Richard Aucoin (born September 15, 1983) is a Canadian musician, based in

Halifax, Nova Scotia Halifax is the capital and most populous municipality of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the most populous municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of 2024, it is estimated that the population of the H ...

."Rich Aucoin doesn't know when to quit"

Postmedia News Postmedia Network Canada Corp. (also known as Postmedia Network, Postmedia News or Postmedia) is an American-owned Canadian-based media conglomerate consisting of the publishing properties of the former Canwest, with primary operations in En ...

, November 7, 2011. He has toured throughout

North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography. Etymology T ...

and South America, Europe and Australia. He employs experimental recording techniques on his albums, and is noted for audience involvement and interaction at his performances. Aucoin has released five critically acclaimed studio LPs and EPs and singles and has won several Canadian awards, including the

Sirius XM Sirius XM Holdings Inc. is an American broadcasting corporation headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, that provides satellite radio and online radio services operating in the United States. The company was formed by the 2008 merge ...

Indie Awards' Emerging Artist of the Year. Aucoin claims his albums can act as alternative scores to films, reminiscent of ''

Dark Side of the Rainbow The Dark Side of the Rainbow – also known as Dark Side of Oz or The Wizard of Floyd – is the pairing of the 1973 Pink Floyd album ''The Dark Side of the Moon'' with the 1939 film '' The Wizard of Oz.'' This produces moments of apparent synchron ...

'', which combines the film ''

The Wizard of Oz ''The Wizard of Oz'' is a 1939 American Musical film, musical fantasy film produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM). Based on the 1900 novel ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' by L. Frank Baum, it was primarily directed by Victor Fleming, who left pro ...

'' with the

Pink Floyd Pink Floyd are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic music, psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experiments ...

album ''

The Dark Side of the Moon ''The Dark Side of the Moon'' is the eighth studio album by the English rock band Pink Floyd, released on 1 March 1973, by Capitol Records in the US and on 16 March 1973, by Harvest Records in the UK. Developed during live performances before ...

''. Aucoin also does cross-country

bicycle touring Bicycle touring is the taking of self-contained cycling trips for pleasure, adventure or autonomy rather than sport, commuting or exercise. Bicycle touring can range from single-day trips to extended travels spanning weeks or months. Tours may be ...

for charity fund raising.

Career

Education and breakthrough

After graduating in 2006 from

University of King's College The University of King's College is a public university, public Liberal arts college, liberal arts university in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Halifax, Nova Scotia.Roper, Henry. "Aspects of the History of a Loyalist College: King's College, Windsor, and ...

Dalhousie University Dalhousie University (commonly known as Dal) is a large public research university in Nova Scotia, Canada, with three campuses in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Halifax, a fourth in Bible Hill, Nova Scotia, Bible Hill, and a second medical school campus ...

with a BA(Hons) in Philosophy & Contemporary Studies, Aucoin recorded his first EP, ''Personal Publication'', using one microphone (a

Behringer Behringer is an audio equipment company founded by the Swiss engineer Uli Behringer on 25 January 1989 in Willich, Germany. Behringer produces equipment including synthesizers, mixers, audio interfaces and amplifiers. Behringer is owned b ...

B-1) and playing over a dozen instruments. In Spring 2006 he went on tour with

The Hylozoists The Hylozoists are a Canadian instrumental rock supergroup formed in 2001 in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. The band's name is derived from hylozoism and was started as a side project of record producer and multi-instrumentalist Paul Aucoin. ...

his older brother, Paul Aucoin's band, playing vibraphone/drum set and synth. Together with

Fembots FemBots are a Canadian indie rock band from Toronto formed in 1998. FemBots are known for their unique sound of combining instrumental everyday items, junk instruments, and traditional instruments in their music. Background The band's core membe ...

and

Cuff the Duke Cuff the Duke is a Canadian alt-country band from Oshawa, Ontario. They play a blend of traditional country and folk music with indie rock influences. History Cuff the Duke formed in Oshawa, drawing their name from a shirt purchased by front-ma ...

. Inspired by a Halifax Oxford Theatre midnight screening of ''The Wizard of Oz''s audio swapped with Pink Floyd's ''The Dark Side of the Rainbow phenomenon'', Aucoin recorded an EP, claiming it syncs with the

Dr. Seuss Theodor Seuss Geisel ( ;"Seuss"
'' How the Grinch Stole Christmas! ''How the Grinch Stole Christmas!'' is a children's Christmas book by Theodor "Dr. Seuss" Geisel written in rhymed verse with illustrations by the author. It follows the Grinch, a green cranky, solitary creature who attempts to thwart the pu ...

''. Aucoin put the video up on YouTube. It was taken down after receiving a cease and desist order from the Seuss Estate.

''Personal Publication'' EP (2007)

Aucoin's first show was on December 20, 2006, at Tribeca in Halifax and released ''Personal Publication'' EP in 2007/2008 managed by mixing record producer Joel Waddell. The self-released EP was Aucoin's industry break-through. In spite of his success, he embarked on a cross-country cycling tour to raise money for

Childhood Cancer Canada Childhood Cancer Canada (CCC) is a foundation dedicated to fighting childhood cancer. It was founded in 1987. The foundation works to improving the lives of children with cancer and their families through its support programs and investment in colla ...

."Rich Aucoin's CD captures joie de vivre and desperation of youth"
''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Newspapers in Canada, Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in Western Canada, western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of more than 6 million in 2024, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on week ...

'', November 9, 2011. Aucoin finished the cycling tour with 30 dates that ended in Victoria, BC from Halifax and then embarked on a tour with The Hylozoists opening for

The Besnard Lakes The Besnard Lakes ( ) are a Canadian indie rock band from Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Formed in 2003 by the husband and wife team of Jace Lasek and Olga Goreas, the band also includes Kevin Laing (drums), Richard White (guitar), Sheenah Ko (keyboa ...

