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*[http://sessions.aol.ca/?id=902 Feist performs on AOL Sessions]
*[http://sessions.aol.ca/?id=902 Feist performs on AOL Sessions]
*[http://feist.yourjuliet.org Feist Fanlisting]
*[http://feist.yourjuliet.org Feist Fanlisting]
*[http://www.staythirstymedia.com/200711-015/html/200711feist.html Feist Interviewed by Thirsty] Shibuya, Tokyo


{{Feist}}
{{Feist}}

Revision as of 22:33, 1 November 2007

Feist

Leslie Feist (born February 13, 1976) is a Canadian singer-songwriter. She performs as a solo artist under the name Feist and as a member of Broken Social Scene.

Early life

Feist's parents were both artists: her father Harold Feist, an abstract-expressionist painter and instructor at the Alberta College of Art and Mount Allison University and her mother was a student of ceramics. Their first child, Ben, is now a Software Engineer in Toronto. The family moved to the Maritimes, and Leslie Feist was born in Amherst, Nova Scotia. Her parents divorced soon after, and Leslie, Ben and their mother moved to Regina, Saskatchewan, where they lived with her grandparents, and later to Calgary, Alberta. She aspired to be a writer, but spent most of her youth singing in choirs.[1]

Career

At age 15, Feist got her start in music when she founded, and was the lead vocalist for, a Calgary punk band called Placebo (not to be confused with the British band Placebo).[1] She and her bandmates won a local Battle of the Bands competition and were awarded the opening slot at the festival Infest 1993, featuring the Ramones. At this concert she met Brendan Canning and Kevin Drew (currently her boyfriend) with whom she formed Broken Social Scene 10 years later. In 1995 Feist was forced to take time off from music to recover from vocal damage. She moved from Calgary to Toronto in 1996 and took up guitar; by 1998, she was the guitarist for By Divine Right. She toured throughout 1998, 1999 and 2000 with By Divine Right as rhythm guitarist. She also released her debut solo album, Monarch (Lay Your Jewelled Head Down), that year, which was produced by Dan Kurtz who would later form Dragonette. At this time she played a 70's JK Ledo beige guitar she called "Smoker's Tooth" due to it's discolouration, which was stolen at a concert in Kalamazoo, Michigan in 2000.

In 1999, Feist moved in with a friend of a friend, Merrill Nisker, who then began to perform as electro-punk musician Peaches, with Feist working the back of the stage at Peaches' shows, using a sock puppet and calling herself "Bitch Lap Lap." Feist appeared as a guest vocalist on The Teaches of Peaches. She also met musician Gonzales during this time, and a long-term collaboration formed. In the summer of 2001 she self produced 7 songs at home which she titled "The Red Demos" and which have never been released commercially. She spent more than two years touring throughout Europe with Gonzales. In that same year she and a group of old friends formed Toronto indie rock supergroup Broken Social Scene and subsequently recorded You Forgot It in People. While on tour in Europe with Gonzales, they began recording new version of her home recorded Red Demos, which would later become her major label debut Let It Die. Let it Die featured both original compositions and covers, and Feist has been noted both as a songwriter and as an innovative interpreter of other artists' songs. After the recording of Let It Die, Feist moved to Paris. While in Europe, she collaborated with Norwegian duo Kings of Convenience as co-writer and guest vocalist on their album Riot on an Empty Street as well as co-writing and singing as a duet The Simple Story with Jane Birkin on her album Rendezvous. Feist toured throughout 2004, 2005 and 2006 through North America, Europe, Asia and Austalia supporting Let It Die. She won 2 Canadian Juno Awards for 'Best New Artist' and 'Best Alternative Rock Album' in 2004. Sales of Let it Die totalled 500,000 internationally and she was awarded a Platinum record in Canada as well as a Gold album in France.


In 2005, Feist contributed to the UNICEF benefit song, "Do They Know It's Hallowe'en?"

In early 2006, Feist returned to Europe to record a follow up to Let It Die at LaFrette Studios with Gonzales, Mocky, Jamie Lidell, Renaud Letang as well as her touring band Bryden Baird, Jesse Baird, Julian Brown of Apostle of hustle and Afie Jurvanen of Paso Mino. An album of remixes and collaborations titled Open Season was released April 18 2006.

