Kevin Parent
Encyclopedia
Kevin Parent
Kevin Parent (born 12 December 1972 in Greenfield Park, Quebec
(now Longueuil
) is a bilingual Québécois
singer-songwriter. Although his mother language is English
, he was raised and educated in the French
speaking area of Bay of Chaleur (Gaspé Peninsula
) in the municipality of Nouvelle
during his childhood and attended high school at the École Antoine-Bernard in Carleton-sur-Mer
and now lives in the nearby town of Miguasha
.
With the release of his first English album, Fangless Wolf Facing Winter, Kevin Parent is fulfilling a natural artistic phase. Twelve years after the release of his first album, “Pigeon d'argile”, Parent felt he could finally express what he calls his 'duality' of growing up in the gaspesian bilingual area of Baie-des chaleurs (border of northern New Brunswick) surrounded by the language of “Dylan” as much as the one of “Ferland”. Far from abandoning his French-language roots, Fangless Wolf Facing Winter represents a new stage, and is intended by Kevin to be sincere offering—one he is making to himself and to the public.
Kevin Parent has always understood the value of being surrounded by the right people. On Fangless Wolf Facing Winter we find him side by side with Rob Heaney and Manuel Marie on sound and mix, as well as musicians Dominique Messier, Tony Levin, Jeff Smallwood, Jocelyn Tellier, Dan Georgesco, Daniel Bélanger
, Paul Picard, Rick Haworth, Catherine Ledoux, Sheila Hannigan and John Webster. Dan Georgesco is a collaborator on one of his songs (There She Goes), and the composer of Down in Mexico. In addition, Blue Rodeo
’s Jim Cuddy appears on one song (Every Now And Then, co-written with Malcolm Burn), and the voice of Damhnait Doyle is subtle but undeniably present on the album's title track.
Fangless Wolf Facing Winter, which is being released by Audiogram
, features twelve deeply introspective, personal tracks. On every song, we find a warm and familiar voice, easy to distinguish from thousands of others. Though Kevin is best known as a French-speaking artist, the first songs he ever wrote were in English, so this musical evolution is a natural one. The release of Fangless Wolf Facing Winter gives a public voice to a little-known part of him, an opportunity to know and understand one of Quebec’s (and all of Canada’s) most respected singer/songwriters.
Discovered in 1993 when he participated in a songwriting competition, Kevin Parent signed to Tacca Musique shortly thereafter. His first album, “Pigeon d'argile” sold over 360,000 copies, making it one of the greatest Québécois successes of the decade. With hits like “Nomade sedentaire”, “Seigneur” and “Boomerang”, Kevin quickly became one of the biggest names in Quebec music in the ‘90s, earning the respect of peers and critics alike, along with numerous Felix Awards in the province and tour dates on both sides of the Atlantic. Two years later, Kevin released “Grand Parleur, Petit Faiseur”, which also sold more than 350,000 copies and earned Kevin the Felix Award for Rock Album of the Year in 1998. His follow up albums, Les Vents ont changé (2001) and Retrouvailles (2003), which featured collaborations with Claire Pelletier, Catherine Durand, among others, both achieved multi-platinum status and earned him numerous Juno Award
nominations (including a win for the best selling Francophone album of 2002) and Felix Awards.
Kevin Parent (born 12 December 1972 in Greenfield Park, Quebec
Greenfield Park, Quebec
Greenfield Park is a borough of the city of Longueuil, Quebec, Canada. It covers an area of , with a population of 17,491 as of December 2004. Greenfield Park is the only borough of Longueuil that has an officially bilingual status. It is primarily a post-war suburban area. Like the other two...
(now Longueuil
Longueuil
Longueuil is a city in the province of Quebec, Canada. It is the seat of the Montérégie administrative region and sits on the south shore of the Saint Lawrence River directly across from Montreal. The population as of the Canada 2006 Census totaled 229,330, making it the third largest city in...
) is a bilingual Québécois
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
singer-songwriter. Although his mother language is English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, he was raised and educated in the French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
speaking area of Bay of Chaleur (Gaspé Peninsula
Gaspé Peninsula
The Gaspésie , or Gaspé Peninsula or the Gaspé, is a peninsula along the south shore of the Saint Lawrence River in Quebec, Canada, extending into the Gulf of Saint Lawrence...
) in the municipality of Nouvelle
Nouvelle, Quebec
Nouvelle is a municipality in eastern Quebec, Canada on the south shore of the Gaspésie at the confluence of the Nouvelle River and Baie des Chaleurs. It is the seat of the MRC d'Avignon....
during his childhood and attended high school at the École Antoine-Bernard in Carleton-sur-Mer
Carleton-sur-Mer, Quebec
Carleton-sur-Mer is the fifth largest town of the Gaspésie's south shore, in southeastern Quebec, located on route 132, along Baie des Chaleurs.- Culture :* attracts over 20,000 spectators to see local and international artists...
and now lives in the nearby town of Miguasha
Nouvelle, Quebec
Nouvelle is a municipality in eastern Quebec, Canada on the south shore of the Gaspésie at the confluence of the Nouvelle River and Baie des Chaleurs. It is the seat of the MRC d'Avignon....
