Konflit, formerly Konflit Dramatik, are a Canadian rap rock band, most prominent in the 2000s.[1] One of the most prominent Franco-Ontarian musical groups of their era, the band had a varying lineup over its lifetime with vocalist Christian Berthiaume as the only constant member.[2]
They were originally formed in 1998 in Sudbury, Ontario by Berthiaume and guitarist Édouard Landry, for the purpose of competing in the La Brunante music competition.[3] They were finalists in the competition, but did not win; following the competition, the other original band members left while Berthiaume and Landry continued with David (Dayv) Poulin (guitar), Guy Coutu (bass) and Alain Tremblay (drums) of Les Chaizes Muzikales.[3] They performed at Sudbury's Northern Lights Festival Boréal in 1998 and 2000,[4] and at La Nuit sur l'étang in 2000 and 2001,[2] before releasing their debut EP Hors d'œuvre dresse la table in 2001.[2] The album's title track was released as a single in both English and French versions, with the French video receiving airplay on TFO and MusiquePlus, and the English video receiving airplay on MuchMusic.[5] The video was filmed in the cavern at Science North.[6]
Berthiaume, Poulin and Tremblay continued with the band, which added Jason Richer on bass and Josée Poulin on violin and keyboards.[2] Their first full-length album, Univers dissimulé, was released in 2003.[7] The album won the award for francophone album of the year at the inaugural Northern Ontario Music and Film Awards,[8] and the making of the album was filmed by John Hartman for a documentary film, which won the award for Best Film Editing at the same awards.[9] The album's singles included "Holes in You" and "Fait à la maison".[7] In 2004, they performed at the Francofête festival in Moncton, New Brunswick.[10]
They released their second album, Morgue, in 2005. Their tour to support the album included participation in Tour Tournée, a bilingual touring concert sponsored by CBC Radio 3 and Bande à part.[11]
With a lineup now consisting of Berthiaume, Marie Boulanger on guitar and keyboards, Shawn Arseneau on bass and Cory Lalonde on drums,[12] the band relocated to Montreal before their self-titled third album was released in 2008.[13] The album featured the band's biggest hit, "Je t'aime Québec", which was based on a poem by Patrice Desbiens,[13] as well as the song "La mère de toutes les dystopies", based on a poem by Robert Dickson,[14] and a cover of Jean-Pierre Ferland's "God Is an American".[15] The album was also accompanied by a short National Film Board documentary, À l'ombre d'un Konflit Dramatik, about the making of the "Je t'aime Québec" video.[14]
In 2009, the band changed its name to Konflit,[15] and released the album Shift. They have not released any further albums since Shift, but released several new standalone singles to their Bandcamp page in 2013 and 2017 under a style that has evolved toward electronic trance music.