A celebration of the rich musical diversity of this fascinating French Canadian province, released in honor of Québec City’s 400th anniversary

1 Mathieu Mathieu  •  Cette Ville
2 DobaCaracol  •  Étrange
3 Martin Léon  •  Je m’demande
4 Annie Villeneuve  •  Un Homme
5 Chloé Sainte-Marie  •  Brulots
6 Florent Vollant  •  Nitshiuenan
7 Marie-Annick Lépine  •  Au Chalet
8 Myreille Bédard  •  Il Fait Dimanche
9 Polémil Bazar  •  Les Visceres
10 La Bottine Souriante  •  La Brunette Est La
11 Le Vent Du Nord  •  Vive l’amour
Putumayo joins in the 400th Anniversary celebration of one of the world’s most fascinating and beautiful cities with the new release Québec. This collection features an array of Québécois songs ranging from traditional folk to contemporary singer-songwriters, and even includes a song by a Native Canadian artist singing in the rare Montagnais language.

Designated as a World Heritage City, Québec City has a proud musical tradition. Drawn from a variety of influences such as French and Celtic folk traditions and European pop, Québécois music includes a broad range of sounds and styles.Yet despite its potential broad international appeal, the music of Québec is not very well known to people outside of the province. Through this enchanting selection of songs, Putumayo seeks to introduce listeners to the compelling music of this unique province.

With their modern hippie attitude, DobaCaracol is a bit of an anomaly on the Québec pop music scene, but their enchanting fusion of funk, reggae vibes and African rhythms with French-language pop has earned them a wide following. Singer Chloé Sainte-Marie, after establishing herself as a film actress, has earned her place as a popular and respected vocalist whose songs draw from the poetry of French, Québécois and Inuit writers. One of the most recognizable figures in Québécois popular music, Annie Villeneuve was a celebrated winner of the television program Star Académie, the Québécois equivalent of American Idol. Singer-songwriter Florent Vollant writes most of his songs in his native Montagnais language, an Algonquian language spoken by over 11,000 people. As part of the successful Native American pop group Kashtin, Vollant has helped bring indigenous Canadian music to a wide audience throughout Canada. Québec also features 7 other artists who have drawn from a diverse range of influences to create their own unique sounds.