Baptiste

BAPTISTE (ba-tEst) started out as a singer in the People's Gospel Choir of Montreal at age 19 and was quickly promoted to soloist. He co-founded an R&B quartet with now-million-album-selling Rwandan ex-pat Corneille before being kicked out on account of 'artistic differences'. Actually, it really was because of artistic differences. He was at one time a backup singer for a number of established Quebec artists (who are legends in the Belle Province and most likely complete unknowns everywhere else on Earth), performed in Broadway's Montreal production of RENT and was subsequently invited to tour Asia with members of the New York cast. He turned down the offer, preferring to focus on his solo career.

Until recently, Baptiste was 'that guy who won a list of French-language songwriting contests', leading him to France (twice) and onto every stage Quebec had to offer. A few months ago, he was still being called one of the Francophone scene's most promising up-and-coming artists. That was before remembering English was his first language.

And so it went that an all-star cast consisting of the most creative musicians he'd met over the past decade of touring, contests and festivals was recruited, a plan was drawn, a budget was improvised and a makeshift band was formed. Five days of cloistered brainstorming in December 2005, five more a month later, and two days at MixArt studio gave birth to the Entrée EP, his first.

ENTRÉE : (äntrá) n. 4. The privilege of entering; access. 5. A means of obtaining entry.

Think of it as a singing business card. 'Entrée' is a compilation of songs written during the past half-decade. A flawed, low-budget, self-produced and sincere effort at making something worth listening to. Five of its songs are part of the larger Character's Arc cycle which will map the course of a failed relationship through its every stage. A sixth song relates the last thoughts of an innocent inmate as he is led to execution. Overall, the album is a first step - a feeler whose purpose is to gain access to a broader network of festivals, musicians, collaborators, and fans. After over a decade of working at honing his craft, Baptiste has arrived. All he needs now is to find the entrance.