. This was canceled after Aucoin was plagued by

seizure A seizure is a sudden, brief disruption of brain activity caused by abnormal, excessive, or synchronous neuronal firing. Depending on the regions of the brain involved, seizures can lead to changes in movement, sensation, behavior, awareness, o ...

s, prompting a return to Halifax.

''We're All Dying to Live'' LP (2008)

Aucoin's debut LP, ''We're All Dying To Live'', sampled public domain classics including ''

Night of the Living Dead ''Night of the Living Dead'' is a 1968 American Independent film, independent zombie horror film directed, photographed, and edited by George A. Romero, written by Romero and John A. Russo, John Russo, produced by Russell Streiner and Karl Har ...

'' and '' It's a Wonderful Life''. He toured with one microphone (a Røde NT2), an

Mbox Mbox is a generic term for a family of related file formats used for holding collections of email messages. It was first implemented in Research Unix, Fifth Edition Unix. All messages in an mbox mailbox are Concatenation, concatenated and store ...

, Pro Tools 32 Track LE and his laptop released in November 2011, and then performed at

Halifax Pop Explosion The Halifax Pop Explosion (HPX) was a music festival and conference that occurred every fall, typically two weeks after Thanksgiving, in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. The term "Halifax Pop Explosion" also came to be adopted in the 1990s as the n ...

at St. Matthew's United Church with a one-night-only band of about 80 performers. It won ''Best Live Show in the Past Year'' in that year's Best Of Awards by Halifax's The Coast Weekly. At the time, Aucoin ran half marathons for

Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada The Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada is a Canadian charity dedicated to advocacy, education, and the funding of research surrounding heart disease and stroke. Nomenclature In November 2016, the organization re-branded as Heart & Stroke a ...

Associated acts of Aucoin include fellow Canadian band members that have collaborated at venues and recording studios include; Break Glass with Jace Lasek, Hotel 2 Tango with Howard Bilerman, Common Ground with Andrew Watt, Echo Chamber with David Ewenson, Halla with Paul Aucoin and at St. Mary's Basilica Cathedral with Peter Togni and a session at the famed

Abbey Road Studios Abbey Road Studios (formerly EMI Recording Studios) is a music recording studio at 3 Abbey Road, London, Abbey Road, St John's Wood, City of Westminster, London. It was established in November 1931 by the Gramophone Company, a predecessor of ...

in London, U.K. featuring on Doug Taylor's album, mixed by David Wrench and mastered by Nilesh Patel at The Exchange and produced by Joel Waddell. The album appeared on the Campus and Community National's !earshot Top 50 Albums chart in January 2012. It was given Album of The Week by the

National Post The ''National Post'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet newspaper and the flagship publication of the American-owned Postmedia Network. It is published Mondays through Saturdays, with Monday released as a digital e-edition only.

and was a longlisted nominee for the

2012 Polaris Music Prize The 2012 edition of the Canadian Polaris Music Prize was presented on September 24, 2012 "Polaris Prize long list includes lots of Toronto bands"
''

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part of Torstar's Daily News Brands (Torstar), Daily News Brands division. ...

'', June 14, 2012.

''Ephemeral'' (2014)

Aucoin recorded ''Ephemeral'' in 2010. Aucoin decided to go back to syncing the album with just one piece of media rather than the collage of public domain films for ''We're All Dying to Live'' and so ''Ephemeral'' plays as an alt soundtrack to the 1979

Will Vinton William Gale Vinton (November 17, 1947 – October 4, 2018) was an American animator and filmmaker. Vinton was best known for his Claymation work, alongside creating iconic characters such as The California Raisins. He won an Academy Awards, Os ...

claymation movie ''

The Little Prince ''The Little Prince'' (, ) is a novella written and illustrated by French writer and aviator Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. It was first published in English and French in the United States by Reynal & Hitchcock in April 1943 and was published po ...

''. Aucoin recorded an audience of 20,000 of festival performances in the summer of 2012 all over Canada, US and Europe shows for ''Ephemeral''s opening track, ''Meaning in Life''. The album also opens with a vocal sample of

Wayne Coyne Wayne Michael Coyne (born January 13, 1961) is an American musician. He is the founder, lead vocalist, main songwriter, and only constant member of the psychedelic rock band the Flaming Lips. Early life Coyne was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania ...

from

The Flaming Lips The Flaming Lips are an American psychedelic rock band formed in 1983 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The band currently consists of Wayne Coyne (vocals, guitars, bass, keyboards), Steven Drozd (guitars, bass, keyboards, drums, vocals), Derek Brown ...

talking to Neil Fridd of Terror Pigeon (and long-time collaborator of Aucoin) about "being into long things" after Fridd and Aucoin had just gotten off stage as costumed dancers for a Lips festival show in 2011 at the

Hangout Music Festival The Hangout Music Festival (commonly referred to as Hangout Fest or Hangout) is an annual three-day music festival held on the white sand beaches of Gulf Shores, Alabama. The main stages are the Hangout Stage and the Surf Stage (located on opposit ...

where Aucoin was also performing. The album cover image is of the iconic Moon landing footprint and is the one image that sums up humankind's history at the

Griffith Observatory Griffith Observatory is an observatory in Los Angeles, California, on the south-facing slope of Mount Hollywood in Griffith Park. It commands a view of the Los Angeles Basin including Downtown Los Angeles to the southeast, Hollywood to the sou ...

in Los Angeles on their History of The Universe timeline. Recording took place at Hotel 2 Tango with Howard Bilerman, Rooster studios with Don Kerr, Echo Lake with Daniel Ledwell, Dream House with Alex Bonenfant, and St. Mary's Cathedral Basilica in Halifax, with Peter Togni. The album was mixed by Elijah Walsh, Peter Chapman, Eric Broucek, Graeme Campbell, Graham Walsh, Stephen Paul, Daniel Ledwell and

Mick Guzauski Nathan "Mick" Guzauski is an American multi-platinum mixing engineer and sound engineer. He has nine Grammy Awards and eleven nominations. His work spans a wide range of styles, including jazz, R&B, Latin, rock, pop, easy listening, funk and ...

and was produced by Aucoin and Joel Waddell, mastered by Dave Cooley and Rich Aucoin. It was released by Bonsound and debuted at The Halifax Pop Explosion in 2014. featuring Maylee Todd and

Allie X Alexandra Ashley Hughes (born 31 July 1985), known by her stage name Allie X, is a Canadian singer, songwriter, and visual artist. She began her career as an indie pop artist in Toronto in the mid-2000s, playing with local bands and recording se ...

