Polaris Music Prize finalist Ouri says reading this 1990s guidebook made her rethink what intimacy means
Montreal-based producer, singer and instrumentalist Ouri is a 2022 finalist for her album Frame of a Fauna
Montreal singer, producer and instrumentalist Ouri's 2021 album Frame of a Fauna brings together her classical roots with the electronic beats she later discovered on the city's dance floors. In many ways, it's a record that explores the cycle of life — the album begins in London, where she was by her sister's side as she gave birth and was completed a year later in Brazil as she said goodbye to her mother.
Ouri received her first Polaris Music Prize nomination for Frame of a Fauna, her debut full-length. It's one of the ten albums shortlisted for the 2022 Polaris Prize, which celebrates the best Canadian album of the year. The winner, who will receive $50,000, will be announced on Sept. 19, 2022.
Ourielle Auvé, known professionally as Ouri, moved to Montreal at 16 to study musical composition with dreams of becoming a classical composer. Her path took a turn when she began drawing on her production and vocal skills within Montreal's late-night DJ and rave scene.
She was selected to take part in Red Bull Music Academy's Montreal Bass Camp, eventually headlining London-based Boiler Room's Montreal showcase and going on to tour with artists such as Yves Tumor and Jacques Greene.
She released her first EPs, Superficial (2017) and We Share Our Blood (2019) and collaborated with fellow Montreal artist Helena Deland in the duo Hildegard, recording their debut 2021 album in only eight days.
Ouri told CBC Books about reading The Ethical Slut, and why she would recommend it to other readers looking to broaden their own understandings about human connection.
Expanding notions of intimacy
"I'm currently reading The Ethical Slut by Dossie Easton and Catherine A. Liszt. Many of my friends from totally different horizons mentioned this book to me.
"I love opening up my mind to versions of freedom and intimacy that people adopt in their lives. It is one thing to try to copy someone else's version of happiness and freedom, but there is nothing like actively pursuing your own version of it."
Communication is key
"This book widened my perspective on belonging. Exploring is one part, but the quality of communication on sensitive topics is what truly inspires me. It also clarified some restrictions people have fixed into traditions to help avoid difficult feelings.
This book widened my perspective on belonging —the quality of communication on sensitive topics is what truly inspires me.
"I think everyone should read this book, just to take a step back and acknowledge the level of shame that was transmitted to them or that they imposed onto others. It is something everyone on this planet can relate to."
Challenging your own ideas
"The tone of the authors is non-dogmatic and forces the reader to understand their own position on some subjects, sometimes with less ease than I thought, but that's part of the challenge.
Both my traditional and my progressive sides are bumping into each other repeatedly when I'm reading this book.
"Both my traditional and my progressive sides are bumping into each other repeatedly when I'm reading this book. In the end, just reading about different life experiences is a step toward more freedom for me."
Watch | Montreal singer, producer and instrumentalist Ouri on The Intro:
