Information/Write-up
Les Intrigantes were a mid-1960s all-female Québec pop-rock group whose brief but striking recording career captured a moment when francophone youth music was rapidly absorbing the sound, attitude, and repertoire of contemporary Anglo rock while retaining a distinctly Québec identity.
Formed in the Québec City area, the group consisted of Carole Boutin (guitar), Diane Gallichand (guitar), Claire Gallichand (bass), and Ginette Douville (drums)—a true self-contained rock band at a time when many female vocal groups were still paired with studio musicians. Their guitar-bass-drums lineup placed them firmly within the emerging garage and yé-yé tradition, and set them apart visually and musically on the Québec pop scene.
Les Intrigantes entered the recording world in 1965 with the single ‘Faut savoir’ b/w ‘Sans toi’ on the Jeunesse Franco label. Produced by Denis Pantis and written by Roger Beaudet, the record reflects the early garage-leaning chanson style common to Québec youth releases of the period. Beaudet—already active in the local music scene—would remain an important early contributor to the group’s repertoire.
The following year saw the band record ‘Mets chinois’ b/w ‘Le seuil du soleil’ for Citation Records. The A-side continued their collaboration with Beaudet, while the B-side offered a French-language adaptation of Simon and Garfunkel’s ‘The Sound of Silence’, signalling Les Intrigantes’ growing role as interpreters of contemporary folk-rock material for francophone audiences.
In 1967, the group released what would become their most sought-after single: ‘Nous voici’ b/w ‘La justice’ on the A-1 label. This record pushed Les Intrigantes decisively into psychedelic territory, adapting Jefferson Airplane’s ‘White Rabbit’ and The Mamas & The Papas’ ‘Creeque Alley’ into French. Produced by Claude Talbot and promoted by Guy Cloutier, the single showcased the band at their most confident and experimental, with explicit credit given to each member’s instrumental role—an uncommon distinction for the era.
By 1968, Les Intrigantes had moved to the Jupiter label, issuing two polished late-period singles: ‘Hello, Goodbye’ b/w ‘Je n’aime pas Marianne’ and ‘Les enfants de la plage (Till There Was You)’ b/w ‘Goodbye Baby’. These recordings blended chanson sensibility with contemporary pop-rock arrangements, including orchestration by Pierre Nolès, and reflected the broader professionalization of Québec pop production at the end of the decade.
Although their recording career spanned only a few years, Les Intrigantes remain a significant presence in Québec music history as one of the province’s earliest fully instrumental all-female rock groups. Their five singles document a rapid stylistic evolution—from garage-inflected chanson to folk-rock and psychedelia—and stand today as rare and highly collectible artifacts of Canada’s 1960s pop underground.
-Robert Williston
Musicians
Carole Boutin: guitar
Claire Gallichand: bass
Diane Gallichand: lead guitar
Ginette Douville: drums
Songwriting
‘La justice’ – written by Grace Slick
French adaptation by Carole Boutin
‘Nous voici’ – written by John Phillips and Michelle Gilliam
French adaptation by Roger Beaudet
Production
Produced by Claude Talbot
Notes
Issued in 1967 on A-1 Records (A1-813), this rare single captures Les Intrigantes at their most overtly psychedelic, adapting contemporary American counterculture material into French-language pop-rock.
‘La justice’ is a francophone adaptation of Jefferson Airplane’s ‘White Rabbit’, with French lyrics credited to Carole Boutin. ‘Nous voici’ adapts ‘Creeque Alley’ by The Mamas & The Papas, with French lyrics credited to Roger Beaudet.
The record was distributed by Trans-Canada and promoted by Guy Cloutier. Although no release date appears on the vinyl itself, the single is firmly associated with 1967 Quebec pop-rock production.
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