. Aucoin was featured on the cover of ''Exclaim!'' magazine and was nominated for The Polaris Music Prize. Major France label Platinum purchased distribution rights for both ''Ephemeral'' and ''We're All Dying to Live'' in light of Aucoin of heavy touring France and Europe. Aucoin was privileged to perform his album song with

Symphony Nova Scotia Symphony Nova Scotia is a Canadian orchestra based in Halifax Regional Municipality, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. Its primary recital venue is at the Dalhousie Arts Centre's Rebecca Cohn Auditorium. History Symphony Nova Scotia began in 1983 ...

in collaboration with The Halifax Pop Explosion.

''Release'' (2019)

Recording for ''Release'', originally called to be called ‘Death’, started in the winter of 2016 at Old Confidence Lodge and is claimed to be in sync with

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...

's 1951 film ''

Alice in Wonderland ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (also known as ''Alice in Wonderland'') is an 1865 English Children's literature, children's novel by Lewis Carroll, a mathematics university don, don at the University of Oxford. It details the story of a ...

''. featuring around 70 performers such as drummer Justin Peroff of

Broken Social Scene Broken Social Scene is a Canadian indie rock band and musical collective including as few as six and as many as nineteen members, formed by Kevin Drew (vocals, guitar) and Brendan Canning (vocals, bass) in 1999. Alongside Drew and Canning, the ...

as well as Tony Dallas of

Fake Shark Fake Shark (formerly known as Fake Shark – Real Zombie!) is a Canadian alternative rock band from Vancouver, British Columbia. Originally formed in 2005, while their early musical style mainly combined elements of dance punk, post-hardcore a ...

and Bratboy and Jeremy Malvin of Chrome Sparks, vocals of

Rose Cousins Rosanne Millicent "Rose" Cousins (born April 21, 1977) is a Canadian folk-pop singer-songwriter. Born and raised in Prince Edward Island, she is currently based in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Career Cousins released two EPs prior to her full-length ...

and Reeny Smith, acoustic guitar of

Dan Mangan Daniel Mangan (born April 28, 1983) is a Canadian musician. He has won two Juno awards and has toured extensively throughout North America, Europe and Australia, having released 5 studio LPs and numerous EPs and singles. He has scored for featur ...

and the bass of Commander Meouch of

TWRP TWRP may stand for: * TWRP (band) TWRP ( disemvoweling of ''twerp''), formerly known as Tupper Ware Remix Party, is a Canadian rock band originally from Halifax, Nova Scotia. Founded in 2007, the band moved to Toronto in 2011 with a change i ...

. During recording, Aucoin suffered a laptop theft of substantial recordings in January 2017 prompting remixing on backups. All album tracks features vocal synths with The Past entirely of Aucoin. ''Release'' was recorded in at Rec Room with Sheldon Zaharko. Taurus Recording with Thomas D'arcy, The Nook with David Plowman, Sonology with Jeff McMurrich, Planet Studios with Jean-Bruno Pinard, Hotel 2 Tango with Howard Bilerman, Virtue and Vice with Ben Talmi, Echo Lake with Daniel Ledwell, Old Confidence Lodge with Diego Medina, Alley Road with Lukas Pearse, Sonic Temple with Darren Van Niekerk, New Scotland Yard with Thomas Stajcer and again with Peter Togni recording church organ at Cathedral Church of All Saints and was produced by Aucoin and Joel Waddell and was mixed by Howie Beck and mastered by

Noah Mintz Noah Mintz (born September 1970) is a Canadian rock singer-songwriter, guitarist and mastering engineer. Mintz founded the band hHead with Brendan Canning in the 1990s. He released solo material under the name Noah's Arkweld following the breakup ...

. with the cover image of a 3D printed life-sized version of Aucoin's skull, painted by artist Laura Dawe and photographed by photographer Meghan Tansey Whitton and designed by Seth Smith.

''United States'' (2020)

The ''United States'' album was released in May 2019 by

Dine Alone Records Dine Alone Records is a Canadian and American record label, founded in St. Catharines and Toronto by Joel Carriere. The label is now based in Toronto, Nashville and Los Angeles. History Dine Alone was born out of founder Joel Carriere's home ...

' Haven Sounds imprint. After the album's debut, Aucoin embarked on another country cycling tour across America in Spring 2018. The album was entirely written from vocal memos while from Los Angeles to New York City raising money for Mental Health America and The

Canadian Mental Health Association The Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) is a Canadian non-profit mental health organization that focuses on resources, programs and advocacy. It was founded on April 22, 1918, by Clarence M. Hincks and Clifford W. Beers. Originally named ...

. Aucoin documented his tour with ''Paste'' magazine. Unlike previous albums, this was unintended to be synced to a film, instead entirely based on emotional reception of the American landscape and society. It was written and recorded at Taurus Recording with Thomas D’arcy and Old Confidence Lodge with Diego Medina, mixed by Howie Beck and produced by Aucoin and Joel Waddell with ‘Walls’ was mixed and produced by Kevin Maher and was mastered by Brian ‘Big Bass’ Gardner. Its cover is a photo taken by Aucoin of an auto dealership's enormous American Flag flying at half-mast and was the second release by Dine Alone's Haven Sounds for Aucoin in October 2020. The first single for the record "How It Breaks" went No. 1 on the CBC Top 20 Countdown in June 2020. Aucoin released a stand-alone single in 2022 called We're in It Together which featured a choir made up of 100 fans emailing their voice memos and home recordings to Aucoin and featured: Doctor Sung and Lord Phobos of TWRP, Ninja Brian of

Ninja Sex Party Ninja Sex Party (often abbreviated as NSP) is an American musical comedy rock duo consisting of singer Dan Avidan and keyboardist Brian Wecht. They formed in 2009 in New York City and are currently based in Los Angeles. They are also part of ...

and Dylan Germick of Planet Booty.

