Mes Aïeux
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Mes Aïeux (My ancestors) is a folk music group from Quebec, founded in 1996.
Although they are labeled as leaders of the "neo-traditional" movement in Quebec, they frequently use subjects and characters from traditional Quebecois folklore (the devil, the chasse-galerie, the shepherdess, the coureur des bois, drinking songs, etc.) in order to approach modern themes with a sense of humor. These themes include globalization (Qui nous mène?), politics (Ça va mal), generational conflicts (Dégénérations/Le reel du fossé), over-medicating (Remède miracle), the frenetic pace of modern life (Train de vie (le surcheval), Continuer pareil), recent Quebec history (2096 (chanson à boire)), etc. Some of their songs are about famous characters from Quebec history such as "La Corriveau" (La Corrida de la Corriveau) and "Alexis le Trotteur" (Train de vie (le surcheval)). They also sing some humorous songs about Quebecois cultural phenomena such as poutine (Hommage en grain).
Its six founding members include:
- Marie-Hélène Fortin
- Éric Desranleau
- Stéphane Archambault
- Frédéric Giroux
- Marc-André Paquet
- Benoît Archambault.
Since their founding, the group has released 4 albums:
- Ça parle au diable, 2000 (It speaks to the Devil)
- Entre les branches, 2001 (Between the Branches)
- En famille, 2004 (With Family)
- Tire-Toi Une Bûche, 2006 (Pull Yourself a Log or less literally take a seat)
In November 2005 their album "En famille" went platinum (100,000 copies sold) and their two earlier albums, "Ça parle au diable!" And "Entre les branches" both went gold (50,000 copies sold). In December 2006, "En famille" was certified double platinum (200,000 copies sold) and their latest album "Tire-toi une bûche" went gold after only three weeks.
In 2005 Mes Aïeux was honoured with a Félix Award for the category of Best Contemporary Folk Album for "En famille", in addition to being nominated for Group of the Year.
