Click to listen to Marie-Josée Houle’s “Blase D’La Vie” marie-josee-houle-blase-dla-vie
Marie-Josée Houle was born in Val d‘Or, Quebec and raised in Edmonton, Alberta and celebrates her dual cultural roots through music. She sings and writes fluently in both English and French, she brings the Townships to the Prairies and beyond. This lady scores major points with me personally for having been classically trained on the accordion at age five. But, like yours truly, her musical history is as varied as her hair colour. In 2000, she took up the electric bass and saxophone in order to form two very eclectic projects in Edmonton: “Pangina”, an all-girl punk band and “The Elevators”, a post-modern muzak band. Her reconnection with the accordion coincided with a move to Ottawa in 2003 and culminated in the world music collaboration known as “Casadore.” The success of that project – including a performance at the 2005 Ottawa Folk Music Festival – served as a springboard for her solo work. Continue reading ‘Marie-Josée Houle in profile: Yes, accordion can be sexy’