Malajube

Malajube
Julien Mineau, of Malajube (2007)
Background information
Origin	Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Genres	Indie rock
Years active	2004-2012 (hiatus)
Labels	Dare to Care / City Slang / MB3
Website	malajube.com
Members	Julien Mineau Francis Mineau Mathieu Cournoyer Thomas Augustin
Past members	Rémi Nadeau-Aubin Renaud Bastien

Malajube is a Canadian francophone indie rock band formed in Montreal.

Formed by a group of friends in Sorel-Tracy, Québec, the band made itself known in 2004 with the release of its first album, Le Compte complet. Critics welcomed the disc with positive reviews, which allowed the group to become instantly famous in the Quebec music scene. Several of its songs, such as "Le Métronome" and "La Valérie", were prominent mainstays on several Quebec radio stations. For the production of the album, the group turned to Martin Pelland from fellow Montreal band The Dears.

In the months that followed the release of their first album, Malajube launched a tour across Quebec, participating in several major festivals, such as Les FrancoFolies de Montréal.

In February 2006, the quartet released its second album, Trompe-l'œil, which also received a warm welcome on the part of Quebec media. Collaborations with singer Pierre Lapointe, Québécois rap group Loco Locass and Valerie Jodoin Keaton (The Dears), and the use of a wide variety of instruments has contributed to the album's success in addition to audio engineer/record producer Ryan Battistuzzi's (We Are Wolves, Death from Above 1979, Blessed by a Broken Heart) production work.Trompe-l'œil also began to attract attention in English Canada in July, when it was shortlisted for the 2006 Polaris Music Prize, and in the United States in October, when it was a featured review on Pitchfork Media. In 2006, they won three Félix Awards at the 28th edition of the Gala de l'ADISQ: two for Trompe-l'œil, "Best alternative album" and "Best cover art" while they were proclaimed "Revelation of the year 2006". The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation has described them as one of very few Quebec musical groups who have achieved success in English Canada despite not performing in English, something the band states they have no interest in doing.