Ariane Moffatt

Québecois singer/songwriter Ariane Moffatt makes sweet, melodic adult pop tinged with electronica, folk, and French chanson. Her first album, Aquanaute, arrived in 2002 with playful arrangements on a mix of wistful and more theatrical songs. She was nominated for a Juno Award for her live release À la Station C in 2006, and issued a compilation of her covers for the Canadian TV series <I>Trauma in 2010. Her fifth studio album, 2015's 22h22, committed to brasher electropop without simplifying her complex style. Moffatt was born in Lévis, Quebec, across the St. Lawrence River from Quebec City. Raised in suburban Quebec City, she moved to Montreal after completing secondary school, and studied music at Cégep de Saint-Laurent. She went on to earn a bachelor's degree in music and singing from the Université du Québec à Montréal. Soon after, she accepted an offer to tour with singer Marc Déry, then joined Daniel Bélanger's touring band as keyboardist and backing vocalist in 2001. Meanwhile, she signed with Audiogram, which released her debut LP, Aquanaute, in 2002. It introduced her low-key mix of playfulness, melodicism, and nostalgia. She followed it with Le Cœur Dans la Tête in 2005, the same year she put out her first live album and DVD, Á la Station C. It was nominated for a Juno Award for Music DVD of the Year in 2006. Two years later, she issued her third studio LP, Tour les Sens, which featured the Canadian Hot 100 single "Je Veux Tour." The album was her first to chart in Canada, and climbed all the way to number two. Her cover songs for the French-language TV drama <I>Trauma were collected on Trauma: Chansons de la Série TV in 2010, which reached number nine on the albums chart. Included were versions of tunes by, among others, Simon & Garfunkel, Leonard Cohen, R.E.M., and Pink Floyd. She returned in 2012 with both MA and, on the Mo'Fat label, MA Remix, which featured artists such as Poirier, Bonjay, Dubbel Dutch, and Nautiluss. MA returned her to the number two spot in Canada. Moffatt then joined the Simone Records roster and released an album of bolder electropop. Titled 22h22, it peaked at number four after its release in 2015. She followed it with the live set Le Petit Spectacle à la Chapelle in 2017. ~ Marcy Donelson, Rovi