Today she releases Daisy Cutter, a new album that pushes even further into those contrasts. Entirely self-produced, engineered, mixed, and mastered, the record unfolds as a meditation on freedom’s contradictions, control and surrender, safety and risk. Its name reflects that tension too, evoking both the force of a bomb and the fragile gesture of trimming a flower. Alongside longtime collaborators like Charlotte Day Wilson, Oli XL, Cecile Believe, Sea Oleena, Mobilegirl and more, Ouri expands her vision while keeping its core deeply personal.

To accompany the album, Ouri has shared a new video for “Blush.” Self-directed and edited with visuals shot by Maiko, it captures her speeding through Paris at dusk in the backseat of a convertible, in between restless energy and fleeting intimacy. Watch below.

Ouri will be celebrating the release of the album with a headline show in Montreal tonight, before heading to Toronto and then across Europe and the UK later this year.

Montreal Helena Deland and Ouri have a band, Hildegard, and their first album, the result of an intuitive and experimental approach, will be released in a few weeks on freshly founded imprint section1. The eight creations were named for each day the pair spent together. After the throbbing “Jour 2” and the more uptempo “Jour 1,” they have now shared another intricate offering, “Jour 3,” and its Carole Méthot-directed visuals.

“Jour 3 is out today in homage to the fantasy world that some encounters leave in their wake (and that can only be heightened by the potentiality of a phone call). It’s theatrical, over-curious, a bit intense, self-conscious and silly, like having a crush, right? It was made about that sweet spot when desiring someone is empowering and imagination runs wild,” the explained.

Hildegard, the new duo formed by Montreal-based artists Helena Deland and Ouri, follow up to “Jour 2” with “Jour 1”, another eerie offering halfway between experimental club music and throbbing incantation. An ode to sweaty nights of clubbing, the accompanying self-directed video was filmed as if we were able to infiltrate an illegal party. “‘Jour 1’ is “about processing by partying, and the clarity that sometimes comes with it,” they stated.

Watch below and pre-order the album via Bandcamp.

Montreal-based singer-songwriter Helena Deland and producer slash multi-instrumentalist Ouri have linked up to form a new duo, Hildegard, named after the German polymath, healer and visionary Benedictine, Hildegarde de Bingen. With such a moniker, their music was expected to be both intricate and mystical. On their trippy debut track “Jour 2,” that they describe as a psychedelic mantra where strangeness and gentleness coexist, their haunting harmonies sound indeed like a spell. “Jour 2” also comes with a Melissa Matos-directed video where the two nymphs wander around in a wild landscape, simultaneously playing with tension and attraction.

Montreal-based creative June Moon, better known as Forever, is no stranger to grief. In fact, it’s fair to say that she’s – unfortunately – well acquainted with the feeling. After the passing of her father in 2013, she briefly succumbed and quit music entirely. Yet she found the healing power that comes from music, the ability to process her loss through a creative outlet. From this, her debut EP, Forever, was self-released in 2016 and now she returns fresh off the back of another loss, this time the end of a relationship.

Despite the forlorn way in which Close to the Flame was created, the EP is free from despair. The record as a whole taught Forever to alchemise heartache by turning sad songs into dance tracks. This was displayed with roaring intent with the first single “Make It Happen“, and is also reflected in her Ouri-produced new offering, “Blur”. Lush with a downtempo yet sultry beat, co-mingled with delicate chimes and a warping synth, the track simmers with passion and a clear-mindedness.

What’s most striking about “Blur” however, is Moon’s ethereal vocals. Though it possesses an undeniable sweetness in tone that comes from her dreamy falsetto, there’s an inherent control to it. The subject of the song itself only serves to enhance the power of her vocals. As Forever explains: “I was in a relationship that was killing me, and I had to plan an escape to save my life. The record is haunted by a ghost. I sing about her murder on the first track “Blur”.

Juxtaposing the topic of murder and death with Moon’s honey-soaked voice creates a glorious sharpness. For a song born from heartbreak, the craftsmanship behind “Blur” shows that there’s more to a break-up song than sorrow and defeat; there can be elements of the seductive and delightful darkness. The track also comes with a self-directed video oscillating between an exorcism ritual and a horror movie. Watch and pre-order the EP via Bandcamp below.

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Born on a remote island in Canada and now based in Montreal, June Moon, aka Forever, grabbed our attention back in 2017 with the ethereal and bittersweet singles “Falling” and “Stolen Car”. The artist, who is also the co-founder of the feminist art collective Girls Club, will release a new EP on Valentine’s Day. Paradoxically, the 6-track project was created after a difficult heartbreak.

“I was in a relationship that was killing me, and I had to plan an escape to save my life,” June explains. “The record is haunted by a ghost. I sing about her murder on the first track, ‘Blur,’ but then she turns into a angel on the last song ‘Adonis.’ I channeled her one night when I was writing because I was so scared to talk about what happened to me; I didn’t know how to tell my story. She came to me and told me to use her story as a channel for my own pain. This release is dedicated to her.”

Close To The Flame was crafted with regular collaborators Michael Brock (Mind Bath) and Patrick Holland (Project Pablo), as well as with her Montreal fellas Ouri, Cecile Believe, and David Carriere of TOPS. The first single, “Make It Happen,” also features a guest verse by Just John. Watch the video and pre-order the EP via Bancdcamp below.

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One year after her debut album, Montreal-based producer and multi-instrumentalist Ouri is back with the announcement of a new EP to be released on Ghostly. The first single is called “Escape” and blends soul groove, futurist R&B elements and misty electronica. For this new project, which focuses on the importance of real social interactions in a world that is more and more invaded by technology, the artist has decided to use her own voice for the first time. Like is she wanted herself to get closer from her audience. She stated:

[su_quote]As I continue to create music, I want the whole experience to be even more raw. No one else is included for this one; from writing to mastering, the process is direct from me to the listener.[/su_quote]

Our intentions could be much clearer if we would express them in music! Hopefully, Deer Du Bois’ new playlist is here to help us expressing ourselves.

Baroque in a way but yet non-traditional, Natti Vogel‘s “I Don’t Want To Find The One” is a twisted and catchy answer to the pressures of permanent coupling.

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Use these songs to show your emotions thanks to Safetalk and the hush-voiced synth song “Mimic”. Or dedicate an 80s electro-ballad to your loved one with Rainsford with the smooth Twin Shadow on the delicate “Intentions”.

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Some more raw 80s inspired-turned alt-folk we find with Swedish singer Rain On Monday and his light-swinging “Hiding Places”. But don’t get confused, things aren’t always what they seem, and “This Is Not A Love Song”, a power track by Bülow, proves that!

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With Kult Kyss‘s “I Am One”, you learn how to channel emotions into one strong vibe!

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For fans of Kelela and FKA Twigs, Deer Du Bois spoils you this week with sensual confusion on “Wild Mother”, brought to you by the sweet collaboration of Ouri & Mind Bath!

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If you want to drink a bit more until you get tipsy, you should check him on Facebook and Soundcloud, and follow his regular posts on our site.

Subscribe to Deer Du Bois refreshing playlist on Spotify now!

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