Oktopus

BIOGRAPHY

2025 – Celebrating 15 years of the group's existence!

​Awarded numerous awards (JUNO, CFMA…), ​​Oktopus is a major presence on the Canadian world music scene, with over 250 performances to its credit at home and abroad. The group is primarily devoted to klezmer—the musical heritage of Eastern European Jews—distinguished by a novel approach that incorporates various components of the classical and Quebecois repertoire, with some jazz and Balkan accents. 

The group’s eight virtuoso musicians offer festive, high-energy performances, at once melancholic and profound, sprinkled with humour and spiced with narrative, in which original compositions and finely crafted arrangements combine with improvisation. Its members’ complicity, shared passion, and hard work are what makes each of their performances so memorable— whether on stage, in the street, on a ship, in a hot air balloon or in your living room, Oktopus is simply… spectentacular!

Oktopus’ distinctive music is undeniably rooted in the klezmer tradition, reflecting the rich history of a thousand-year old community, its persecutions and celebrations, tears and laughter, or both at the same time. Musicians of yesteryear incorporated in their repertoire the music they encountered on their journeys, and just like them, the members of Oktopus are inspired by the music they hear throughout their own travels. Thus, the melodies of several ​

classical composers, such as Bartók, ​Brahms, Prokofiev or Enescu are rearranged by the octet, particularly their works derived from folk themes. Quebec songwriters are also sources of inspiration, with Leclerc and Vigneault being added to the group’s repertoire. ​

MUSICIANS

• Gabriel Paquin-Buki – clarinet, composition and arrangements
• Matthieu Bourget – bass trombone
  
• Madeleine Doyon – tenor trombone
• Guillaume Martineau – piano
• Maxime Philippe – drums and percussions
• Francis Pigeon – trumpet
• Laetitia Francoz-Lévesque ​– violin
• Noémie Caron-Marcotte​ - flute

AWARDS

• 2023 - Nominee ‘‘Artist of the year’’ by the BC Touring Council​
• 2022 - Nominee ADISQ « Album of the year : World Music ».​
  
• 2021 - Nominee Canadian Folk Music Award
• 2021 - Nominee Opus Award
• ​2021 - « Special prize for the most creative fusion of ancient and contemporary music traditions » awarded by the Slovak Radio Bratislava​
• 2018 - ​Nominee Canadian Folk Music Award 
• 2018 - Nominee Juno Award 
• ​Grand gagnant de la 8me édition du concours les syli d’or de la musique du monde​​
  

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​FROM QUEBEC - CANADA

​PROJECT

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New! Album release in spring 2025! ​

BRAHMS, BALKAN & BAGELS

Brahms, Balkan & Bagels explores the elements of folklore that inspired great classical composers. How did Hungarian folk melodies influence Brahms or Liszt? How does Enescu’s native Romania appear in his works? What traces has klezmer music left in Mahler’s great symphonies? In a virtuosic, moving, and unique performance, Oktopus brilliantly combines classical and folk music from Eastern Europe.​

VIDEOS​

Wiegala (Ilse Weber)​

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Misirlou (Live, Vancouver Folk Music Festival)​