Jean-Michel Blais Covers Feist’s “Mushaboom” For SiriusXM Polaris Cover Sessions

Jean-Michel Blais

The Polaris Music Prize has released its final SiriusXM Polaris Cover Session for 2018 featuring Jean-Michel Blais reinterpreting “Mushaboom” from Feist’s Slaight Family Polaris Heritage Prize-winning album Let It Die.

An in-studio performance video of the song is now available via the Polaris YouTube channel. Additionally, an audio stream of it can be found on the Polaris Soundcloud channel.

“I chose this song because when I heard it for the first time I was a teenager and it was played in a skateboard movie,” said Blais, in the video. “It was really interesting to see the difference, the overlapping between hip-hop, punk rock yet still indie-folk music with this kind of movie.”

Blais’ version of “Mushaboom” was recorded April 12, 2018 in Montreal. Marc-Andre Brunelle was the recording engineer and Devon Bate the mix engineer.

The Blais cover is the final of three cover sessions planned for 2018 that feature past Polaris nominees interpreting songs from albums that have received Slaight Family Polaris Heritage Prize designation. Feist’s Let It Dies received its Heritage Prize nod in 2017. Blais’ latest album Dans ma main is on the 2018 Polaris Music Prize Short List. His album Il also made the 2016 Polaris Long List.

Blais’ cover as well as works by Weaves and Lindi Ortega have been pressed on to a limited edition 10″ vinyl record that will be free to purchasers of 2018 Polaris nominated albums at participating retail stores starting in mid-August. The record will also be given to Polaris Gala attendees.

This is the twelfth cover song commissioned by Polaris. Other acts who’ve contributed to the series include Lindi Ortega, Weaves, Little Scream, Hannah Georgas, Les soeurs Boulay, Joel Plaskett, Zaki Ibrahim, Whitehorse, Sarah Harmer, Great Lake Swimmers and Arkells. All these performances are available on the Polaris YouTube and Soundcloud channels.