Take influences from punk band Sublime, mix in American folk and some hip-hop, then add in Jimi Hendrix and rattle them all around in a Senegalese-Canadian brain. The result? The music of Karim Ouellet.
The Quebec artist is making a rare trip west, Nov. 12, to play a one-off show in Jasper.
The concert, as well as an afternoon performance for local French students, is taking place thanks to the Association Canadienne-Fran莽aise de l鈥橝lberta (ACFA).
With the help of the Regroupement Artistique Francophone d鈥橝lberta (RAFA), the group is bringing Ouellet to Jasper as part of a Canada-wide tour showcasing emerging Francaphone artists.
Ouellet says he鈥檚 never been to Jasper before, and he鈥檚 excited to show off his music to a new audience.
As a Francophone artist, Ouellet usually performs in Quebec, with occasional trips to French-speaking European countries. The Jasper show is an opportunity for him to perform outside of that sphere and get a better gauge of how his music connects with an English audience.
Breaking out of Quebec鈥檚 insular arts scene is tough, but Ouellet says, at this point in his career, he hasn鈥檛 given much thought to garnering more mainstream attention.
In fact, he admits he doesn鈥檛 really have any idea how he鈥檚 perceived by the rest of Canada. Along with a performance schedule limited almost exclusively to French speakers, he put together his album in almost total isolation.
Ouellet plays nearly every instrument on the album himself, and he says that he and his buddy mixed most of it by themselves in a studio.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 really know many people who work in the music industry,鈥� he admits.
He explains that he鈥檚 been pushing so hard promoting his second album that he hasn鈥檛 had time to think about anything but work. He released Fox almost a year ago, and it鈥檚 also been selling in Europe for a few months.
Fox鈥檚 release brought Ouellet a new level of recognition in Quebec, and while he says he feels blessed to be able to make money playing music, he admits he has had some trouble adjusting to the work load that comes with promoting an album.
At first, he says, his newfound notoriety didn鈥檛 change him too much. He knew his music was selling, but he didn鈥檛 really pay attention to the radio or television, so he didn鈥檛 have a firm grasp on his fame.
Now he鈥檚 started to come to terms with it and he says he鈥檚 managed to keep his life more or less the same, mostly because his life is already so consumed with music.
鈥淚 do the same thing, I just do a lot more of it, and do it all the time,鈥� he says.
In December, Ouellet has a few weeks鈥� break in his jam-packed schedule that he will use to vacation with his friends. He admits he鈥檒l be grateful to get away from being a musician for awhile, but he鈥檚 still bringing his guitar with him, 鈥渏ust in case.鈥�
聽Trevor Nichols
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