''Synthetic: A Synth Odyssey'' (2022)

Aucoin started ''Synthetic: A Synth Odyssey'' LP in March 2020 while doing an Artist In Residency at the

National Music Centre The National Music Centre (NMC; ) is a non-profit museum, performance venue, and recording studio located in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The centre's permanent building, branded Studio Bell, is located at 850 4th Street S.E. in Downtown East Villag ...

in Calgary, Alberta. Almost fully recorded, the pandemic halted recording in April 2020 so Aucoin shifted focus on music documentary

No Ordinary Man ''No Ordinary Man'' is the second studio album by American country music artist Tracy Byrd. It features the singles "The First Step", "Lifestyles of the Not So Rich and Famous", "Watermelon Crawl", and "The Keeper of the Stars", all of which rea ...

directed by Aisling Chin-Yee and Chase Joynt. Aucoin played all the sum 37 synthesizers on Season 1 which was released in October 2022 by We Are Busy Bodies. and was mixed by Howie Beck and produced by Aucoin, Joel Waddell and Gordon Huntley. The album featured the legendary Tonto synthesizer made famous by

Brian De Palma Brian Russell De Palma (; born September 11, 1940) is an Americans, American film director and screenwriter. With a career spanning over 50 years, he is best known for work in the suspense, Crime film, crime, and psychological thriller genres. ...

in his film ''

Phantom of the Paradise ''Phantom of the Paradise'' is a 1974 American rock musical comedy horror film written and directed by Brian De Palma and scored by and starring Paul Williams. A naïve young singer-songwriter, Winslow Leach ( William Finley), is tricked by ...

'' and used by greatest like

Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris (; Judkins; born May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American and Ghanaian singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer. He is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th c ...

. The album was mastered by Noah Mintz and designed by Mat Dunlap. The cover for each of the four seasons of the album features the synthesizers used on each one and was nominated for a

Juno Award The Juno Awards (stylized as JUNOS), or simply known as the Junos, are awards presented by Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences to recognize outstanding achievements in Canada's mu ...

for Electronic Album of The Year.

Media reception

According to ''

'', "Aucoin's sweat-soaked shows are near legendary events of mosh-pit euphoria, surfboard situations and dancing underneath a multicoloured parachute". Aucoin might be best known for his live show in Canada. It began with Aucoin playing like a silent film era pianist on the size of the stage with the focus being on the screen he was playing the music to accompany but then slowly morphed into a communal singalong dance-party with Aucoin frequently in the middle of the audience leading the choruses. The show has always involved a mixed media performance involving a collage of images which the show runs in sync to with everything from the films Aucoin composed the music to synchronize with to viral videos and memes to anything and everything as visual samples. These film clips include ''

All Dogs Go to Heaven 2 ''All Dogs Go to Heaven 2'' is a 1996 American animated musical fantasy adventure film, and a sequel to Goldcrest Films' animated film ''All Dogs Go to Heaven'' (1989). Produced by MGM/UA Family Entertainment and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Animation ...

'', in which Aucoin features. Often times, the framing of a night at the movies is used with opening previews of the other bands on the bill to fake advertisements and a crowd singalong of all the major media companies’ fanfares mashed up together. Custom 3D glasses were distribute in 2009 for his sets which were partially 3D filmed. Aucoin has been known to make a personalized show for every performance given thousands of fans personalized intro credits in the opening credits of the show; messages usually revolve around topical humor or cultural references like "So and So doesn't settle for anything, except

Catan ''Catan'', previously known as ''The Settlers of Catan'' or simply ''Settlers'', is a multiplayer board game designed by Klaus Teuber. It was first published in 1995 in Germany by Franckh-Kosmos Verlag (Kosmos) as ''Die Siedler von Catan'' (). ...

". Aucoin has narration and other comedy elements added between songs to give time for costume changes and other props, including crowd surfing on a real surf board. Another signature element has been the use of a multi-colored parachute which he throws over the audience and leads the singing dance party underneath. The shows have had heavy use of many other props, from water gun fights to balloon drops and usually a sea of confetti. Group movement plays a large role, with Aucoin leading the audience through many interactive moments and large group coordination. Aucoin plays either solo with samples or with a various configuration of backing band members from all over North America and Europe. Some configurations are drums, bass, synths, guitar, horns and back up singers to having larger bands with strings and choral groups. Reoccurring members include: * Joel Waddell (drums) * Darryl Smith (guitar) * Erik VanLunen (bass) * R Sun (keyboards) * Nathan Pilon (saxophone) Satellite bandmates have included: * Tony Dallas of

* Phil Maloney of

Hey Rosetta! Hey Rosetta! was a Canadian seven-piece indie rock band from St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, led by singer-songwriter Tim Baker. They released four studio albums, five EPs, and one live album. On October 13, 2017, the group announced v ...

* Jeremy Malvin (professionally known as) Chrome Sparks * Brad Weber of

Caribou The reindeer or caribou (''Rangifer tarandus'') is a species of deer with circumpolar distribution, native to Arctic, subarctic, tundra, boreal, and mountainous regions of Northern Europe, Siberia, and North America. It is the only represe ...

