Since releasing her debut album in 2013, Klô Pelgag has taken the francophone music scene by storm like an enigmatic breath of fresh air, becoming one of the most compelling and unique singer-songwriters of her generation.
Devoted to bold melodies and poetic lyrics, she charms and moves audiences with delicately crafted tracks that shine a spotlight on the instinctive desire that fuels her creativity. The artist’s third LP, Notre-Dame-des-Sept-Douleurs, was released in 2020. It’s a life-saving album that tells a story of a deeply rooted journey, an experience that is suffocating and painful at times, but extremely empowering and liberating. This album sparked something truly amazing in the artist. With it she took control, followed the beat of her own drum and pushed the boundaries of “pop” music.
Klô Pelgag rose to fame following the release of L’alchimie des monstres. Lauded by critics and audiences alike, the success of her debut album propelled her to award-winning artist status, earning her prestigious awards in Canada and Europe, including Best New Artist at the Gala de l’ADISQ in 2014, the French Cultural Minster’s Prix Barbara in 2015, the Grand Prix de la Francophonie from l’Académie Charles Cros in 2014, the Prix Miroir Célébration de la langue française at the Festival d’été de Québec, and was named Radio-Canada’s 2014-2015 Révélation chanson. Her second album, L’étoile thoracique, is a free-flowing fresco in which she masterfully spins a captivating web of songs. The artist received several awards for this album, including the Prix Rapsat-Lelièvre in 2017, the Prix de la chanson SOCAN, four Félix Awards at the Gala de l’ADISQ in 2017 (Critics’ Choice Album of the Year, Alternative Album of the Year, Singer-Songwriter of the Year, Record Producer of the Year). It also landed her a spot on the Long List for the Polaris Music Prize, and in 2018, she was crowned Female Artist of the Year at the Gala de l’ADISQ.
And in this space where light pierces the darkness, Klô Pelgag unleashes the full power of her creativity. Although seemingly unlikely at first, her creations leave her audiences’ jaws on the floor in wonder and admiration.
The album Notre-Dame-des-Sept-Douleurs has been streamed nearly 3 million times, is #1 on the Quebec charts and #2 in Canada in its first week, and has garnered rave reviews in the United States, Canada, Japan, and Europe. The influential American journalist Anthony Fantano reviewed the album on his YouTube channel The Needle Drop, an unprecedented achievement for a francophone album. “There are tons of beautiful, creative highlights on every corner of this project.” The song “La maison jaune” appeared in the American Netflix series Snowpiercer in March. We also launched a radio campaign in the United States despite the language barrier, and the album reached #56 on the NACC Chart Top 200, the highest position for a non-anglophone album. We also had articles in Atwood Magazine, Earworm, and 34st. In France, Télérama awarded the album four fortes (the equivalent of five stars), while FrancoFans and Longueur d’ondes commended the artist’s originality and the album’s emotionally charged atmosphere. Several other French media outlets also covered the album release, including Rolling Stone France, Tsugi Magazine, Libération, Radio Europe 1, Brain, General POP, La Face B, RFI Musique, Rock’N’Fool, and others. Excerpts were presented on France Inter, FIP Radio, Alternantes, Arvene, Panik, Europe 1 Musique, and others. France Inter radio shows “Le nouveau rendez-vous” and “Côté club” are both looking forward to hosting a live performance by Klô Pelgag when public health restrictions will allow it. In Belgium and Switzerland, we’ve had coverage from Le Temps, Ron Orp Normandie, Kanal K, RTS La Première, Le Soir, and Tabernak! The pandemic obviously slowed down the success we were having with the album in France.
In Canada, Exclaim! gave the album four stars, and we had coverage from CBC Music and several others. Notre-Dame-des-Sept-Douleurs was nominated for the JUNO Awards in the category “Francophone Album of the Year” and won for “Album Artwork of the Year” – The artist offered an incredible virtual performance during the 2021 annual gala. It’s also on the Polaris 2021 short list.
