Annie-Claude De­schê­nes

All she really wanted to do was to take a creative break, look after her child, and study permaculture. Then, the pandemic hit, and Annie-Claude Dêschenes was forced to channel her creative energy elsewhere. Fortunately, this resulted in years of meticulous work on the first solo album of the singer who is otherwise known as the frontwoman of the Canadian dance-punk band Duchess Says. ‘Les manières de table’ (2024) is a concept album that blends art pop, coldwave, and minimal synth, inspired primarily by the sounds of the dinner table. Spoons in glasses, knives and forks on plates, a phone call to make a restaurant reservation – the culinary theme runs through the darkly seductive sound of this album from start to finish. It’s thus only logical that Dêschenes transforms her concerts into a mixture of live performance and dinner, skilfully playing with expectations. Experimental, multimedial, and appealing to all the senses, she will also be presenting an extraordinary show here in September that is sure to leave room for interpretation.