Annie-Claude Deschênes

Multidisciplinarity is an integral part of Annie-Claude Deschênes’ creative process, who continues her perpetual quest of uniting music & performance art by bending the pre-established conventions of stage presence. As a key figure on the Montreal independent music scene for the last two decades, she has left her mark as a performer & visual artist with Duchess Says & PyPy; two bands that are renowned as much for their electrifying live shows as they are for their artistic sensibilities. Always forward, her exploratory approach takes her into uncharted territory with her debut as a solo artist. The urgency that characterises her work remains, but frustration & aggression give way to introspection & vulnerability. Driven by the endless need to create outside her comfort zone, Annie-Claude Deschênes reinvents herself once again.

Today Annie-Clade Deschênes shares her debut single "MENACE MINIMALE", which is out now via Italians Do It Better / Bonsound.

"MENACE MINIMALE" is a dystopia that reflects the exploration of the self, under surveillance. In this ode to ephemerality, Annie-Claude explores timeless avenues and seeks to redefine one's thought patterns under the pressure of time. The cut and grinding bass becomes menacing, while the urgent and cadenced rhythms evoke the constant race of being against its own obsolescence.

Over the course of her career, Annie-Claude Deschênes shared the stage with a number of renowned bands, including The Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Teenage Jesus & the Jerks, The Black Lips, The Hives, The Hot Snakes & Buzzcocks, among others. Her extensive touring has taken her all over the world, playing venues & festivals (Primavera Fest, Eurockéennes de Belfort, OSHEAGA, Sled Island, etc.) as well as unconventional locations like golf courses, factories & churches. Her career is punctuated by collaborative projects linking various art forms, including the co-founding of the collective Conclusion Finale, with whom she exhibits at Concordia University's VAV gallery, the DARE-DARE diffusion center & Université Laval in Quebec City, & the production of the soundtrack for Yves St-Laurent's Los Angeles fashion show with PyPy. Winner of the 2022 cohort of the PHI NORD program, she was awarded a two-week immersive creative residency, during which her songs transformed into a tangible debut album due in the spring of 2024.