* Antoine Woodmann of Monolithe Noir * Baudouin and Guillaume Marnez of Encore Aucoin had nearly 90 musicians join him for his album release for ''We're All Dying to Live'' at the Halifax Pop Explosion in 2011 at St. Matthew's Church. Aucoin also was backed by

Choir! Choir! Choir! Choir! Choir! Choir! is a Canadian musical choir, based in Toronto, Ontario.

at The Toronto Urban Roots Festival in 2015. Aucoin has been a promoter of the Gender Is Over! If You Want It trans-rights campaign. He has worn their tank top since 2017. Aucoin also developed a performance character in 2019 for his first shows doing support for TWRP and, keeping with the sci-fi style of the band, Aucoin developed The Space Cowboy and would enter stage to the

Steve Miller Band The Steve Miller Band is an American rock music, rock band formed in San Francisco, California in 1966. The band is led by Steve Miller (musician), Steve Miller on guitar and lead vocals. The group had a string of mid- to late-1970s hit singles ...

track ''

The Joker The Joker is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Bill Finger, Bob Kane, and Jerry Robinson, the character first appeared in the debut issue of the comic book ''Batman (comic book), Batman'' on ...

'' and its line "some people call me the space cowboy". Aucoin announced he would retire this version of the show at the end of 2025.

Touring

Aucoin has toured extensively: * America: Terror Pigeon and Gobble Gobble,

Grimes Claire Elise Boucher (; born March 17, 1988), known professionally as Grimes, is a Canadian musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. Her lyrics often touch on science fiction and feminist themes. The visuals in her videos are elabora ...

Moon King Moon King is the synth-pop project of Canadian songwriter and producer Daniel Benjamin. Moon King's music has been described as dream pop, electronic pop or indie rock. Recently the project's sound has shifted to include disco, synthpop and hous ...

, Born Gold, TWRP and Planet Booty * Canada: Hey Rosetta!, k-os,

Lights Light is an electromagnetic radiation, part of which stimulates the sense of vision. Light or Lights may also refer to: Illumination * Lighting * Light bulb * Traffic light Arts and entertainment Music * Lights (musician) (born 1987), Canadian s ...

Arkells Arkells is a Canadian rock band, formed in Hamilton, Ontario. In 2006, they signed with Dine Alone Records, and have since signed with Universal Music Canada. They have released nine albums: '' Jackson Square'' (2008), '' Michigan Left'' (2011) ...

Hot Hot Heat Hot Hot Heat was a Canadian indie rock band from Victoria, British Columbia, formed in 1999. The band was signed to Seattle label Sub Pop in 2001 and Warner Records throughout the majority of their career. The band has released five full-lengt ...

and The Mounties. * France: Salut C’est Cool,

Naïve New Beaters Naïve New Beaters is a French pop band from Paris. Their style incorporates elements from Hip hop music, rap, Rock music, rock and electro house. The band was formed in 2005 and found initial internet fame on YouTube in 2007 with the music video ...

Major festivals have included:

Osheaga The Osheaga Music and Arts Festival () is a multi-day music festival in Montreal, Quebec, that is held every summer at Parc Jean-Drapeau on Île Sainte-Hélène. The festival takes place on six stages with various audience capacities. Translated ...

Ottawa Bluesfest The Ottawa Bluesfest (currently known as RBC Bluesfest under a naming rights sponsorship) is an annual outdoor music festival that takes place each July in downtown Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. While the festival's lineup historically focused on b ...

, Vielles Charrues,

Eurockéennes The Eurockéennes de Belfort (; ) is one of France's largest rock music festivals. The Eurockéennes, a play on words involving ''rock'' (rock music) and ''européennes'' (Europeans), is a festival based in a nature reserve beside Lac de Malsau ...

, Calvi on The Rocks, Sakifo, Toronto Urban Roots Festival,

Regina Folk Festival The Regina Folk Festival (RFF) was an annual music festival held in Victoria Park in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. A three-night and two-day event usually held the second weekend of August, the RFF attracted more than 35,000 people. It operated wi ...

, Best Kept Secret,

Montreal Jazz Festival The Festival international de Jazz de Montréal is an annual jazz festival held in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The Montreal Jazz Fest holds the 2004 Guinness World Record as the world's largest jazz festival. Every year it features roughly 3,000 ar ...

, The Hangout, Trans Musicales, Berlin Music Fest,

Art Basel Miami Art Basel is a for-profit, privately owned and managed, international art fair staged annually in Basel (Switzerland), Miami Beach (US), Hong Kong and Paris. Art Basel provides a platform for galleries to show and sell their work to buyers, and ...

, Halifax Jazz Festival, Panorama Festival, Festival Eletronika, C/O Pop Koln, Pemberton Festival, World Pride, Victoria Jazz Festival, Rifflandia Festival,

Winnipeg Folk Festival The Winnipeg Folk Festival is a nonprofit charitable organization with an annual summer folk music festival held in Birds Hill Provincial Park, near Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. The festival features a variety of artists and music from around t ...

, Luminato Art Festival,

Iceland Airwaves Iceland Airwaves is a music festival held annually in November in Reykjavík, Iceland, since 1999. Its main focus is showcasing new music, both Icelandic and international. Background The event is promoted and produced by Iceland Music Export ...

The Great Escape Festival The Great Escape Festival is a four-day music festival held in Brighton and Hove, England every year in May. It is operated by MAMA Festivals and showcases new music from a variety of genres. The festival was founded in 2006 and hosts roughly ...

, Australian Music Week,

Canadian Music Week The Departure Festival + Conference, formerly known as Canadian Music Week, is an industry conference and music festival held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.David Friend"Canadian Music Week buyers rename event Departure Festival, expand its scope" ...

CMJ CMJ Holdings Corp. is a music events, online media company and a distributor of up and coming music CDs, originally founded in 1978, which ran a website, hosted an annual festival in New York City, and published two magazines, ''CMJ New Music ...

NXNE North by Northeast (or NXNE) is an annual music and arts festival held each June in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The festival's main focus is live music, particularly emerging talent. Acts that have had break out appearances at NXNE at small venues ...

, Sled Island Festival, Dawson City Music Festival,

SXSW South by Southwest (SXSW) is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and Convention (meeting), conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Texas. It began in 1987 and has conti ...

, and

Pop Montreal POP Montreal is an annual List of music festivals, music festival occurring in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, in the early fall, usually at the end of September or the beginning of October. More than 400 bands are scheduled to play in more than 50 ve ...

