Dominique Fils-Aimé (CA)

A Canadian Superstar with Haitian Roots

This singer of Haitian descent from French-speaking Montreal draws on the best of jazz and blues history. She draws inspiration from the legacy of Billie Holiday, Nina Simone, and R&B star Etta James, but her singing also reveals the subtle edge of the iconic Nigerian singer Sade. Her songs are built on mounting emotional tension and an intimate, intense accompaniment of guitar and keyboards. Two of her albums have won Juno Awards, the Canadian equivalent of the American Grammys. Dominique Fils-Aimé has performed at a number of prestigious events, including the 2025 North Sea Jazz Festival—Europe’s premier jazz showcase—and the 2025 World Expo in Osaka, Japan, where she gave five concerts representing Canadian culture. In Prague, she will present her latest, groundbreaking album My World Is The Sun, whose opening track was inspired by a cassette featuring her mother’s singing from the 1970s, before Dominique was even born.

Many musicians from the French-speaking Caribbean have settled in French-speaking Canada. Singer Malika Tirolien from the island of Guadeloupe, who collaborates with the bands Bokanté and Snarky Puppy, performed in Prague two years ago. She shares African roots with Dominique Fils-Aimé, but the two singers differ in their musical styles. Tirolien prefers a more powerful accompaniment with a distinctive funk sound, whereas Fils-Aimé excels in an intimate, minimalist style. Dominique Fils-Aimé recalls that she made her first recording when she was 12 years old, on an answering machine. As a singer, she never underwent formal training, which she considers an advantage. It allows her to rely more on the emotional than the physical capabilities of her voice. “For me, it’s more important to share emotion in its purest form, even if it isn’t technically perfect.”

Her first albums form a trilogy. Her debut, Nameless (2018), has a bluesy feel and deals with painful memories from the past. The follow-up, Stay Tuned! (2019), is a call to revolution and won the Juno Award for Vocal Jazz Album of the Year in 2020. A year later, she concluded the trilogy with the album Three Little Words (2021), whose message was one of reconciliation.

The new album My World Is The Sun (2026) marks a milestone in her career. Most of the tracks were recorded live in the studio. Critics write that the new album feels like a turning point, where the singer no longer has anything to prove. The music is warmer and more personal than her previous recordings, and the singer is more daring in taking risks. Among the standout tracks is the nearly nine-minute “Rhythm of Nature.” Thanks to its longer runtime, the singer builds a powerful spiritual energy step by step. The song “The River,” combined with the piano, has an almost gospel-like atmosphere, and the track culminates in a magical yet understated trumpet solo.

Presented by Rachot Production.