Jean-Michel Blais is a pianist-composer-performer based in Montreal. He attended the Conservatoire de Musique but, as he began to gravitate towards improvisation and experimentation, the curriculum’s constraints bothered him, so he left the institution to travel. Blais then worked as a special educator and teacher before returning to music. Noticed by Toronto-based label Arts & Crafts, he released his debut album Il in 2016, written after two years of daily improvisations. It ranked among Time Magazine's top 10 albums of the year and collected over 50 million plays. 2018’s Dans ma main was inspired by the ambient music his parents played him as a child to alleviate his Tourette’s symptoms. Tinged with minimalism and electronics, he picked up a Polaris Music Prize shortlist and a Libera Award. In 2019, he signed with Mercury KX (Universal / Decca) and launched Matthias & Maxime, the soundtrack to the eponymous film directed by Xavier Dolan, which earned him a Cannes Soundtrack Award. In October 2021, Blais announces the release of his new album aubades to be released on February 4th 2022. For the first time, he wrote for chamber orchestra, affirming himself as an emerging composer.