. He opened festival stages for M83, Andrew W.K.,

Of Monsters and Men Of Monsters and Men is an Icelandic indie folk/Folk rock, rock band formed in Garðabær in 2010. It consists of lead singer and guitarist Nanna Bryndís Hilmarsdóttir, singer and guitarist Ragnar Þórhallsson, Ragnar "Raggi" Þórhallsson, ...

, The National,

Mavis Staples Mavis Staples (born July 10, 1939) is an American rhythm and blues and gospel music, gospel singer and civil rights activism, activist. She rose to fame as a member of her family's band The Staple Singers, of which she is the last surviving memb ...

, The Flaming Lips and

The Tragically Hip The Tragically Hip, often referred to simply as the Hip, was a Canadian rock band formed in Kingston, Ontario in 1984, consisting of vocalist Gord Downie, guitarist Paul Langlois, guitarist Rob Baker (known as Bobby Baker until 1994), bassis ...

. Aucoin has supported

Dan Deacon Daniel Deacon (born August 28, 1981) is an American composer and electronic musician based in Baltimore, Baltimore, Maryland. Deacon is renowned for his live shows, where large-scale audience participation and interaction is often a major elemen ...

, Girl Talk,

Deerhoof Deerhoof is an American musical group formed in San Francisco in 1994. It consists of founding drummer Greg Saunier, bassist and singer Satomi Matsuzaki, and guitarists John Dieterich and Ed Rodriguez. Beginning as an improvised noise punk band ...

of Montreal of Montreal is an American indie pop band from Athens, Georgia. It was founded by frontperson Kevin Barnes in 1996, named after a failed romance between Barnes and a woman "of Montreal". The band is identified as part of the Elephant 6 collec ...

Holy Fuck Holy Fuck is a Canadian electronica band from Toronto. They were a part of Dependent Music, a music label and artist collective that began in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia in 2004 until its closing. They were then a part of the Young Turks label and in ...

, The Constantines, The Weakerthans,

July Talk July Talk is a Canadian alternative rock band formed in 2012 in Toronto, Ontario. The band consists of singers Peter Dreimanis and Leah Fay Goldstein, guitarist Ian Docherty, bassist Josh Warburton, drummer Danny Miles and auxiliary musician Da ...

Zeus Zeus (, ) is the chief deity of the List of Greek deities, Greek pantheon. He is a sky father, sky and thunder god in ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, who rules as king of the gods on Mount Olympus. Zeus is the child ...

Mac DeMarco McBriare Samuel Lanyon DeMarco (born Vernor Winfield McBriare Smith IV; April 21, 1990) is a Canadian singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer. He has released five full-length studio albums: his debut '' 2'' (2012), '' Salad Days' ...

Plants & Animals Plants and Animals are a Canadian indie-rock band from Montreal (featuring two members originally from Nova Scotia) which comprises guitarist-vocalists Warren Spicer and Nic Basque and drummer-vocalist Matthew Woody Woodley. The trio began playin ...

Rubblebucket Rubblebucket is an American art-pop and indie-rock band from Brooklyn, New York. The primary members are a musical couple (now separated) Annakalmia Traver and Alex Toth. Formation Alex Toth (trumpet, band leader) and Kalmia Traver (vocals, sax ...

Peelander-Z Peelander-Z is a Japanese-American punk rock band formed in 1998 and based in Austin, Texas. They bill themselves as a "Japanese Action Comic Punk band hailing from the Z area of Planet Peelander". While the founding members of Peelander-Z were ...

Austra Austra may refer to: *Austra, Norway, an island between Trøndelag and Nordland counties *Austra (band) Austra is a Canadian electronic music band from Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalit ...

Tegan and Sara Tegan and Sara () are a Canadian indie pop duo formed in 1998 in Calgary, Alberta. The band is led by identical twin sisters, Tegan Rain Quin and Sara Keirsten Quin (born September 19, 1980). Both musicians are songwriters and multi-instrumentali ...

A Tribe Called Red The Halluci Nation, formerly known as A Tribe Called Red (a name inspired by hip-hop group A Tribe Called Quest), is a Canadian electronic music group who blend instrumental hip hop, reggae, moombahton and dubstep-influenced dance music with ...

Mother Mother Mother Mother is a Canadian indie rock band based on Quadra Island, British Columbia. The band consists of Ryan Guldemond on guitar and vocals, Molly Guldemond and Jasmin Parkin on vocals and keyboard, Ali Siadat on drums, and Mike Young on ba ...

Shad The Alosidae, or the shads, are a family (biology), family of clupeiform fishes. The family currently comprises four genera worldwide, and about 32 species. The shads are Pelagic fish, pelagic (open water) schooling fish, of which many are anadr ...

, Sloan, Joel Plaskett, St. Paul & The Broken Bones,

Izïa Izïa Anna Rosine Higelin (; born 24 September 1990), more commonly known by her stage name Izïa, is a French rock singer, guitarist and actress. Her most recent album, ''La Vitesse'', was released in 2022. Early life Izïa was born in Paris ...

and

Melissa Auf der Maur Melissa Gaboriau Auf der Maur (; born March 17, 1972) is a Canadian musician. Auf der Maur began performing in 1993 after forming the indie rock band Tinker (band), Tinker while she was a student at Concordia University. She was recruited ...

. He holds the record as the artist who played his hometown Halifax Pop Explosion more than any other artist during its run.

Music videos

Aucoin is known for his ambitious music videos: * ''It'' (2007) involved recreating several iconic film scenes from classic films from ''

Forrest Gump ''Forrest Gump'' is a 1994 American comedy-drama film directed by Robert Zemeckis. An adaptation of the Forrest Gump (novel), 1986 novel by Winston Groom, the screenplay of the film is written by Eric Roth. It stars Tom Hanks in the title rol ...