.
With the release of his first English album, Fangless Wolf Facing Winter, Kevin Parent is fulfilling a natural artistic phase. Twelve years after the release of his first album, “Pigeon d'argile”, Parent felt he could finally express what he calls his 'duality' of growing up in the gaspesian bilingual area of Baie-des chaleurs (border of northern New Brunswick) surrounded by the language of “Dylan” as much as the one of “Ferland”. Far from abandoning his French-language roots, Fangless Wolf Facing Winter represents a new stage, and is intended by Kevin to be sincere offering—one he is making to himself and to the public.
Kevin Parent has always understood the value of being surrounded by the right people. On Fangless Wolf Facing Winter we find him side by side with Rob Heaney and Manuel Marie on sound and mix, as well as musicians Dominique Messier, Tony Levin, Jeff Smallwood, Jocelyn Tellier, Dan Georgesco, Daniel Bélanger
Daniel Bélanger
Daniel Bélanger is a musician/singer/songwriter. He is considered one of the best Québécois songwriters and singers to emerge in the past 15 years...
, Paul Picard, Rick Haworth, Catherine Ledoux, Sheila Hannigan and John Webster. Dan Georgesco is a collaborator on one of his songs (There She Goes), and the composer of Down in Mexico. In addition, Blue Rodeo
Blue Rodeo
Blue Rodeo is a Canadian pop and country rock band, which was formed in 1984 in Toronto, Ontario. They have been signed with Warner Music Group since their debut album Outskirts in March 1987...
’s Jim Cuddy appears on one song (Every Now And Then, co-written with Malcolm Burn), and the voice of Damhnait Doyle is subtle but undeniably present on the album's title track.
Fangless Wolf Facing Winter, which is being released by Audiogram
Audiogram
An audiogram is a standard way of representing a person's hearing loss . Most audiograms cover the limited range 100 Hz to 8000 Hz which is most important for clear understanding of speech, and they plot the threshold of hearing relative to a standardised curve that represents 'normal'...
, features twelve deeply introspective, personal tracks. On every song, we find a warm and familiar voice, easy to distinguish from thousands of others. Though Kevin is best known as a French-speaking artist, the first songs he ever wrote were in English, so this musical evolution is a natural one. The release of Fangless Wolf Facing Winter gives a public voice to a little-known part of him, an opportunity to know and understand one of Quebec’s (and all of Canada’s) most respected singer/songwriters.
Discovered in 1993 when he participated in a songwriting competition, Kevin Parent signed to Tacca Musique shortly thereafter. His first album, “Pigeon d'argile” sold over 360,000 copies, making it one of the greatest Québécois successes of the decade. With hits like “Nomade sedentaire”, “Seigneur” and “Boomerang”, Kevin quickly became one of the biggest names in Quebec music in the ‘90s, earning the respect of peers and critics alike, along with numerous Felix Awards in the province and tour dates on both sides of the Atlantic. Two years later, Kevin released “Grand Parleur, Petit Faiseur”, which also sold more than 350,000 copies and earned Kevin the Felix Award for Rock Album of the Year in 1998. His follow up albums, Les Vents ont changé (2001) and Retrouvailles (2003), which featured collaborations with Claire Pelletier, Catherine Durand, among others, both achieved multi-platinum status and earned him numerous Juno Award
Juno Award
The Juno Awards are presented annually to Canadian musical artists and bands to acknowledge their artistic and technical achievements in all aspects of music...
nominations (including a win for the best selling Francophone album of 2002) and Felix Awards.
Discography
- 1995: Pigeon d'argile
- 1998: Grand parleur, petit faiseur
- 2001: Les Vents ont changé
- 2003: Retrouvailles
- 29 May 2007: Fangless Wolf Facing Winter
- 2009: Kevin Parent
Awards and recognition
- 2002: Juno AwardJuno AwardThe Juno Awards are presented annually to Canadian musical artists and bands to acknowledge their artistic and technical achievements in all aspects of music...
for Best Selling Francophone Album, Les Vents ont changé - 1999: ADISQ award for Album Pop-Rock of the Year, Grand parleur, petit faiseur
- 1998: ADISQ award for Song of the Year, "Fréquenter l’oubli"
- 1998: ADISQ award for Male artist of the Year
- 1997: ADISQ award for Song of the Year for "Father On the Go"
- 1996: ADISQ award for Song of the Year for "Seigneur"
- 1996: ADISQ award for Male artist of the Year
- 1996: ADISQ award for Concert of the Year