Feist's third solo album, The Reminder, was released on April 23, 2007 in Europe, and was released on May 1 2007 in Canada, USA and the rest of the world. She toured worldwide to promote the album. The album features "1 2 3 4," which was co-written by New Buffalo's Sally Seltmann, a surprise hit after being featured in a commercial for the iPod Nano, hitting #8 in the US, a rare feat for indie rock musicians and even more notable since it hit the Top Ten on the strength of downloads alone. Web search queries on "ipod nano commercial song," "ipod nano song," and "ipod nano commercial" all jumped over 350% on Yahoo the week the commercial aired.[2] She has been lauded in the press and was featured on the cover of the The New York Times arts section in June 2007. Feist was also photographed by Annie Leibowitz for the October issue of Vanity Fair as part of a photo essay on Folk Music, also featuring Joni Mitchell, Peter, Paul and Mary and The Guthrie Family.

In 2006 Feist collaborated with former roommate Peaches on a track entitled "Give 'Er," which appeared on Peaches' album Impeach My Bush. Feist contributed backup vocals. Feist also lent her voice to two tracks "La Meme Histoire" and "We're All in the Dance" on the soundtrack to the film Paris, je t'aime.

Feist has had her music covered by many artists such as fellow Nova Scotians Travis MacRae and Buck 65, as well as band mates Broken Social Scene and former tour mate Bright Eyes. Fellow Canadian Buck 65 appeared in the Feist-directed music video for "One Evening", which was also nominated for "Video Of the Year" at the 2004 Juno Awards.

Feist works primarily with video director Patrick Daughters, who directed the videos for "Mushaboom", "1 2 3 4" and "My Moon My Man", the last 2 of which were choreographed by the acclaimed dancer Noemi LaFrance. Feist currently plays a 1965 red Guild Starfire guitar.

Feist resided in Paris, France from July 2003 until early 2007, and then moved back to Toronto.[3] [4]

On July 10 2007, Feist's newest album, The Reminder, was revealed as being on the shortlist for the 2007 Polaris Music Prize.[5][6][7] That same year, Feist placed #9 on Spinner.com's Women Who Rock Right Now.

Feist will be the musical guest on Saturday Night Live on November 3 2007.


Before the Apple iPod nano commercial was aired, the track was selling about 2,000 downloads per week, while the album was shifting 6,000, according to Nielsen SoundScan. On the most recent charts before the commercial aired, "1 2 3 4" cleared 73,000 downloads and reached new peaks of No. 7 on Hot Digital Songs and No. 28 on the Billboard Hot 100. "The Reminder" jumps from No. 36 to No. 28 on the Billboard 200, with sales of 19,000[8]. Following the television advertisement for the iPod nano in the UK using the single "1 2 3 4" the single beat its original chart position of 8 to become number 4 in the UK charts.

Discography

Albums

File:Feist TheReminder.png
The Reminder CD cover

Broken Social Scene albums

By Divine Right albums

Other collaborations

Singles

Year Title Peak Chart Positions Album
US Hot 100 US Pop 100 US Modern Rock Hot Digital Songs UK Singles Chart Canadian Singles Chart
2004 "Mushaboom" - - - - 97 - Let It Die
"One Evening" - - - - - -
2005 "Inside and Out" - - - - 83 -
2006 "Secret Heart" - - - - - -
2007 "My Moon My Man" - - - - - 67 The Reminder
"1234" 8 10 34 2 8 3

Awards and nominations

2006

2005

2003

Covers

Bright Eyes also covered Feist's "Mushaboom"

References

  1. ^ a b {{cite journal. Feist performed as one of 1000 dancers at the age of 12 as part of the Opening Ceremonies of the Calgary Winter Olympics, which she cites as inspiration for the video "1 2 3 4". She also has 2 half siblings, Emily and Jackson, from her father's later marriage. | last =Stren | first =Olivia | authorlink = | title =Dream girl | journal =Toronto Life | volume =41 | issue =7 | pages =58–62 | date =July 2007 | url = | doi = | id = | accessdate = }}
  2. ^ Queries on "ipod nano commercial song," "ipod nano song," and "ipod nano commercial" all jumped over 350% over this past weekend.
  3. ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NUVxeOc2Yp4
  4. ^ http://www.lesinrocks.com/DetailArticle.cfm?iditem=204594
  5. ^ "Arcade Fire, Feist on Polaris short list". Retrieved July 10. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  6. ^ "Feist, Fire get Polaris noms". Retrieved July 11. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  7. ^ "Arcade Fire, Feist And The Dears Among Polaris Nominees". Retrieved July 11. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  8. ^ "Feist gets big boost from little iPod". Retrieved October 2. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)

See also

External links

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