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BIO
(Person) X: What’s your name?X: PF: Penelope
X: Like Penelope Cruz?
PF: Yeah, like Penelope Cruz.
X: I detect an accent. Where are you from?
PF: Montreal.
X: So why do you sound French?
PF: I’m French Canadian.
X: Oh… So what brings you to L.A.?
PF: It’s a long story…
X: I like long stories.
PF: Hmm… Then to make a long story short…
Montreal native and "Jack of all trades" Penelope Fortier spent half of her life traveling around the world, sometimes as a model, an actress, a photographer, a student or as a simple observer, and has been living abroad ever since.
Classically trained in voice and guitar at an early age, Penelope decided to take music to the next level upon her arrival in L.A. where she met bass player and producer Sheldon Gomberg (whose recent collaborations include: Rickie Lee Jones, Ben Harper and The Living Sisters), and with whom she recorded two full-length albums and a Single, at his studio "The Carriage House", in Silver Lake.
"When I first heard Penelope's music, I knew I had to work with her. She melted me. she was sitting there right in front of me, playing her classical guitar and singing these beautiful songs with that beautiful voice! I had no defenses." -Sheldon Gomberg
In her debut album Sunday At Noon, Penelope weaves seamlessly in and out of different acoustic musical genres, leading the way with her unique fingerpicking style and angelic voice, enhanced by the elegant string arrangements composed by Neel Hammond and Miguel Atwood-Ferguson and complimented by the generous participation of over twenty world-renowned artists such as: Jeff Young, Deron Johnson, Pete Thomas,The Sonus (string) Quartet, Dean Parks, Stewart Cole, Chris Joyner and Danny Franke.“The whole experience was surreal…I couldn’t stop smiling.”-PF.
Penelope's decision to record a version of My Favorite Things (from the movie The Sound Of Music) came after she was featured singing this song in a popular Nationwide MasterCard television ad campaign. Accompanying her on this jazz single are: guitarist Danny B. Harvey, bass player Sheldon Gomberg and drummer Kendall Kay.
About Penelope's upcoming album (title and release date TBD), here's what her friend and writer Jane McCarthy had to say: –“Traveling gal with her guitar, Penelope Fortier has been on my radar for some time. The songstress' latest record feels like it was composed under many summer moons. A little bit country and a little bit French café, Fortier's gorgeous, breathy vocals lend a romance to tracks that revel in the pleasures of taking it slow. Fortier's Montreal roots are on display here as she slips from English to French and back again- one of the album's great charms, of which there are many.” This project was almost entirely recorded “live” at Sheldon’s studio with the participation of the very talented: Abby Posner on mandolin, electric and acoustic guitar, Vanessa Freebairn-Smith (of the The Sonus (string) Quartet) on the cello, Nick Rosen on acoustic and upright bass, William Gramling (of Coyol) on the piano, wurlitzer and accordion, and Mike Lindsey on drums.
Since the release of Sunday At Noon, Penelope Fortier has recorded with musical artists: Eleni Mandell, Unloved, Danny B. Harvey, Primal Scream, The Rentals. Les Deux Love Orchestra, Haroula Rose, Mark Eitzel, Soul Kid #1 and Rickie Lee Jones, and has been delighting live audiences with her soothing melodies and gentle spirit, in L.A., Montreal and France, opening for such artists as: The Living Sisters, Joseph Arthur, Émilie Simon, Olafur Arnalds, Emma Louise, Nightmare & The Cat, Tristan Prettyman, Eliza Rickman, The Good Listeners, Henry Wolfe and Mia Doi Todd.
