LESLIE FEIST

'Leslie Feist' (born February 13, 1976) is a Canadian singer-songwriter. She performs as a solo artist under the name 'Feist' and as a member of Broken Social Scene.

Contents

Early life

Career

Discography

Albums

Broken Social Scene albums

By Divine Right albums

Other collaborations

Singles

Awards and nominations

Covers

Trivia

References

See also

External links

Early life

Feist's parents were both artists: her father, an abstract-expressionist painter and instructor at the Alberta College of Art; her mother, a student of ceramics there. Their first child, Ben, is now a computer programmer in Toronto. The family moved to the Maritimes, and Leslie Feist was born in Amherst, Nova Scotia. Her parents divorced soon after, and Leslie, Ben and their mother moved to Regina, Saskatchewan, and later to Calgary, Alberta. She aspired to be a journalist, but spent some of her youth singing in choirs.^[1]

Career

At age 15, Feist got her start in music when she founded, and was the lead vocalist for, a Calgary punk band called Placebo (not to be confused with the British band Placebo).¹ She and her bandmates won a local Battle of the Bands competition and were awarded the opening slot at a Ramones concert. After five years of touring, Feist was forced to take time off from music to recover from voice damage. She moved from Calgary to Toronto in 1998 and took up guitar; by 1999, she was the guitarist for By Divine Right. She also released her debut solo album, ''Monarch (Lay Your Jewelled Head Down)'', that year.
In 2000, Feist moved into a Queen Street West apartment ("a legendary apartment called the 701", above the sex shop Come as You Are)¹ with a friend of a friend, Merrill Nisker, who then began to perform as electro-punk musician Peaches, with Feist working the back of the stage at Peaches' shows, using a sock pocket and calling herself "Bitch Lap Lap". Feist appeared as a guest vocalist on ''The Teaches of Peaches''. She also met musician Gonzales during this time, and a long-term collaboration formed. She spent more than two years in Berlin with Gonzales and Peaches, and began developing songs with Gonzales that would later appear on ''Let It Die''. She then joined the recording sessions for Toronto indie rock supergroup Broken Social Scene's albums ''Feel Good Lost'' and ''You Forgot It in People''. She subsequently moved to Paris. While in Europe, she collaborated with Norwegian duo Kings of Convenience as a guest vocalist on their album ''Riot on an Empty Street''. She also appears on The New Deal's 2003 album ''Gone Gone Gone'', and on Apostle of Hustle's 2004 album ''Folkloric Feel''.
Feist recorded her second solo album, ''Let It Die'', in Paris in 2002 and 2003. That album, a combination of jazz, bossa nova and indie rock, was hailed as one of the best Canadian pop albums of 2004, and attracted a significant international audience as well. On these records, and in performances, Feist played a 1965 Guild Starfire which aided in her jazz-like tone.
Feist's single "Mushaboom", from ''Let It Die'', is featured in advertisements for Lacoste perfume. This is most likely due to her popularity in France, where she recorded ''Let It Die''. Before this, McDonald's offered one million dollars for the rights to use "Mushaboom" in their commercials which Feist flatly refused.^[2]
In 2004 Feist appeared on the Kings of Convenience album Riot on an Empty Street. She sings on the songs "Know How" and "The Build-Up".
In 2005, she contributed to the UNICEF benefit song, "Do They Know It's Hallowe'en?"
In early 2006, Feist returned to Europe to record a follow up to ''Let It Die'' with Gonzales, Mocky, Jamie Lidell, and Renaud Letang. An album of remixes and collaborations titled ''Open Season'' was released April 18, 2006 in Canada.
The online bank HSBC Direct used the ''Open Season'' remix of "Gatekeeper" in their television advertisement campaign.
Feist's third solo album, ''The Reminder'', was released on April 23, 2007 in Europe, and was released on May 1, 2007 in Canada, USA and the rest of the world. She then went on a worldwide tour to promote her new album.
Her single, ''My Moon My Man'' is used by LG in its Spring 2007 television ad campaign for their "chocolate" cell phone. In the ad, the name of both the song and artist appears on the phone in closeup.
Feist recently collaborated with former roommate Peaches on a track entitled "Give 'Er", which appeared on Peaches' album ''Impeach My Bush''. Feist contributed backup vocals. Feist also lent her voice to two tracks "La Meme Histoire" and "We're All in the Dance" on the soundtrack to the film ''Paris, je t'aime''.
Feist has had her music covered by many artists such as fellow Nova Scotians Travis MacRae and Buck 65, as well as band mates Broken Social Scene and former tour mate Bright Eyes. Buck 65, with whom Feist has toured as an opening act, appeared in the music video for "One Evening". Feist has also collaborated with The Postal Service.
Feist resided in Paris, France from July 2003 until early 2007, when she moved back to Toronto.^[3][4] Her boyfriend is Kevin Drew of Broken Social Scene.^[5][6]
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