Crimson99 – Daredevil
Montreal-based alternative rock singer-songwriter Crimson99 shares her debut EP Daredevil out now.
Alongside the full project, the artist shares the EP’s centerpiece, “Who Am I,” a tune that sees the musician accept herself as she surrenders control and leans into hope and trusting the universe.
Proud to officially introduce herself as an artist, the EP, recorded live with a band in a single day, documents the artist’s journey to self-discovery, healing and embracing imperfection. The soulful, raw project, produced by Montreal-based musician and producer, Koko Love.
The first time Crimson99 recorded her voice on a microphone, she recorded “Who Am I,” and the version on the EP is the first take. The track allows the musician to surrender, to grow closer to the person she wishes to become. Crimson99 says, “It’s about allowing love and truth to pierce through fear and hurt. It’s about not listening to all the internalized voices that prevented me from walking my path. It’s about trust and letting go of control and fear.”
Finally, she embraces true self-acceptance. On the recording process, done with a live band in one day, she notes, “We recorded the whole EP in one day with a live band, but that one song we ended up keeping the take from the demo. There was just something special about it, and it felt meaningful to do so. As we say, the last shall be first and the first shall be last.”
Crimson99 is Maria Brousseau-Labbé, a Dominican-Canadian musician whose free-flowing project is a quest for self-discovery, a reconnection with spirituality and an emotional, cathartic release. The meditative tracks were recorded live with friend and Montreal artist Koko Love.
The five tracks, out now, are unconcerned with perfection. The artist shares, rather, they explore, “finding the truth within yourself and aligning with the calling you are meant to follow. It is an imperfect yet deeply honest offering. Some of the song structures are unconventional, not necessarily shaped around high efficiency or traditional songwriting formulas, but that was never really the goal. The intention was simply to open the dam and let the ideas flow freely, not allowing overthinking or interference into the process.”
On the recent release, “Open Up Your Heart,” Brousseau-Labbé, says, ‘Open Up Your Heart is about the desire to backslide. It’s about missing things from your past that never truly served you but felt good in the moment.”
“This song is also a reminder that, as the great Sam Cooke said: “A change gon’ come, oh yes it will.” You won’t always be hurting, and you won’t always feel alone, but often, if not always, the only way out is through, and you need the right attitude to make it to the other side.” The track received support from Exclaim! and The Line of Best Fit’s playlists.
Raised by a Dominican mother who is a trained pianist and jazz singer, the artist had always been surrounded by music. In 2019, feeling her life marked by loneliness, excess, restlessness, and a quiet despair, she embarked on a long journey through the UK and the Himalayas. Upon returning, and meeting her now-husband, she finally allowed herself to immerse herself in a musical world of her own. Now, Crimson99 is thrilled to share a tender, intimate project that explores the human condition and offers a space to embrace imperfection to her fullest extent.
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