Annie-Claude Deschênes

Active on Montreal, Québec’s independent scene since the mid-2000s, Annie-Claude Deschênes has developed a practice at the intersection of music, performance and visual art. A singer, musician and songwriter, she first made her mark with the Montreal bands Duchess Says and PyPy, where her work took shape in a post-punk, art-punk and noise register, with a constant emphasis on stage presence and the visual dimension. Under her own name, she has steered this foundation toward a tighter, more introspective songwriting approach, without abandoning physical intensity or a marked taste for direct forms. Her first solo album, Les manières de table, released in 2024, sits within an aesthetic of minimal electronic pop—dry rhythms, repetitive motifs and clean melodies—where danceable drive, synthetic chill and a latent unease intertwine. There she extends her work on codes of representation and social relations in a more personal format, between song, electronic textures and performance.