Feist

Feist is the stage name of Leslie Feist, a Canadian singer and songwriter from Amherst, Nova Scotia. She is born in 1976 and has dual Canadian and U.S. citizenship. She works as a solo artist and as a member of Broken Social Scene.

Early life and musical शुरुआत

She grows up in Regina and Calgary. She begins her music career as lead vocalist in the punk band Placebo, a local group that wins a Battle of the Bands competition and earns an opening slot at a Ramones concert. After five years of touring, she takes time away from music to recover from voice damage. In 1998 she moves from Calgary to Toronto and starts playing guitar. By 1999 she is the guitarist for By Divine Right.

Solo work and collaborations

Feist releases her debut solo album, Monarch (Lay Your Jewelled Head Down), in 1999. The album is financed by a Canadian government grant. In 2000 she shares a house with Peaches and Gonzales and appears as a guest vocalist on The Teaches of Peaches and Presidential Suite. She also takes part in the recording sessions for Broken Social Scene’s Feel Good Lost and You Forgot It in People.

She later moves to Paris and works with Norwegian duo Kings of Convenience as a guest vocalist on Riot on an Empty Street. Her second solo album, Let It Die, is recorded in Paris in 2002 and 2003. It combines jazz and bossa nova, brings her two Juno Awards, and helps her reach a wider international audience. She releases the remix album Open Season in 2006.

Later albums and notable songs

Her third album, The Reminder, is released in 2007 and contains thirteen tracks. Pitchfork gives the album an 8.8 rating. The song “1234” from the album is used in an iPod nano commercial. She writes it with Sally Seltmann, who records as New Buffalo. Other songs by Feist are also used in advertising: “Mushaboom” appears in a Lacoste fragrance campaign, and “My Moon My Man” is used to promote an LG mobile phone. She also sings on the soundtrack for Paris, je t'aime: La même histoire.

Her fourth album, Metals, is recorded live over two and a half weeks in a house on the Northern California coast. It is released in 2011.

Style

Her music is associated with art pop, chamber pop, electronic, folk and indie pop.