La Volée d'Castors

La Volée d'Castors ("A Flock of Beavers") is a Quebec folk band formed in 1993. Since the end of the 90s they have gained a lot of fame in Quebec and internationally and have toured 15 countries.

Biography

The band from the Lanaudière region was formed in 1993 by Nicolas Froment, Mathieu Lacas, Martin Mailhot and Sébastien Parent. Their first album, Galant, was released in 1994.

In 1995 they are joined by Frédéric Bourgeois from Sainte-Marie-Salomé and, for the first time they perform outside the province of Quebec, at the Northern Lights Festival Boréal in Sudbury, Ontario. Réjean Brunet is added to the line-up in 1996, and for a whole year the "Castors" are the official musicians of a traditional Lanaudière dance ensemble, les "Petits Pas Jacadiens". They also make occasional concerts in and around Montreal and Quebec City.

1997 marks a turning point for the band when they produce themselves at a world folk festival in Saint-Malo, France, in their first international performance. In 1998, their second album, Par monts et par vaux, is launched, and the "Castors" are invited to various radio and televised live performances which helped increase their popularity. They play for the first time in the United States in 1999 at the New Music Festival, in Vermont, and at the same time they produce a video for "Belle embarquez!".

The new millennium saw them performing in concerts all across Canada and also in the United States, notably at the North American Folk Music and Dance Alliance in Cleveland, Ohio. Meanwhile their third album, VDC, recorded in Saint-Calixte, is released the same year and earns the group a nomination at the Juno Awards 2000 in the "Best Roots and traditional album-group".

In 2001 they go on a tour that will take them across Canada, Europe, and Quebec where they collect a "Félix" at the ADISQ awards for the best traditional album. The following year, original member Nicolas Froment quits the band, only to be replaced by Steve Boulay from Gaspésie, and again the band embarks on a European tour, in which they take part at the Hebridean Celtic Festival in Scotland and the Tonder Folk Festival in Denmark. Back in Quebec they also perform live with La Bottine Souriante and tour across the province.

In 2003 their fourth album, Migration, is released and the band tours North America, Europe, and for the first time, play in Japan, Malaysia, at the Rainforest World Music Festival, Australia, at the WOMADelaide, and New-Zealand. The New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival and the Vancouver Folk Festival also welcomed the "Castors", who were joined that year by André Dupuis, a percussionist experienced in Cuban and Latin music.

Since 2004, the band takes care of itself independently, and has continued to make concerts in Europe and North America. In 2005, their first live album, Y'a du monde ­à messe, was released. A new member, Frédéric Beauséjour, was welcomed the same year.

Members

* Frédéric Beauséjour 2005-
* Frédéric Bourgeois (Accordion, feet, harmonica, voice) 1995-
* André Dupuis (Percussions) 2003-
* Mathieu Lacas (Violin) 1993-
* Sébastien Parent (Guitars, banjo, voice) 1993-

Former members
* Martin Mailhot 1993-2006
* Nicolas Froment 1993-2001
* Steve Boulay 2001-2005

Discography

*1994: Galant
*1998: Par monts et par vaux
*2000: VDC
*2003: Migration
*2005: Y'a du monde à messe
*2006: L'album du temps des fêtes

External links

* [http://www.vdc.qc.ca/ VDC Official website]