Blond:ish

Vivie-ann Bakos, known professionally as BLOND:ISH, is a Canadian music producer and DJ. An environmental activist, she founded the nonprofit charity Bye Bye Plastics to eliminate single-use plastics from music venues and events.

BLOND:ISH was formerly a duo composed of Bakos and Anstascia D’Elene Corniere. Corniere split from the project in 2019.

Origin

In 2007, Corniere and Bakos met at the Winter Music Conference. The duo began performing together in 2008 while running and DJing their residency called Blond:ish at the Cherry Nightclub in Montreal. Attendees and fans began referring to the duo by the name Blond:ish during these events. In 2010, the duo moved from Montreal to London to focus more on music production and become immersed in the London music scene.

Recording history

In 2012, BLOND:ISH released the Lonely Days EP on Noir Music. After the release of Lonely Days, they were signed by Kompakt label boss Michael Mayer, who released their next EP, Lovers in Limbo, that same year.

In 2013, the duo joined Get Physical Music, where they released their Strange Attractions EP with Thomas Gandey. As a result of their success, BLOND:ISH was commissioned to produce remixes for Depeche Mode, Pete Tong, Maya Jane Coles, Kate Simko, and WhoMadeWho.

From 2013 to 2014, the duo produced their next two Kompakt EPs, Inward Visions and Wunderkammer, from a makeshift studio near the Mayan temples in Tulum.

In 2015, BLOND:ISH released their first album, Welcome to the Present, under Kompakt.

On 16 April 2016, the duo premiered their debut Essential Mix on BBC Radio 1, which they recorded in a makeshift studio in Tulum, Mexico. BLOND:ISH have released music on labels like Get Physical, Kompakt, Leftroom, and Noir. The duo have also played at Burning Man.

In 2017, BLOND:ISH launched their record label ABRACADABRA, a self-described "female-powered collective" for music and art, which has given BLOND:ISH the opportunity to collaborate with various artists and explore creative endeavors within the electronic music landscape. The label hosted an ABRACADABRA stage at Tomorrowland in 2018, taking over the LEAF stage for both Saturdays of the festival. In 2020, the label launched the ABRACADABRA TV channel on Twitch to stream live music performances and "self-love programming" during the height of the COVID-19 lockdown.

In 2019, Anstascia D’Elene Corniere split from BLOND:ISH, while Vivie-Ann Bakos continued with the project.

The single "Waves" was a Juno Award nominee for Underground Dance Single of the Year at the Juno Awards of 2022. They received a second nomination in the same category at the Juno Awards of 2023 for "Aye Aye".

Performances

BLOND:ISH has played festivals and events like Flying Circus, SXMusic Festival, Symbiosis Gathering, the BPM Festival, ENTER., Mysteryland, Ultra Music Festival, and Wisdom of the Glove, Achoes from Agartha, Cercle . Also at Burning man.

On 1 February 2022, it was announced that BLOND:ISH would perform at the 2022 SXM Festival on the Caribbean island of Saint Martin/Sint Maarten in March of 2022.

Under the ABRACADABRA label, BLOND:ISH released a remix of "Sorry", on which Madonna is credited.

Discography

Albums

Singles and EPs

Remixes

Compilations

References