music
Grimes
There is a powerful harmony in Grimes. It is a project which is both musical and visual, embodying the arts of 2D, performance, dance, video and sound.
Claire Boucher weaves these together to a strong rhythmic effect, "the marriage between the voice of a human and the heartbeat of a machine".
Boucher, born in Vancouver, Canada, moved to Montreal in 2006. Her experience as a performer is deeply embedded in the illegal DIY loft culture of Montreal, where Grimes was one of the prominent figures in the scene surrounding Lab Synthese - a 4600sq ft re-appropriated textile factory. She developed in a scene where punk ethos and pop music collide, resulting in a distinct sense of community, religiosity and psychedelic revelry.
'Visions' arises as Boucher's fourth release in less than two years. 'Geidi Primes' (2010), initially released as a limited 30 cassette run and free download, then followed by 'Halfaxa' (2010) – arguably one of the first witch-house or lo-fi R&B releases. On 'Darkbloom' (2011), Grimes began taking her first steps as a producer, bringing together the experimentation behind her early work and a cutting edge pop aesthetic. Each album tackles a different set of influences and styles.
She describes her work as "the only means through which I can be fully expressive. It is both an ethereal escape from, and a violent embrace of my experience. The creative process is a quest for the ultimate sensual, mystical and cathartic experience and the vehicle for my psychic purging. Visions was conceived in a period of self-imposed cloistering during which time I did not see day-light."