Dee (singer)
Encyclopedia
Dee is an electro-pop dance-rock Canadian
singer, songwriter
, disc jockey
, producer, multi-instrumentalist, and remixer.
Dee was born in Montreal
and raised in Niagara Falls
and Ottawa
. He moved back to Montreal
at the age of eighteen. In 1998, he became the leader of The Urbanauts; they released the album Stereotonic in 1999. The Urbanauts were nominated for Best Pop Artist at the Montreal Independent Music Awards (MIMI's), but disbanded in 2001. Dee released a five-song EP in 2002. In 2004, Dee and his band members Martin Shank and Reda Enan appeared and performed the song "Slapped" in the film CQ2 directed by Carole Laure
.
In 2005, alongside Kid Loco
, Sixtoo
, Ariane Moffatt
, and DJ Champion, Dee remixed a song on the album Jaune 2005 to commemorate the thirty-fifth anniversary of the release of the classic French-Canadian album Jaune by Jean-Pierre Ferland
. Also in 2005, five songs by Dee were featured in the soundtrack of the French-Canadian indie film Horloge biologique (Dodging the Clock) directed by Ricardo Trogi
.
Dee released his first album in 2006 on the Canadian indie label La Tribu
. Some songs on the album features the voice of female singer Mel, a close collaborator. He also released a song and music video entitled Lonelygirl on the web in 2006. The song is a tribute to or parody of the lonelygirl15
phenomenon. The music video
was shot in an exact replica of the lonelygirl15 bedroom. The video was added on November 9, 2006, and eventually featured on the front page of YouTube
on February 26, 2007.
A song by Dee called "Miles and Miles", whose lyrics include the line "I like to live on the edge", is currently the theme song of Ford's marketing campaign for the crossover Ford Edge
. The campaign featured emerging performers and musical celebrities, including Beyoncé, Kelis
, and Funkmaster Flex
.
Dee and his band have performed at various venues and music festivals in Canada over the years, including Montreal Jazz Fest, North by Northeast, Canadian music week
, Mont-Tremblant Music Symposium, Divers/Cité
, Quebec City Summer Festival, and more.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
singer, songwriter
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
, disc jockey
Disc jockey
A disc jockey, also known as DJ, is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience. Originally, "disc" referred to phonograph records, not the later Compact Discs. Today, the term includes all forms of music playback, no matter the medium.There are several types of disc jockeys...
, producer, multi-instrumentalist, and remixer.
Dee was born in Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
and raised in Niagara Falls
Niagara Falls
The Niagara Falls, located on the Niagara River draining Lake Erie into Lake Ontario, is the collective name for the Horseshoe Falls and the adjacent American Falls along with the comparatively small Bridal Veil Falls, which combined form the highest flow rate of any waterfalls in the world and has...
and Ottawa
Ottawa
Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...
. He moved back to Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
at the age of eighteen. In 1998, he became the leader of The Urbanauts; they released the album Stereotonic in 1999. The Urbanauts were nominated for Best Pop Artist at the Montreal Independent Music Awards (MIMI's), but disbanded in 2001. Dee released a five-song EP in 2002. In 2004, Dee and his band members Martin Shank and Reda Enan appeared and performed the song "Slapped" in the film CQ2 directed by Carole Laure
Carole Laure
Carole Laure is an actress and singer from the province of Quebec in Canada.-Career:Throughout most of her career, Carole Laure primarily collaborated with Anglophone singer, songwriter, producer, and director Lewis Furey, whom she met in 1977 and who later became her husband...
.
In 2005, alongside Kid Loco
Kid Loco
Jean-Yves Prieur, aka Kid Loco is a French electronic musician, DJ, remixer and producer. He was born on June 16, 1964 in Antony, Hauts-de-Seine, France. Allmusic considers his style to be similar to Air and Dimitri from Paris...
, Sixtoo
Sixtoo
Sixtoo was the main project of a Canadian hip hop DJ, MC and producer Vaughn Robert Squire between 1996-2007. He has since retired the Sixtoo name pursuing other directions in electronic music, with a large genre shift from experimental hip hop to deeper club sounds of various temposSquire rose to...
