It is impossible to separate Quebec singer-songwriter Francis Brisebois from his extraordinary creation Funk Lion. On a foundation of rock infused with Afrofuturism, Negro Spiritual Song and Voodoo-funk, the Lion delivers an unforgettable musical experience which is best described as an uninhibited psychedelic carnival where tradition and modernism speak the same funky dialect.

Born in Haiti, Francis was adopted by a Quebec family and grew up in the Laurentian town of Lachute. After moving to Montreal as a 17-year-old student, he soon discovered ‘world music,’ including Haitian sounds. Once established there, he formed reggae and Afrobeat bands, and as a self-taught guitarist, accompanied emerging artists like Boogat and Sonido Pesao. Francis then focused on crafting his own sound – a crossbreeding of these eclectic influences and an expression of his double identity as a Quebecer of Haitian origin.

Funk Lion’s first big adventure began in 2011 when Brisebois returned to his ancestral homeland as part of a government-funded music research project. The experience in Haiti led to the recording of his 2018 album Cité d’or (City of Gold). This opus is the story of a wild child who wants to discover his inner self, and with music as his poetic guide, travels like a cat of the great outdoors.

Funk Lion promises a new project for 2022 that will “delight the whole galaxy, especially the house of felines”.