Photos by Albert Roy.  In the band are (left to right): Luc Mireault, Matthieu Roy, Jason Whitehead, Rick Normandeau, Luc Jolicoeur.

Ya Ketchose is an awesome Francophone band from Manitoba (www.yaketchose.com).  You should really check out their music: it’s an original mix of rock and alternative punk woven through with elements of traditional Francophone music.  

French for the Future got the chance to ‘sit down’ with Ya Ketchose for an interview through the magic of email technology.


Where are you from?  
We are all from small villages in the South East of Manitoba.  Three of the members of the band are from La Broquerie, one is from Steinbach, and one is from Sainte-Anne.

How did you decide to form a band and perform in French?
We decided to start a band to participate in a Francophone band contest called La chicane électrique that goes on in Winnipeg [ed. note: they won the Jury Prize and Song of the Year two years in a row!].  Performing in French comes naturally for us.  It seems that we are more authentic when we sing in our native language.

Are there any challenges to being a Francophone band in Canada?  
Here in Canada, the Francophone audience is a lot smaller than the Anglophone one.  It is therefore harder to find venues to perform.  This pushes us to play festivals in other provinces and in schools.

What about advantages?
As French is a minority language in Canada, one advantage is that we can do school tours in all the provinces because it’s seen as more educational for schools to present Francophone culture than to present Anglophone culture.

Have you ever thought about working in Quebec or France?  Why stay in Manitoba?
We would love to play shows in Quebec and in France since there are more people who speak French.  But we love living here in Manitoba.  It’s here that our families and friends are.  We therefore try to perform in other provinces, but we always come home to live our everyday life.

Do you think it is important to have music in both languages in Canada?
I think that music is an essential part of culture.  Canada’s two official languages are French and English, so it is important that these are represented through music as well.  It is also important that our culture not be simply revisionist but rather an entity that is alive and in continual evolution.  By producing music in French, we ensure that French stays an actual representation of today’s Francophones.

Do you have any advice for aspiring musicians?
It’s important to have a passion for music because to be a musician demands a lot of work and a huge time investment.  If you do have this passion, you will always have the motivation to work hard and to never give up.

Do you have any advice for those who are learning French?
The best way to learn a new language is to surround yourself by that language.  It is easier to learn if you listen to music in French, watch French movies, and have friends who speak French.

Find out more at www.yaketchose.com