Béatrice "Betty" Bonifassi (born 1971) is a Canadian vocalist based in Montreal. She has a deep, contralto singing voice, sometimes referred to as "masculine",Bernier, Sophie. "Beast", CHYZ FM, Mar 7, 2008 (French text) Retrieved 5 November 2008 Retrieved 5 November 2008 which has been compared to that of Shirley Bassey.Charpentier, Lorraine. "Bêtes de scène >> Montreal's Beast pairs a famous singer with a beatsmith to the stars", Montreal Mirror, Mar 13 – Mar 19, 2008, Vol. 23 No. 38 Retrieved 5 November 2008 Retrieved 5 November 2008MacNeil, Jason. "Collaboration brings out the Beast", Toronto Sun, Jan 29, 2009 Retrieved 6 May 2011 Bonifassi has performed music of many styles in both English and French—from jazz, to traditional music, to blues, to electronica. In 2003, she gained international exposure when she provided the singing voices for the title characters of the animated film The Triplets of Belleville (Les Triplettes de Belleville).Cormier, Sylvain. "Ben et Betty voient triple", Le Devoir, Jan 9, 2004 (French text) Retrieved 5 November 2008 She has collaborated with composer and saxophonist, François D'AmoursBonifassi's interview with Monique Giroux of Radio-Canada, Sep 13, 2004(French text and audio) Retrieved 5 November 2008 and has performed and toured with musician Maxime Morin (also known as DJ Champion)."Oscar nominee headlines M For Montreal", NME news, Oct 31, 2006 Retrieved 5 November 2008 Bonifassi appeared as a guest vocalist on Deweare's album High Class Trauma (2006),Bottenberg, Rupert. "Viable geometry, instant poetry >> French transplant Deweare finds momentum in Montreal", Montreal Mirror, Apr 19–25, 2007, Vol. 22 No. 43 Retrieved 5 November 2008 and she is one half of the electronic music duo Beast. Retrieved 5 November 2008
Personal life Bonifassi was born in Nice, France, to a Yugoslav mother and a father of Niçois-Italian descent. Raised in a bilingual household, and having studied foreign languages at university, she became interested in other cultures and their traditional music. Bonifassi's interview with Danielle Leblanc of Radio-Canada, Sep 17, 2004 (French text and audio) Retrieved 5 November 2008 She has been singing and writing music for two decades.Sasseville, Andreanne. "Beast", Urban Male Magazine, 2008 Retrieved 5 November 2008
In 1997, Bonifassi met her now ex-husband, Québécois composer Benoît Charest, while singing Jimi Hendrix covers at a Montreal jazz club. Later that year she moved from France to Montreal to join Charest, and has lived in the Canadian city ever since.
Work with DJ Champion In the late 1990s, Benoît Charest and Montreal DJ and musician Maxime Morin became co-owners of Ben & Max Studios – a company specializing in jingles and soundtracks. In 2001 Morin sold his share in the company back to Charest in order to continue his own musical career under the pseudonym DJ Champion, however he remained in contact with Bonifassi and Charest: Morin performed bass and percussion on the song "Belleville Rendez-vous", from the 2003 animated film, The Triplets of Belleville and he also performed this song live with Bonifassi and Charest at the 76th Academy Awards ceremony—Morin played percussion on a bicycle during the performance.Devlin, Mike, "Laptop loaded, DJ hits the road", Times Colonist, 24 March 2007Benson, Denise, "Champion & His G-Strings", Eye Weekly, 23 November 2006
In 2004, Bonifassi collaborated with Morin once again (performing as "DJ Champion") on his 2004 debut album, Chill'em All. The album included the hit single "No Heaven" which is a soulful and bluesy song set against heavy dance beats and noisy guitar riffs. Inspired by Negro Songs of Protest, Bonifassi sings a plaintive tune reminiscent of the work songs sung by the chain-gangs of the American South in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.Bottenburg, Rupert. "Personal Best >> Montreal's Champion goes for gold", Montreal Mirror, Jan 27 – Feb 2.2005 Vol. 20 No. 31 Retrieved 5 November 2008
"I heard Betty singing those blues songs, and she was the girl for that job," said Morin.
With the success of Chill'em All, Bonifassi toured for over two years with "Champion & His G-Strings".Robillard Laveaux, Christian. "Bonifassi... Do", Voir, Feb 7, 2008 (French text) Retrieved 5 November 2008 In 2008 the pair recorded a version of 1957 Screamin' Jay Hawkins hit "I Put a Spell on You" to be used as the theme song of the Québécois film Truffles.Rhéaume, Julie. "Le film «Truffe» ouvrira le festival Fantasia le 3 juillet", Showbizz.net, Apr 16, 2008 (French text) Retrieved 5 November 2008"Truffe au Festival Fantasia", LeCinema.ca, Apr 16, 2008 (French text) Retrieved 5 November 2008
Les Triplettes de Belleville Bonifassi and Charest collaborated on the soundtrack for the animated film The Triplets of Belleville (Les Triplettes de Belleville); the film's main song, "Belleville Rendez-vous", was nominated for an Oscar in 2004 and the pair performed the song, along with Maxime Morin, at the 76th Academy Awards ceremony.
