Quebec's Karkwa Take the Polaris Prize...

Billboard:

Montreal indie rock act Karkwa took home the Polaris Music Prize for its fourth album, “Less Chemins de Verre” or “The Glass Paths” (Audiogram).

The ceremony was held last night (Sept. 20) at CTV‘s Concert Hall at the Masonic Temple in Toronto. The band received $20,000 Canadian ($19,415).

“Less Chemins de Verre” was recorded in part at La Frette studios in Paris during breaks on their French tour. “It’s an unbelievable thing to win this prize,” said the band in a statement. “We have a lot of respect for this contest and we think they do it for the right reason (music).”

The band was competing against albums from the Besnard Lakes, Broken Social Scene, Caribou, Dan Mangan, Owen Pallett, Radio Radio, the Sadies, Shad and Tegan and Sara…

National Post:

…“That’s weird, that’s very strange,” said the surprised looking band after being awarded the prize. “We’re holding a cheque for $20,000 and we don’t understand anything.”

The ceremony, held in the Concert Hall at Toronto’s historic Masonic Temple, featured performances by all ten of this year’s shortlisted artists – Broken Social Scene, The Besnard Lakes, Tegan and Sara, Shad, Caribou, Owen Pallett, Dan Mangan, Radio Radio and The Sadies.

Karkwa’s win marks the first time in the Polaris’ five year history that the award has been given to a non-English band.

“We’ve tried before to [get into] festivals in Western Canada,” the band’s singer Louis-Jean Cormier told National Post in an interview before the gala. “Maybe winning the prize would help us book those.”

The band – singer Louis-Jean Cormier, keyboardist Francois Lafontaine, drummer Julier Sagot, drummer Stéphane Bergeron and bassist Martin Lamontaigne – was formed in 1998 and have released three albums prior to Les Chemins De Verre, including Les Tremblements s’immobilisent, which won a trio of Felix Awards in 2006.

When asked at a press conference after the award, when what the band would do with their winnings, the band consulted for moment before confessing: “We should hire a tour manager. A real one. Steph is our tour manager, but he’s our drummer as well”...

Montreal Gazette:

Earlier this year, there were complaints from some journalists/jury members about the lack of francophone representation for the prize. That point is moot, now, as Karkwa will be the name that English-speaking music fans across the country have a very big reason to get acquainted with. The band is already critically acclaimed here in Quebec, having won multiple awards and garnered a loyal following…

And NME‘s coverage, featuring a very British headline:

Karkwa win Canadian version of the Mercury Prize

…Formed in 1998, ‘Les Chemins De Verre’ is the band’s fourth full-length studio effort…