'', ''

Ghostbusters ''Ghostbusters'' is a 1984 American supernatural comedy film directed by Ivan Reitman and written by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis. It stars Bill Murray, Aykroyd, and Ramis as Peter Venkman, Ray Stantz, and Egon Spengler, three eccentric ...

'', ''

Taxi Driver ''Taxi Driver'' is a 1976 American neo-noir psychological drama film directed by Martin Scorsese and written by Paul Schrader. Set in a morally decaying New York City following the Vietnam War, it stars Robert De Niro as veteran Marine and ...

'', ''

Top Gun ''Top Gun'' is a 1986 American action drama film directed by Tony Scott and produced by Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer, with distribution by Paramount Pictures. The screenplay was written by Jim Cash and Jack Epps Jr., and was inspired ...

'', ''

The Princess Bride The Princess Bride may refer to: * ''The Princess Bride'' (novel), 1973 fantasy romance novel by writer William Goldman ** ''The Princess Bride'' (film), 1987 American film adaptation directed by Rob Reiner Robert Reiner (born March 6, 1947) ...

'', ''

E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial ''E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial'' (or simply ''E.T.'') is a 1982 American science fiction film, science fiction film produced and directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Melissa Mathison. It tells the story of Elliott Taylor, Elliott, a boy w ...

'', ''

Die Hard ''Die Hard'' is a 1988 American action film directed by John McTiernan and written by Jeb Stuart (writer), Jeb Stuart and Steven E. de Souza, based on the 1979 novel ''Nothing Lasts Forever (Thorp novel), Nothing Lasts Forever'' by Roderick ...

'' to film syncing albums. The video garnered nearly a half a million views. * ''Push'' (2009) included an early use of 3D. * ''Brian Wilson Is A.L.I.V.E.'' (2010) with producers Jason Levangie, Marc Tetreault and director Noah Pink. It won the

Prism Prize The Prism Prize is a national juried award recognizing the artistry of the modern music video in Canada."Rich Aucoin Wins First-Ever Prism Prize"
''

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

'', March 24, 2013. involved a mini biopic of

Beach Boys The Beach Boys are an American rock band formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and their friend Al Jardine. Distinguished by thei ...

lead songwriter

Brian Wilson Brian Douglas Wilson (June 20, 1942 – June 11, 2025) was an American musician, songwriter, singer and record producer who co-founded the Beach Boys. Often Brian Wilson is a genius, called a genius for his novel approaches to pop compositio ...

. which lead to Brian Wilson promoting the video on Twitter in September 2012. * ''Want to Believe'' (2012), a live-action video directed by

Jason Eisener Jason Eisener is a Canadian filmmaker and film editor. Life and career ''Grindhouse'' faux trailer contest and ''Hobo with a Shotgun'' (2007–2011) In 2007, Eisener entered and won the ''Grindhouse'' fake trailer contest hosted by Robert Rodrig ...

. The concept, written by Aucoin and developed by Eisener, was a story about a washed-up supernatural detective being inspired by a group of kids to keep the dream alive and shows them on a number of episodic adventures. It was a mix of ''

The X-Files ''The X-Files'' is an American science fiction on television, science fiction drama (film and television), drama television series created by Chris Carter (screenwriter), Chris Carter. The original series aired from September 10, 1993, to Ma ...

'' meets ''

The Goonies ''The Goonies'' is a 1985 American adventure comedy film directed and co-produced by Richard Donner from a screenplay by Chris Columbus based on a story by Steven Spielberg and starring Sean Astin, Josh Brolin (in his film debut), Jeff Cohen ...

'' and other 80's nostalgia and was a Vimeo staff Pick. *''Yelling in Sleep'' (2014) with animator Joel Mackenzie. It was Prism-nominated. * ''Release'' (2019) directed by Dave Hung, involved Aucoin floating off the coast of Nova Scotia in a suit, while a drone slowly pans out overhead. The video took several attempts at filming for the one-shot take. * ''The Mind'' (2019) directed by Meaghan Tansley-Whitton, has a non-distinct silver-draped figure standing on a number of Nova Scotia's iconic coastlines. * ''The Dream'' (2019) directed by Mike Bromley. Aucoin dressed as a Hollywood costumed performer. It was shot using a hidden camera, in a 'run and gun' style on Hollywood Boulevard. * ''The Middle'' (2019) directed by Meags Fitzgerald involved time-lapse overhead filming of her ambidextrous drawing; she also used stop animation to animate the drawings. It was nominated for a Prism award. *''The Change'' (2019) by Hanlon McGregor & Mihaly Szabados was a theatre interpretation of a gender transition. * ''The Past'' (2019), a 360 VR video with Pete Macdonald and AJ King and audio spatializing by Kyle Varley, has six frames of Aucoin's mouth surrounding all the sides of the viewer. The spatialization has six stems of the song which can be mixed by the viewer depending on the view of direction. * ''The Other'' (2019) produced by Stephanie Hooker and Martin Wojtunik and co-directed by Aucoin and Ian Angus. It is a dystopian sci-fi about a planet of humanoids all distinguished by masquerade masks. The video makes use of several buildings with brutalist architecture to achieve the exteriors, as well as Douglas Trumbull-style miniatures made by Auction filmed at the beginning of the video. * ''Eulogy of Regret'' (2020) by Dustin Harvey is a theatrical interpretation of the song's themes and is an expanded theatre-piece itself entitled ''How Quickly Things Change'' including extra verses that Aucoin wrote. * ''How It Breaks'', ''Reset'' and ''Dopamine'' (2020), Aucoin made found footage edited videos as U.S. editions. The subjects were: protests, gun violence and a collection of Aucoin's photography documenting his bicycle tour across America in 2018, respectively. * ''Kayfabe'' (2020) using wrestling action figures due to the pandemic lockdown isolation. * ''Walls'' (2020), a second video edit paying homage to iconic music videos: ''

When Doves Cry "When Doves Cry" is a song by American musician Prince, and the lead single from his sixth studio album '' Purple Rain''. According to the DVD commentary of the film '' Purple Rain'' (1984), Prince was asked by director Albert Magnoli to write a ...

