Annie-Claude Deschênes is back with new techno single Main de Fer

A year after the release of her debut solo album LES MANIÈRES DE TABLE, which earned her a spot on the Polaris Music Prize Long List, Annie-Claude Deschênes (Duchess Says, PyPy) unveils Main de Fer, a new standalone single.

On Main de Fer, Annie-Claude Deschênes fuses minimal techno with avant-garde to trigger a disorienting exploration through emotional isolation. An invisible grip engulfs the mind and erases the contours of the self, leading to a silence where breath is extinguished as the soul dissolves in the shadow of control. Its disturbing soundscapes and fragmented textures challenge the blindness of the self and others, offering us the opportunity to free ourselves from our inhibitions in a controlled chaos.

Described as "Devilishly effective" by Le Devoir on its release in 2024, LES MANIÈRES DE TABLE and its singles attracted the attention of international media outlets such as KEXP, Les Inrockuptibles, BrooklynVegan, CLASH, The Guardian and Radio Nova, as well as landing on the year-end lists of Philippe Renaud (Le Devoir), Le Journal de Montréal, Cult MTL, CHOQ, CISM and CJLO. Following a series of shows in Quebec, Annie-Claude Deschênes toured France and then the U.S., including memorable performances at SXSW. On April 25th, she will open for Choses Sauvages at Club Soda in Montreal. She will then perform at Sled Island in Calgary on June 22nd. See the list below for all tour dates.

About Annie-Claude Deschênes 

Multidisciplinarity is an integral part of the creative process of Annie-Claude Deschênes, who continues her perpetual personal quest of uniting music and performance art by bending the pre-established conventions of stage presence. A key figure on the Montreal independent music scene for almost twenty years, she made her mark as a singer, musician, songwriter, performer and visual artist with Duchess Says and PyPy, two bands that are renowned as much for their electrifying performances as for their artistic sensibility. Over the course of her career, she shared the stage with a number of internationally renowned bands, including The Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Teenage Jesus and the Jerks, The Black Lips, The Hives, The Hot Snakes and Buzzcocks. Duchess Says and PyPy's extensive touring has taken her all over North America and Europe, playing venues and festivals (Primavera Fest, Eurockéennes de Belfort, OSHEAGA, Sled Island, etc.) as well as unconventional locations such as golf courses, factories and churches. Her exploratory approach to staging and sound design takes a new direction with the genesis of this solo project: the urgency that characterizes her work remains, but frustration and aggression give way to introspection and vulnerability. Annie-Claude Deschênes explores and reinvents herself under her own name, driven by a constant need to create outside of her comfort zone.

Inspired by minimal pop and the pioneers of electronic music, LES MANIÈRES DE TABLE, her first solo album released in spring of 2024, is as danceable and melodic as it is disquieting and dystopian, proposing to set the table differently by deconstructing the social codes of politeness imposed on us.

Follow Annie-Claude Deschênes : Bandcamp / YouTube / Instagram

Tour dates

 * Opening for Choses Sauvages