Rêve on her 'love affair' with dance music, and musical love letter to Montreal

Rêve is reliving her Cinderella moment.

The Montreal musician, 28, garnered both her first Juno nomination and first win at last year's awards ceremony, after the stellar online success of her single CTRL + ALT + DEL. Less than a year later, she's headed back, this time to Halifax for the March 24 event. Her debut album, Saturn Return, nabbed a nomination for pop album of the year, putting her up against nominee front-runner — and fellow Quebecer — Charlotte Cardin, as well as Lauren Spencer Smith and country legend Shania Twain.

CBC News sat down with Rêve to talk about what this return means, how she found her love of dance music — and where she learned to make a hit track.

Your music is defined by its huge, dance-pop style, but you got your start in piano, trumpet, flute — basically high school band music. Where did your current sound come from?

So my instrument of choice, since I was a baby, was piano. I used to drag my Fisher-Price xylophone up to the upright in my house and match the notes, and I just fell in love with it. When I started figuring out chords for the first time, I would accompany myself singing, and I've never stopped.

I have played my fair share of flute in high school, but I was so bad. I used to sing into my flute for exams, and I fully thought that my music teacher wouldn't notice.

Did he?

Absolutely. Immediately called out [laughs]. So piano was my thing — I've dabbled in guitar, but piano is still my one true love.

So what drew you from piano and band music to the dancey tracks on your debut album?

Actually it's one of my favourite Montreal stories. I've been a music lover since I could speak, but I went out one night in Montreal to this club called Velvet. I had been to arena shows before, but I'd never seen a DJ before.

We went into this place, and it's in the basement of an auberge — like a very old hotel in the Old Port — and you walk in and there's, like, taxidermy and stone walls and candles.

Then the DJ goes on, and I felt something that I'd never felt before. It was just like this unity in the room, this transcendent feeling, this euphoric feeling. And it wasn't quite like anything I'd ever experienced. I was hooked right away. I fell in love with dance around 17, 18 years old, and I've had a love affair ever since.

Last year you took home dance recording of the year, while your friend, Preston Pablo, won breakthrough artist, and Banx & Ranx — who helped produce both your albums — won breakthrough group. Are you all still making music together?

Absolutely. I mean, Preston is like a brother to me. We started our major label journey around the same time, around the same people — Banx & Ranx being the glue. And Banx & Ranx and I —  they are like family to me, they're my favourite collaborators. They still play a huge part — obviously they played a huge part in the album, but in the upcoming music as well, and we're as close as ever.