Montreal artist Grimes performs during the 2012 Polaris Prize Gala at the Masonic Temple in Toronto.TIM FRASER/The Globe and Mail
Canadian musician Grimes – an indie It Girl who won a Juno this year for an album she recorded using GarageBand – has been signed by Jay Z's management company Roc Nation. The news was announced on social media on Tuesday. "Excited to welcome @grimezsz to the Roc Nation family!" read a Roc Nation tweet, directing followers to the video for her song Genesis, which she directed.
Grimes – real name Claire Boucher – was born and raised in Vancouver. In 2006, she moved to Montreal to attend McGill University, where she became part of the underground music scene and famously recorded music in her bedroom, beginning with the cassette release Geidi Primes in 2010, followed by Halfaxa that same year and Visions in 2012 – all released in Canada on the Montreal-based indie label Arbutus Records.
Roc Nation is a U.S. entertainment giant, founded by hip hop artist Jay Z in 2008. It manages big-name artists such as Rihanna, Shakira and MIA, as well as this year's breakout band Haim.
Visions, in addition to winning the Juno for electronic album of the year, was nominated for the Polaris Prize and received rave reviews by The New York Times, Pitchfork and The Guardian, which named it the second-best album of 2012.
Grimes is currently working on her fourth record in British Columbia.
Marsha Lederman