Les Hay Babies
Les Hay Babies, one of Canada’s hottest francophone bands, have been bringing forth their sparkling, multifaceted folk-rock for over a decade. New Brunswick-born Acadians Julie Aubé, Katrine Noël and Vivianne Roy were friends before joining their voices to a common project and thus strengthening the bonds that unite them through the music they create—as long as fun comes before work, and work is done while having fun.
In 2011, they were fresh out of high school, and each of them was thinking about starting to push their own solo musical career when they decided that it would be much more fun to unite their forces and form Les Hay Babies. The following year, they launched Folio, a first independent EP highlighting their indie-folk and country affinities. This mini-album quickly caught on, establishing itself as part of the blooming folk movement of the early part of the decade. Besides, the band’s initial minimalism also testifies to a practical aspect—acoustic instruments were a must as the three girls were initially touring with a Honda Civic.
In 2013, they signed under Montreal label Simone Records which increased their resources and allowed for the formation of a full band and the diversification of their sound to what we now know them for. This fresh approach is manifested on every album—a hallmark of the band’s unwavering drive and interest in updating sounds from past decades.
And so, it’s with their full band that they launched Mon homesick heart in 2014—a first full album steering from their country-folk beginnings to a more contemporary rock sound. The album features Fil de telephone, their biggest track to this date.
Only two years later, they were back with more—already! La 4ième dimension (version longue), their second full album, takes yet another direction. This time, the girls are visiting 70’s rock and 80’s ballads and are inviting us into their motel room for pizza and pickles.
From 2014 to 2017, Julie and Katrine operated a thrift store based in Moncton, N.-B. Since the band had little budget for staging, this allowed them to make the most of costumes in their shows. One day, they got invited to a house that was to be emptied. They spent two days accumulating clothes when, just before leaving, Katrine noticed a box filled with postcards. What they had discovered was an epistolary correspondence that inspired the lyrics of Boîte aux lettres, launched in 2020. This third album explores 70’s pop and disco while retracing Jacqueline’s journey in the big city of Montreal through her correspondence with her mother.
The girls are eager to find another element of chance to get inspired from. In that spirit, in spring 2023, the girls treat themselves to a writing retreat in Louisiana: pan-Acadian ties are strong and the welcome they’ve received there in the past has always been ecstatic. They settle into an ancestral home in Vermillion Parish where they get to know the locals and are welcomed by the community. They are particularly fond of this bar on the bayou where fishermen like to hang out. These encounters led them to address Acadian identity through song, drawing on its inherent joie de vivre, it’s assertive voice, and its pride. The result: Tintamarre. This party album draws from country, roots and classic rock and features new, yet familiar sounding songs performed by a quintet solidified over the past decade—Julie, Katrine and Vivianne leading the project with Mico Roy on guitar and Marc-André Belliveau on drums. Tintamarre is an album sparkling with joy and tintamarres, and is a distinct new chapter in Les Hay Babies catalog.