Swing

NOTE: There is also an Asian group from Hong Kong named Swing. If someone has info on the group could they please add it to this wiki? Thank you!

Pris de/Taken from: Le Groupe Swing.com.

Swing indisputably has you swinging, dancing and stomping your feet as soon as you can hear the very first bars of technotrad which bring back the good old kitchen partys of yesteryear. La vie comme ça, where sampling and scratching are combined to the fiddle and the mandolin, make for a remarkable mix.

A postmodern technotrad jam session

Explosive mix of infectious rhythms and of rigodon rhymes, their music shatters conventions and conjugates the familiar sound of traditional celebrations in the present tense. The result is fresh, energetic and young... many times over! This playful interpretation of good old folk music accompanied by urban rhythms renders the music of our ancestors contemporary, instantly creating the impression that the singer and excellent dancer, Michel Bénac and the fiddle and multiple instrument player, Jean-Philippe Goulet are there with you and will have you swinging through the night.

SwingThe Genesis of Swingmania

Swing took the world by surprise in 1999 with the song La chanson s@crée, the first album from Michel Bénac and Bobby Lalonde (Garolou), featuring the now mythical Un bon matin and Vasectomie de la vie. In this album, Bobby favoured traditional music whereas Michel is more particularly interested in American pop (hip-hop and techno). Entirely composed of original material, the album presents ten or so titles, each livelier than the next, sometimes inspired by purely traditional music. The clip titled Ça va brasser was broadcast by Musique Plus for quite some time. Several cuts from the album were played by various radio stations throughout the country, some having even reached the top of the charts.

In 2001, Swing is the overall winner at the very first Gala de la chanson et de la musique franco ontariennes, with no less than four Trille Or Awards: Best song (Un bon matin), Best new performer, Best Concert Performance and Best Producer.

In 2002, Swing is nominated for a Gemini Award (Best performance or Guest in a variety program or series) for their participation in the spotlight show Thrill on the Hill, broadcast live across Canada from Parliament Hill on July 1st, 2001.

SwingNew way to go for a renewed Swing

Four years later, the group has evolved: Bobby Lalonde hands the bow over to Jean-Philippe Goulet in the framework of an electrifying show held in June 2002, which ends with the now quite famous last words: -"Ça va brasser!" (We're going to rock the house!). The complicity between Bénac and Goulet is instantaneous, their synergy ignites sparks and the group's bubbling creativity is stronger than ever. The new, revitalized Swing gives performances and rocks the house at the Festival franco ontarien and at the Festival acadien de Caraquet (both these shows are recorded by the SRC (French CBC).

In the spring of 2003, a second album, titled La vie comme ça, is released. The first cut takes an enviable position in radio stations across Canada. "Édith" will have many dancing throughout the summer of 2003. The album's title song La vie comme ça is played by radio stations in the fall. The album is just as successful as the first. This is followed by the group's participation in shows such as Le Garage, Belle et Bum, Palmarès as well as the Telethon for research into children's diseases.

SwingThe year 2004 starts off on the right foot. Swing records 2 songs on chansons sur l'album compilation of the 50th anniversary of the Québec Carnival, including the title piece: Carnaval, mardi gras, Carnaval. A show is held on February 6, during the carnival and by popular demand, Swing will take part in the closing show. In March of 2004, the adventure continues with a tour of Eastern Europe. Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and Romania get acquainted with this joyous duo. Back in Canada on June 24, the group is invited to launch the festivities of the Quebecers' Fête nationale in Montréal at parc Maisonneuve. Giving a one-hour performance to warm up the crowd estimated at over 100,000, the group also performed one of their songs during the main show, which was televised. The summer of 2004 is marked by more than thirty shows throughout the country. "Au nom du père et du fils et du set carré", a new cut from the album, is released to the radio stations and is accompanied by a videoclip directed by François Blouin, known for his work with Daniel Boucher and Arianne Mofat, among others…

It is a rejuvenated Swing, a group that has gathered speed and scope, that takes the music scene around the world by storm. Evidently, Swing is truly burning with zeal.

Swing is...

Michel Bénac (23 • 06)

With a passion for hip-hop and techno, this young singer/arranger/songwriter from Vanier (Ontario) started his career as a recording artist at a very young age. Having founded the group Michael B. and the Power while formally studying piano and voice, he continued his singing career with the acappella group SAIJ (www.saij.net.).

With the assistance of Gilles Godard in Nashville (Tennessee), Michel Benac recorded his first album intended only for promotional use. At that same point he also created his own record label, Purple Hive Music Group, and produced "Let me be the one" which received many accolades throughout Canada.

Les Disques Dance Plant (Montréal) produced his second album, Why do things change?, a solo effort this time. Michel then embarked on a promotional tour in Brasil and Austria, earning him a very successful reputation that has since sent his music into Indonesia and the Phillipines. And this was just a start. Winning the "Cerbul de aur" prize at an international contest in Romania, he also brought back an American Guild of Music prize for the Best Performer, in Detroit.

In 1998, Michel Benac co-founded the group Swing. One year later, he released their first techno-trad inspired CD, La chanson s@crée, along with the eye-catching video, Ca va brasser. In the spring of 2003, Swing released a second CD, La vie comme ca, that continues to gain much success.

Jean-Philippe Goulet (19 • 03)

Originally from Rimouski, this talented musician was trained in many types of music. His musical vocabulary spans from classic to heavy metal influences, with pop, country, rock and experimental jazz all mixed in together.

A member of the rock group Indisicipline, this experience permitted him to learn and to explore a new artistic universe. With his fellow musicians, Jean-Philippe Goulet released two CDs, A non obvious ride and Vixit, whose releases spilled into the United States. Over the last ten years, Jean-Philippe has participated at many festivals and has performed at a multitude of concerts. He is also obsessed with trying out different instruments, keyboards, percussion and voice techniques.

As a musical arranger for various theatrical productions, Jean-Philippe has recently collaborated on the new album by Patrick Prevost as well as the experimental jazz album, Blame: Mascot by Wittox O'Hara.

As for his interest in country music, Jean-Philippe Goulet has always flirted with instruments like the bass and the violin. Swing offers him the occasion to exploit his interests in folk music and to transform his thoughts into art. His theory background also permits him to draw on traditional recordings, to listen to his many violin influences and to study the masters in order to decipher the common structures and give them a new life in the new sound of folk in the new millennium.

www.legroupeswing.com