Kaméléon -

Kaméléon was a Québécois new wave/synthpop band that released a 1981 self-titled album on Pro-Culture.

Members: Roxanne Turcotte (synthesizer, vocals), Christian Parent (synthesizer, piano), Denis Brassard (vocals), Richard Martel (drums), Réal Lapierre (guitar)

Background

Kaméléon formed in 1980 in Montréal when keyboardists Roxanne Turcotte and Christian Parent expanded their earlier partnership in Digital into a five-piece with singer Denis Brassard, drummer Richard Martel, and guitarist Réal Lapierre.

Turcotte studied piano and songwriting at the Conservatoire de musique de Montréal and Cégep de Saint-Laurent. In 1979, she studied electroacoustic composition with Nil Parent at Centre d’art d’Orford, where she used the centre’s analog Moog modules. She also assembled an early synthesizer setup from Korg MS-20, MS-10, and Poly-Korg keyboards.

Parent completed his musical training at the Royal Conservatory of Liège, Belgium, under André Dumortier and later settled in Canada for further piano study with Irving Heller. Brassard contributed set and costume designs to the René-Daniel Dubois play Panique à Longueuil at Café Nelligan in Montréal.

Turcotte and Parent played together in 1979 in Digital, a progressive electroacoustic group. The pair sought a more synthetic format the next year and expanded the lineup under the Kaméléon name. Paul Turcott supplied lyrics along with Brassard and Dubois, set to themes by Turcotte and Parent. Kaméléon entered Studio Saint-Charles in Longueuil with producer-engineer Pete Tessier to record the self-titled debut for Pro-Culture.

Discography:

Kaméléon (1981)

Sources

Roxanne Turcotte — curriculum vitae. Strongest primary source for the early chronology. It places Turcotte at the Conservatoire de musique de Montréal and Cégep de Saint-Laurent, documents her 1979 Orford studies, and lists Kaméléon at Studio Saint-Charles with Pete Tessier, Productions XII, Pro-Culture, and Musinfo. (Roxanne Turcotte compositrice)
Roxanne Turcotte — Fairlight interview. Turcotte describes her first electroacoustic studies with Nil Parent at Orford in 1979 and identifies the Moog system plus her Korg MS-20, MS-10, and Poly-Korg instruments. (Roxanne Turcotte compositrice)
Christian Parent — official biography. Supplies the Liège Conservatory training, André Dumortier studies, European competition history, move to Canada, and subsequent study with Irving Heller. (Christian Parent pianiste)
Rappels theatre archive — Panique à Longueuil. Confirms Denis Brassard as set and costume designer for the René-Daniel Dubois production at Café Nelligan, with performances starting in February 1980. (Rappels)
QuébecPop — Kaméléon. Gives the 1980 formation, complete lineup, Turcotte/Parent founding partnership, their prior group Digital, and the division between composers and lyricists. (QuebecPop)
Trésor National/Nome Noma material as reproduced by WFMU. Places Turcotte and Parent together in Digital in 1979 and describes their move toward a more synthesizer-centered group with Brassard, Martel, and Lapierre in 1980. (WFMU)
Roxanne Turcotte Kaméléon archive. The surviving 1981 recordings identify Studio Saint-Charles and Pete Tessier; individual tracks credit Paul Turcotte, René-Daniel Dubois, Denis Brassard, Roxanne Turcotte, and Christian Parent. (Roxanne Turcotte musicienne)
Museum of Canadian Music. Confirms the five-member LP lineup, Pete Tessier as producer/mixer, and the Pro-Culture PPC 6010 release. (Museum of Canadian Music)