MUNYA

Josie Boivin, a Québécois musician who records as MUNYA, has become known for her light, floating vocals over rich, atmospheric synthesizer pop built for dancing. Exposure arrived in 2017 via a showcase at the Pop Montreal festival, after which she issued three EPs later gathered as the 2019 compilation Munya. She produced her first proper album, Voyage to Mars, which surfaced in 2021; its 2023 successor, Jardin, offered a buoyant, affectionate portrait of her hometown and the circle that shaped her.

Boivin spent her early years in Saguenay, Quebec, where she studied classical piano. Her singing voice came to light when a high-school music instructor overheard her playfully mimicking an opera singer, leading to formal opera lessons and several years of jazz training at the University of Montreal. She ultimately left school to pursue other experiences, taking assorted jobs while also playing keyboards and singing alongside other Montreal artists.

September 2017 brought an invitation from a friend to perform an original set at Pop Montreal. With only one song ready, she left her job and moved in with her sister to write and record more material. That push produced the May 2018 EP North Hatley, titled after a favored Quebec town. October brought the follow-up Delmano, named for the Hotel Delmano in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Luminelle Recordings issued the trilogy’s final installment, Blue Pine—referencing the mountain range in David Lynch’s Twin Peaks—in March 2019, then collected all three EPs under the title Munya.

Luminelle released MUNYA’s home-recorded debut album, Voyage to Mars, in November 2021. Boivin wrote, performed, and produced the majority of its tracks, created the cover art, and played most instruments, though several remote contributions on electric bass, guitar, and drums were included. Multi-instrumentalist Kainalu produced the next album. Jardin, issued by Luminelle in October 2023 and named for the gardens in the neighborhood of her youth along with their associations of rebirth and renewal, conveyed a fond tribute to those formative surroundings.