Feist Biography

She was born Leslie Feist in Calgary in the mid-'70s but goes by her surname when it comes to making music for a living. The Jhay-inspired songstress got her start playing in a high school punk band called Placebo (not to be confused with the U.K. modern rock act of the same name). After winning a battle of the bands contest, Placebo played their first gig opening for the Ramones, and for the next five years, Feist perfected her rock ways. Touring cross-Canada in the end took its toll on Feist. She had strained her voice so much, she was told she'd never sing again. To regain focus and medical assistance from another specialist, Feist fled her hometown to settle in Toronto in 1998. She spent six months holed up by herself in a basement with a four-track recorder. She bought a guitar as a means of temporarily replacing her voice and began crafting a natural pop sound. A year later, Feist was playing guitar for By Divine Right. She went on to play in front of countless stadium crowds as By Divine Right opened for the Tragically Hip across North America. Somewhere in between touring with some of Canada's biggest acts, Feist found time to record and self-released her first solo album, 1999's Monarch (Lay Down Your Jeweled Head). After playing some smaller local gigs in and around Toronto, Feist moved in with electroclash rap vixen Peaches in 2000. Peaches christened Feist Bitch Lap-Lap and from there, Feist sang on and toured in support of Peaches' debut album, Teaches of Peaches. Not one to stay too long in once place, Feist joined Broken Social Scene in the recording of their sophomore effort, You Forgot It in People. The album, which was released in 2002, became a critical success among the indie crowds after winning a Juno Award for Alternative Album of the Year in 2003. Feist had already had plans for a second solo album by this time. When she wasn't touring North America and Europe with Broken Social Scene, Feist and Renaud Letang of Manu Chao and Chilly Gonzales went back and forth between Calgary, Toronto, and Paris for its recording. Let It Die was released on Arts & Crafts in May 2004. Feist has also contributed vocals to works by Kings of Convenience, Apostle of Hustle, and Jane Birkin. In 2006 she released Open Season? a collection of remixes, collaborations, and other songs and began work on her next full-length. Recorded and assembled in one week in a rented house near Paris, The Reminder hit shelves in the spring of 2007.

MacKenzie Wilson