Bonjay is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

R&B musical group from

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most pop ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

, consisting of vocalist Alanna Stuart and instrumentalist Ian Swain."Bonjay brought up right"
''

Exclaim! ''Exclaim!'' is a Canadian music and entertainment publisher based in Toronto, which features in-depth coverage of new music across all genres with a special focus on Canadian and emerging artists. The monthly Exclaim! print magazine publishes 7 ...

'', October 24, 2010.

History

Stuart, who also performs with the Queer Songbook Orchestra and was formerly a host on

CBC Radio 3 CBC Radio 3 is a Canadian digital radio station operated by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, which plays a relatively freeform mix of indie rock, indie pop, alternative hip hop, folk, country and electronic music. The service, which lanuc ...

, met Swain in Ottawa, where he was working as a disk jockey."Bonjay’s Supercrawl tracks inspired by the sounds of Steel City "
''The Silhouette'', Rya Buckley • Sep 20, 2018 The pair released their debut EP ''Broughtupsy'' in 2010, and toured in support of the release, including at the

Winnipeg International Jazz Festival The TD Winnipeg International Jazz Festival is a Canadian jazz festival first held in 1989 in Winnipeg, Manitoba. It is usually held in June. The festival, organized by the Jazz Winnipeg organization and formerly called the Jazz Winnipeg Festiva ...

, before taking an extended hiatus. Stuart and Swain reunited in 2015 with the single "Ingenue". The full-length album ''Lush Life'' followed in 2018,"Bonjay Lush Life"
''

'', May 22, 2018. by Kyle Mullin and was a long-listed nominee for the 2018 Polaris Music Prize."2018 Polaris Music Prize: Arcade Fire, Daniel Caesar, Gord Downie make this year's long list"

CBC Music CBC Music (formerly known as CBC FM, CBC Stereo and CBC Radio 2) is a Canadian FM radio network operated by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. It used to concentrate on classical and jazz. In 2007 and 2008, the network transitioned towards ...

, June 14, 2018. The duo supported the album with a short tour in conjunction with

Vivek Shraya Vivek Shraya (born February 15, 1981) is a Canadian musician, writer, and visual artist. She currently lives in Calgary, Alberta, where she is an assistant professor in the creative writing program at the University of Calgary. As a trans woman ...

's Too Attached project."Bonjay and Too Attached on the limits of 'diversity'"
'' Now'', May 23, 2018. That year they performed as part of the 2018 Hamilton

Supercrawl Supercrawl is an annual art and indie music festival held each September in downtown Hamilton, Ontario Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Hamilton has a population of 569,353, and its census metropolitan area, wh ...

Discography

Albums *''Lush Life'' (2018), Mysteries of Trade EPs *''Gimmee Gimmee'' (2009), Independent *''Broughtupsy'' (2010), Mysteries of Trade Singles *"Maps" (2007),

XL Recordings XL Recordings is a British independent record label founded in 1989 by Tim Palmer and Nick Halkes. It has been ran and co-owned by Richard Russell since 1996. It forms part of the Beggars Group. Although only releasing an average of six alb ...

, Ghetto Arc *"Stumble" / "Creepin" (2011), One Bird Records *"Ingenue" (2015), Memeplex *"Chelsea" (2018), Mysteries of Trade *"Medicine For Melancholy" (2018), Mysteries of Trade

References

{{reflist, 30em Canadian contemporary R&B musical groups Musical groups from Toronto Canadian musical duos