We Are Wolves
are a Quebec indie rock band, based in Montreal, consisting of vocalist and bassist Alexander Ortiz, keyboardist/backing vocalist Vincent Levesque and drummer/vocalist Antonin Marquis. The band released their debut album, Non-Stop Je Te Plie en Deux
with Fat Possum Records, in 2005. They have toured extensively across Canada, the United States and Europe to support the album and have been playlisted on CBC Radio 3. They also performed live on the first episode of that network's live concert series CBC Radio 3 Sessions
. Their second album, Total Magique
, was released September 4, 2007, with a new label Dare To Care Records.
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WE ARE WOLVES TICKETS
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History
Around 2000, Alexander Ortiz and Vincent Levesque, both from the
visual art world, along with Antonin Marquis, formed a band with
synthesizers, bass, vocals and drums. In their own words the band likes to qualify their sound as “a post-punk landscape with analogue trees. Like rock after the postmodern explosion”. Nameless until 2002, Alexander showed up at the jam space wearing a home-made shirt with a skull spitting a synth displaying the inscription, 'We Are Wolves'. At that moment they decided to name the band We Are Wolves.
In 2005, they released the album "
Non-Stop Je Te Plie en Deux" on the American label
Fat Possum.We Are Wolves promoted the album with shows in international festivals including Le Rock dans tous ses états, Les Eurokéennes, Dour Festival,
SXSW,
CMJ,
Virgin Festival and
Osheaga. They had their first North American tour in spring 2005. They opened for
…And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead and
The (International) Noise Conspiracy. In September of that year, they performed at
North East Sticks Together. A second tour came in 2006 in which they supported the
Gossip in addition to some solo gigs across Canada and the United States. They completed a five week tour in Europe with Montreal act
Duchess Says, in summer 2006.
May 2007 brought the single “Fight and Kiss”.
[1] This
EP also features “Coconut 155” and marks the second chapter in their career. We Are Wolves presented their second full-length album “Total Magique” on September 4, 2007, in Canada and on October 2, 2007, in the U.S. They were well-received by the media and received press in
Pitchfork Media and
Spin.
[2] [3] After sold out gigs in
Quebec, receiving the M-Galaxie Prize at M for Montreal and participating in four shows for CMJ
[4], the band toured Canada, the U.S. and Europe in 2007-2008.
In September 2008, We Are Wolves won a
Gémeaux Award for the Best TV Musical Theme for
Bazzo.tv
theme
[5].
The song "Psychic Kids" is featured on the video game
Midnight Club: Los Angeles, and the song "Fight and Kiss" is featured on the video game
Need for Speed: ProStreet.
Musical Style
Their primitive sound matches perfectly with their name.
[6] Rock and
electronic fans compare their style to that of
The Cramps to
Add N to X. The
punk and electronic genres are merged within the music of We Are Wolves. They are inspired by the art world and can be likened to
Devo and
Talking Heads in that respect. One of their first shows was held at the art pavilion of
Concordia University. Since then, natives of Montreal have seen them live in traditional venues, loft parties and
art galleries such as Belgo, Saidye Bronfman Center and Fonderie Darling.
Discography
Studio albums
- Non-Stop Je Te Plie en Deux
- Fat Possum Records - 2005
- Total Magique
- Dare to Care - 2007
References
- Spin
- Pitchfork Media
- Pitchfork Media
- New York Times
- [1]
- Oh My Rockness