Today, Virginie B releases Autoportrait, the fourth single from Astral 2000, her sophomore album due out September 20th, 2024. The singer-songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist will present her new tracks at album launch shows in Montreal (September 26th) and Quebec City (October 12th) before heading off to France for a series of dates.
Autoportrait is available now on all music services.
Pre-order / pre-save Astral 2000 on vinyl or in digital format.
On Autoportrait, Virginie B takes a moment to look in the mirror and reflect on her place in the world. The song boasts a sticky bassline reminiscent of '80s synthpop, while its textures and melodies sound like they've been lifted from a video game. This connection to the gaming world is also reflected in Virginie’s lyrics, who, like the main characters of our favourite games, constantly needs a quest or a goal to achieve to give meaning to her life.
Watch and share the visualizer for Autoportrait via YouTube.
At once quirky and accessible, visceral and sophisticated, synthetic and deeply human, the songs from Astral 2000 explore conflicting personal themes: Virginie goes back and forth between her love of nature and fascination with new technologies, her longing for lazy days and the urgency of her mortality, her desire for simple pleasures and need to perform in the spotlight, her relationship with her femininity, her desires and the excesses they often result in.
This fall, Virginie B will celebrate the release of her new album with launch shows at Le Belmont in Montreal on September 26th (presented as part of POP Montréal) and Le Pantoum in Quebec City on October 12th. She will then travel across the Atlantic for a series of shows in France. See the list below for more details.
About Virginie B
Virginie B's irresistible quirkiness is matched only by her boundless creativity. The singer-songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist offers a unique reappropriation of hyperpop by incorporating touches of nu-jazz, funk and R&B, complemented with a refined conceptual approach inherited from art pop and a pronounced taste for maximalism and glamour. Accompanied by her talented collaborator and co-producer Louis Jeay-Beaulieu, she applies this distinctive and versatile combination of styles to the exploration of her psyche, femininity and relationship with technology and nature. The result is an outlet through which she expresses her desires and excesses without taking herself too seriously, reflecting her vulnerability and confidence.
INSULA, Virginie B's debut album, quickly attracted attention upon its independent release in 2022, garnering praise from ICI Première, Le Devoir, La Presse, Montreal Rocks! and PAN M 360. This recognition culminated in a nomination at GAMIQ 2022 for Pop Album of the Year. In September 2024, Virginie B will release Astral 2000, a second album that combines catchy melodies, stylistic experimentation and sophisticated textures with poetry that is at once introspective, profound and accessible.
Tour Dates
26/09/2024 - Montreal, QC - Le Belmont (POP Montréal - Album launch show)
12/10/2024 - Quebec City, QC - Le Pantoum (Album launch show)
22/10/2024 - Reims, FR - La Cartonnerie
23/10/2024 - Troyes, FR - «Les Nuits Transatlantiques» showcase (Nuits de Champagne Festival)
24/10/2024 - Saint-Quentin, FR - La Manufacture
25/10/2024 - Migennes, FR - L'Escale
26/10/2024 - Nancy, FR - L'Autre Canal
13/11/2024 - Paris, FR - Les Trois Baudets (La Traversée)