Bonifassi stated in a 2004 interview that the experience of performing at the Oscars was "magnifique!"
"It was a magic moment that I shared with my husband; I thought it was brilliant!"
Her work on the Oscar-nominated film "opened doors" for her. After the buzz following her Oscars performance, she got many offers from large record companies in North America and abroad, to record jingles and an album in the same Django/chanson réaliste style; Bonifassi turned down the offers for fear of being pigeonholed, but has stated that she does not discount recording in this style in the future.
Beast
Bonifassi joined forces with percussionist, record producer, and fellow French expat Jean-Philippe Goncalves, to form the band Beast. They released their first album in November 2008.
Beast's sound has been compared to trip hop, only with a bit more aggression. Bonifassi's vocal stylings also lean more towards rap and spoken-word. Bonifassi is the main songwriter and the music is composed and produced by Goncalves. Canadian singer-songwriter Simon Wilcox also assisted Bonifassi (whose native tongue is French) with Beast's lyrics, which are all performed in English.
"Simon really understood my dark side and the sadness of the moment," says Bonifassi. "I really wanted to sing something lyrically rich and powerful."
Goncalves has also stated that the name Beast suits their project very well: "Betty is a real beast," he jokes, "a ."
Beast's debut album was made available on iTunes as of 4 November 2008; its official commercial release was 18 November 2008.
At the end of 2010, Bonifassi and Goncalves announced that they would be taking an indefinite break from the Beast project.Coudé-Lord, Michelle. "Beast prend une pause de plusieurs mois", Canoe.ca, Nov 24, 2010 (French text) Retrieved 6 May 2011 (French text) Retrieved 6 May 2011 Although when asked in a June 2011 interview for Voir whether her break from Beast was a final one Bonifassi replied: "Disons que le retour de Beast n'est pas dans mes plans actuels" ("Let's say the return of Beast is not my current plans.")Robillard-Laveaux, Olivier. "Béatrice Bonifassi - Une rencontre réaliste ", Voir, Jun 16, 2011 (French text) Retrieved 12 September 2011
Goncalves stated in an interview that the split was not due to any quarrel between himself and Bonifassi. Citing lagging album sales, frustration with the record industry, the tiresome effects of touring, and familial commitments (Bonifassi's son was 9 years old at the time of the split), the bandmates said they would be working separately on their own local projects.
Solo work During an interview with Danielle Leblanc of Radio-Canada in 2004, she discussed an album she was working on with the composer Francois D'Amour. She described the album as being very "multi-ethnic, with lots of electronic machines" and that she was hoping to find a major record label for its release. On 24 September of that same year, she performed some of these songs during a live solo performance at Montreal's Cabaret Music Hall.
After Bonifassi and Goncalves announced that they would be taking an indefinite hiatus from the Beast project in late 2010, Bonifassi began to focus on solo projects including a performance at the Festival Montréal en lumière on 24 February 2011—making it her first solo performance since her break with Beast.Rhéaume, Julie. "Montréal en lumière: Carole Bouquet, coprésidente d'honneur", Branchez-Vous, Dec 1, 2010 (French text) Retrieved 6 May 2011Rezzonico, Philippe. "Le laboratoire de Béatrice Bonifassi", Rue Frontenac, Feb 17, 2011 (French text) Retrieved 6 May 2011 Her performance included renditions of songs by Édith Piaf and Berthe Sylva, as well as a song by the Franco-Monégasque composer Léo Ferré.
Bonifassi performed at the 2011 FrancoFolies festival held in Montreal, first as part of a performance dedicated to Serge Gainsbourg on 15 June, then in her own solo performances on the 17th and 18th.Rodriguez, Juan. "Deep talent lineup includes nod to past greats", Montreal Gazette, Apr 12, 2011 Retrieved 6 May 2011Gendron-Martin, Raphaël. "Programmation en Salle Des Francofolies", Canoe.ca, Nov 4, 2011 (French text) Retrieved 6 May 2011Betty Bonifassi's profile on the FrancoFolies website (French text) Retrieved 6 May 2011Cyr, Jean-François. "Béatrice Bonifassi: charmant délire à la française", Canoe.ca, Sep 9, 2011 (French text) Retrieved 12 September 2011
In 2014, Bonifassi released a self-titled CD in which she interpreted traditional songs of slaves and prisoners, plus two original cuts, "Working It Down" and "How Does It Feel". In 2016, she followed up with a similar CD entitled Lomax, after ethnomusicologist Alan Lomax, who had archived the traditional songs in question (see Slave Songs of the United States.)
In 2018, in collaboration with Robert Lepage, she created SLĀV, a show based on those songs, which launched at the Montreal Jazz Festival. The show caused public protest on the basis of accusations of cultural appropriationThe Globe and Mail: Montreal jazz festival cancels, apologizes for Robert Lepage slave-song show and was subsequently canceled by the festival on Bonifassi's decision and out of concern for public safety.
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