Elsiane (CA)

About

Elsiane is a Montréal duo that put out its debut, Hybrid, in 2007, a record blending jazz, downtempo, rock, classical and electronic sounds. When it reached the US a little over a year later on Nettwerk, PopMatters pointed to the mellow, hypnotic atmosphere of 90s trip hop giants like Massive Attack and Portishead. The pair, singer Elsieanne Caplette and musician Stephane Sotto, took their name from pieces of their own first names. Follow up Mechanics of Emotion arrived in 2012, led by the single Underhelped and its video. After struggling with the music industry, they went independent for 2017's Death of the Artist, and also made a collaborative album with Rich Shapero called Rin, Tongue and Dorner. A self titled record followed in 2023, and a video for Loneliness went online that October. Live, the band expands to include bass, guitar and keyboards.