'' (Prince), ''

Sabotage Sabotage is a deliberate action aimed at weakening a polity, government, effort, or organization through subversion, obstruction, demoralization (warfare), demoralization, destabilization, divide and rule, division, social disruption, disrupti ...

'' (Beastie Boys), ''

Ironic Irony, in its broadest sense, is the juxtaposition of what, on the surface, appears to be the case with what is actually or expected to be the case. Originally a rhetorical device and literary technique, in modernity, modern times irony has a ...

'' (Alanis Morissette), '' Like A Virgin'' (Madonna), ''

Virtual Insanity "Virtual Insanity" is a song by British funk and acid jazz band Jamiroquai, released on 19 August 1996 by Sony Soho Square as the second single from their third studio album, ''Travelling Without Moving'' (1996). The song was written by Jay Kay ...

'' (Jamiroquai), ''

Bohemian Rhapsody "Bohemian Rhapsody" is a song by the British rock music, rock band Queen (band), Queen, released as the lead single from their fourth studio album, ''A Night at the Opera (Queen album), A Night at the Opera'' (1975). Written by Queen's lead si ...

'' (Queen), ''

Here It Goes Again "Here It Goes Again" is a song by American rock band OK Go, the fifth single released from their second studio album, '' Oh No'' (2005). It was the band's only single to chart on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 until " I Won't Let You Down" in Nove ...

'' (Ok Go), '' Once in a Lifetime'' (Talking Heads), ''

Video Killed The Radio Star "Video Killed the Radio Star" is a song written by Trevor Horn, Geoff Downes and Bruce Woolley in 1979. It was recorded concurrently by Bruce Woolley and the Camera Club (with Thomas Dolby on keyboards) for their album '' English Garden'' and ...

'' (Buggles), ''

Gangnam Style "Gangnam Style" () is a K-pop song by South Korean singer Psy, released on July 15, 2012, by YG Entertainment as the lead single of his sixth studio album, ''Psy 6 (Six Rules), Part 1'' (''Ssai Yukgap Part 1''). The term "Gangnam Style" is a n ...

'' (Psy), '' Single Ladies'' (Beyoncé), '' Sorry'' (Justin Bieber), ''

Hotline Bling "Hotline Bling" is a song recorded by Canadian rapper Drake (musician), Drake, which served as the lead single from his fourth studio album ''Views (album), Views'' (2016). The song is credited as a bonus track on the album. It was made availabl ...

'' (Drake), '' Just'' (Radiohead), ''

Praise You "Praise You" is a song by the English big beat musician Fatboy Slim. It was released as the third single from his second studio album, ''You've Come a Long Way, Baby'' (1998), on 4 January 1999. It reached number one in the United Kingdom and I ...

'' (Fatboyslim), ''

U Can't Touch This "U Can't Touch This" is a song co-written, produced, and performed by American rapper MC Hammer. It was released in May 1990 by Capitol Records as the third single from his third album, ''Please Hammer Don't Hurt 'Em'' (1990), and has been con ...

'' (MC Hammer), ''

Take On Me "Take On Me" is a song by Norwegian synth-pop band a-ha. The original version, recorded in 1984 and released in October of that year, was produced by Tony Mansfield and remixed by John Ratcliff (producer), John Ratcliff. The 1985 international ...

'' (a-ha), ''

Everlong "Everlong" is a song by American rock band Foo Fighters, released in August 1997 as the second single from their second studio album, '' The Colour and the Shape'' (1997). The song reached number three on the US ''Billboard'' Alternative Songs ...

'' (Foo Fighter), ''

Smells Like Teen Spirit "Smells Like Teen Spirit" is a song by the American rock band Nirvana. It is the opening track and lead single from the band's second album, '' Nevermind'' (1991), released on DGC Records. Having sold over 13 million units worldwide, it i ...

'' (Nirvana),

Weird Al Weird may refer to: Places * Weird Lake, a lake in Minnesota, U.S. People *"Weird Al" Yankovic (born 1959), American musician and parodist Art, entertainment, and media Literature * '' Weird US'', a series of travel guides * ''The Weird'', a 20 ...

parody of ''

Smells Like Nirvana "Smells Like Nirvana" is a song parody written and performed by American musician "Weird Al" Yankovic. A parody of Nirvana's song "Smells Like Teen Spirit", it was released as the lead single from Yankovic's '' Off the Deep End'' album in April 1 ...

''. The video was nominated for a Prism Prize. It was shared by

"Weird Al" Yankovic Alfred Matthew "Weird Al" Yankovic ( ; born October 23, 1959) is an American comedy musician, writer, and actor. He is best known for writing and performing Comedy music, comedy songs that often Parody music, parody specific songs by contempo ...

on social media. * ''Space Western'' (2022) with Levangie of Shut Up & Colour and directors Ian Angus and Noah Pink. Shot at the Mojave desert it was based on his performance character ''The Space Cowboy''. The video was unconventionally released as a set of theatrical trailers.

Discography

Studio albums

* ''We're All Dying to Live'' (2011) * ''Ephemeral'' (2014) * ''Release'' (2019) * ''United States'' (2020) * ''Synthetic: Season 1'' (2022) * ''Synthetic: Season 2'' (2023) * ''Synthetic: Season 3'' (2024)

EPs

* ''Personal Publication'' (2007) * ''Public Publication'' (2010) * ''Hold'' (2018)

Singles

* ''It'' (2011) * ''Release'' (2011) * ''Brian Wilson Is A.L.I.V.E.'' (2012) * ''Kayfabe'' (2020) * ''How It Breaks'' (2020) * ''Reset'' (2020) * ''Dopamine'' (2020) * ''We're In It Together'' (2022) * ''New Nostalgia'' (2024)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Aucoin, Rich Living people Place of birth missing (living people) Musicians from Halifax, Nova Scotia Canadian indie rock musicians Canadian indie pop musicians Acadian people 1983 births