, Ariane Moffatt
Ariane Moffatt
Ariane Moffatt is a Canadian francophone singer-songwriter based in Quebec. She has won Félix and Juno Awards and has performed and collaborated with many artists such as Daniel Bélanger and Marc Déry.-Career:...
, and DJ Champion, Dee remixed a song on the album Jaune 2005 to commemorate the thirty-fifth anniversary of the release of the classic French-Canadian album Jaune by Jean-Pierre Ferland
Jean-Pierre Ferland
Jean-Pierre Ferland, OC, CQ is a Canadian singer and songwriter.-Life and career:Ferland began work with Radio-Canada in 1956 as an accountant, but his career there was short lived. Shortly after, he began taking guitar lessons with Stephen Fentock and began to fall in love with music, writing his...
. Also in 2005, five songs by Dee were featured in the soundtrack of the French-Canadian indie film Horloge biologique (Dodging the Clock) directed by Ricardo Trogi
Ricardo Trogi
Ricardo Trogi is a French Canadian filmmaker, director and actor.-Career:Trogi’s first two films, Québec-Montréal, about seven twenty-something travellers driving between the two cities, and Horloge Biologique, a look at three men and their decisions about having children, were both critical and...
.
Dee released his first album in 2006 on the Canadian indie label La Tribu
La Tribu
-Noted artists:*Les Cowboys Fringants*Robert Charlebois*Jérôme Minière*Dee*Dumas*Dorothée Berryman*Louise Forestier*Jorane*Kate and Anna McGarrigle*La Volée d'Castors*WD-40-See also:*List of Quebec record labels*List of Quebec musicians*Music of Quebec...
. Some songs on the album features the voice of female singer Mel, a close collaborator. He also released a song and music video entitled Lonelygirl on the web in 2006. The song is a tribute to or parody of the lonelygirl15
Lonelygirl15
lonelygirl15 was an interactive web-based video series which began in June 2006 and ran through to August 1, 2008. Developed under the working title The Children of Anchor Cove, the show gained worldwide media attention when it was outed as fictional in September 2006.-Overview:lonelygirl15...
phenomenon. The music video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
was shot in an exact replica of the lonelygirl15 bedroom. The video was added on November 9, 2006, and eventually featured on the front page of YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
on February 26, 2007.
A song by Dee called "Miles and Miles", whose lyrics include the line "I like to live on the edge", is currently the theme song of Ford's marketing campaign for the crossover Ford Edge
Ford Edge
The Ford Edge is a mid-size crossover SUV manufactured by Ford, based on the Ford CD3 platform shared with previous generation Mazda6 and marketed in rebadged form as the Lincoln MKX...
. The campaign featured emerging performers and musical celebrities, including Beyoncé, Kelis
Kelis
Kelis Rogers Kelis Rogers Kelis Rogers (born August 21, 1971 is an American musical artist. She is a BRIT Award, Q Award and NME Award winner and has been nominated for two Grammy Awards. She has had nine top 10 singles on the UK Singles Chart...
, and Funkmaster Flex
Funkmaster Flex
Aston George Taylor, Jr. better known as Funkmaster Flex is an American hip hop DJ, rapper, musician and producer on New York City's Hot 97 radio station and host of the hit MTV show Funk Flex Full Throttle....
.
Dee and his band have performed at various venues and music festivals in Canada over the years, including Montreal Jazz Fest, North by Northeast, Canadian music week
Canadian Music Week
Canadian Music Week is an industry conference and music festival held over four days in various venues throughout Toronto, Ontario, Canada.-History:...
, Mont-Tremblant Music Symposium, Divers/Cité
Divers/Cité
Divers/Cité is an LGBT multidisciplinary arts and music festival taking place each year in the heart of Montreal, since 1993. An avant-garde event in the heart of downtown Montreal and in Montreal's Gay Village area held usually on the end of July and beginning of August every year and extending...
, Quebec City Summer Festival, and more.