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PHOTOS
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Tracks
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UploadsDec 15, 11" data-title="© Penelope Fortier "Je Dirais Non""> Dec 13, 11" data-title="© Penelope Fortier "I'll Get By""> Nov 11, 11" data-title="© Penelope Fortier: "The End Of The End""> Nov 11, 11" data-title="Penelope Fortier: "Pauvre Lola" (Gainsbourg cover)"> Jun 21, 11" data-title="Penelope Fortier - "Douliou St-Tropez" (cover)"> May 31, 11" data-title="@ Penelope Fortier: Reaching For Mars"> May 29, 11" data-title="Penelope Fortier: ("La Vie En Rose", Edith Piaf cover) Bastille Day 2010/07/14"> May 27, 11" data-title="Penelope Fortier ("Pour Deux Oiseaux", Jean Fortier cover)"> May 25, 11" data-title="Penelope Fortier ("Whizzim", Jean Fortier cover)"> May 25, 11" data-title="© Penelope Fortier "Winter's Day""> May 22, 11" data-title="© Penelope Fortier "Outremont Park""> May 22, 11" data-title="Penelope Fortier ("She Belongs To Me", Dylan Cover)"> Feb 04, 10" data-title="© Penelope Fortier: In The Long Run"> Feb 03, 10" data-title="© Penelope Fortier: Virgins"> Jan 29, 10" data-title="Penelope Fortier: "Love", written by © Penelope Fortier & Alexis Dufresne"> Sep 11, 12" data-title="© Penelope Fortier: One Way Ticket To The Sun"> Mar 12, 07" data-title="© Penelope Fortier: Wide Blinds">
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NEWS/UPCOMING SHOWS
"I'm very proud and excited to announce that I'm currently expecting a little baby, so have decided to postpone the release of my 2nd full-length album, recorded at the "Carriage House" in Los Angeles, with bass player, music producer & engineer Sheldon Gomberg 's (Ben Harper, Rickie Lee Jones, The Living Sisters), until the beginning of 2014, when I'll be ready to get back on that stage again."Wish me luck!My enormous thanks go to all the wonderful the musicians who participated on the album and to the magical Sheldon Gomberg:-WIlliam Gramling: piano, wurlitzer and accordion.-Nick Rosen : upright & electric bass.-Abby Posner : Acoustic & electric guitar and mandolin.-Mike Lindsey: drums and percussions.-Vanessa Freebairn-Smith (The Sonus Quartet):cello
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BUY MUSIC
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COLLABORATIONS
Penelope Fortier's voice has been featured on the following recordings:- Eleni Mandell's new album: I can See The Future, on the song: Bun In The Oven .
- Haroula Rose's EP: So Easy, on the song: Only Friends.
- The Rentals' Songs About Time, on the song: Late Night Confessions (French Version). Also singing on this track is Nikolai Fraiture of The Strokes.
- Les Deux Love Orchestra's album: Ecstasy, on the song: The Way It's Supposed To Feel .
- Mark Eitzel's upcoming album: Don't Be A Stranger, on the song: Lament for Bobo the Clown.
- Soul Kid #1's album: Americanized, on the song: Circumstances .
- Soul Kid #1's album: Tear Gas Addict, on the song: She Loves Her Lambretta.
She has also performed on stage and/or has recorded with the following artists (in alphabetical order):Abby Posner,
Alexis Dufresne (El Motor)
Anastasia Friedman
Andy Alt (Steve Vai, Drake Bell)
Chris Joyner (Ray Lamontagne)
Danny B. Harvey (Nancy Sinatra)
Danny Frankel (Fiona Apple, KD Lang)
Dean Parks (Paul Simon, BB King)
Deron Johnson (Miles Davis, Seal)Don Heffington (Bob Dylan, The Wallfowers)
Duane Jarvis (RIP) (Dwight Yoakam)
Holmes
Jacques Seguin (The Odd Lot)
Jeff Young (Jackson Brown, Sting)
Kendall Kay (Rickie Lee Jones)
Laura Loriga (Mimes Of Wine)
Mike Bolger (Brett Dennen)
Miguel Atwood-Ferguson (Quincy Jones)
Monica Behan
Nick Rosen
Pete Thomas - Elvis Costello
Primal Scream (with Bobby Gillespie, Gary Mounfield, Andrew Innes, Kevin Shields, Martin Duffy).Rie Sinclair
The Sonus (string) Quartet (Gnarls Barkley)
Stewart Cole - Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros.
Thea Boyanowsky
Unloved with Jade Vincent, Keefus Green and David Holmes
William Gramling - Colby Caillat, Coyol.
Zooey Deschanel - She And Him
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DISCOGRAPHY
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LINKS
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PRESS
QUOTES:
- (About Sunday At Noon )"C'est un disque magnifique avec des quatuors à cordes presque tout le long. C'est vraiment très beau" - French-Canadian singer Louise Forestier on Radiocanada.ca, Espace Musique).
- "What a beautiful voice. Quelles merveilleuses chansons!" - French-Canadian singer Diane Tell.
- "(Penelope Fortier) had a wonderful smile and soft, enticing voice" - Notes From Vivace, on 2011.12.14
- Mini-Journal interview, in Trouville-Sur-Mer, in France on 2011.09.04
* Concertconfessions.com review on 2010.04.16
* Magazine L'Actualité - review by André Ducharme, on 2009.03.01
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TV COMMERCIALS
- Click on the image below to see Penelope's TV commercial reel:
