BIOGRAPHY

Born in France and raised in Canada, JP Mortier’s music is as much a product of different cultures as he is. Passionate about music and art, he grew up listening to classic rock and his sound can be described as a David Bowie or Nick Cave crossed with Leonard Cohen but updated with a more college-rock feel, which has attracted a large student following during recent tours.

His 2004 debut album, entitled The English House, came out through Eclectra Records and was influenced by his travel in Japan, where he dodged Yakuza goons and the crush of commuters while busking in the subways of Tokyo for the better part of a year. 2005 was a busy year, including a performance at the PopMontreal festival and crossing the ocean to play a series of gigs in the south of France.

His second CD, Backpacker, self-released in 2008 through Local Distribution, was inspired by other colourful characters and places he saw during his travels. During a self-booked tour across Canada in the spring of 09 in support of the album, he noticed the growing student demographic of his audience. Fittingly, it received airplay on Canadian college radio, notably at CIUT in Toronto where the album went up to number 7 on their chart.

November 16, 2010 saw the release of album number three, with a release party at Montreal’s Sala Rossa. After two albums heavily influenced by the thrill of travelling, JP Mortier has returned to his roots for his new, self-titled, release. Darker in lyrics and sound, it includes songs about more political topics such as the dangers of illegal immigration on “Tanker” and human cloning on “Doppelganger”. The album features Sylvain Auclair on Chapman stick (a combination bass and 6-string guitar) and Daniel Grégoire on drums with legendary producer/engineer William Szawlowski (April Wine, Marjo, Oliver Jones) back behind the mixing board.

A Canadian tour was undertaken in early 2011 going from Montreal all the way to the Pacific coast. The latest album garnered airplay and made it to various charts including CSCR reaching number 2 in Toronto in March.

For the first time, J.P. is now about to start promoting his music in the northeastern U.S.

Also stay tuned for a new project :"The Only Bar", a play written by Alain Merceica with music written by J.P. Mortier. Details are coming soon.