariane Moffat, Dumas, Yann Perreau, and Marie-Pierre Arthur, to name only a few.

Dayv has also been interested in and inspired by lesser-known artists including, on the French side, Alexandre Désilets, Jerome Minière, and Jimmy Hunt, and on the English side, Death Cab for Cutie, Guster, Ben Folds, and Iron & Wine. In a career spanning four decades, Dayv has eagerly immersed himself in the best in singing/songwriting, jazz, pop, folk, and alternative rock (in both English and French). He’s drawn on all of those influences to craft his latest release, Le Paysagiste—a soundscape built around melodic songs whose classic structure belies their intensely modern and innovative sound and orchestration.

And now, sit back and let the beauty of Le Paysagiste fill the hollow of your ear...