Hammy’s Secret Life

(2007)

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“Known primarily for her guitar and lap steel prowess, Toronto’s Christine Bougie bridges genre gaps on this delightfully inventive record. Bougie spent the last year in folkie Amy Millan’s band adding rich, countrified textures to the mix. That rustic side of Bougie’s musical approach is apparent on this collection of instrumentals but the free form nature of these pieces is closer to that of improvised jazz. Whether hammering out guitar leads on “All at Once” or easing into a banjo breakdown on “Eastmount Park,” Bougie’s playing is a revelation. With a band that includes members of Feist and killer jazz percussionist Nick Fraser, tunes like “Think from the End” possess an interesting ’70s hue, while the title track’s post-rock swing and horns recall Torngat. There’s a cool Bitches Brew energy to “Over the Line,” the pulsating keyboards and rhythms adding another dimension to Hammy’s Secret Life, a great, surprising record.”

-Exclaim! magazine

“There’s a long history of hired musicians who are as good, if not better, than their bosses, and Christine Bougie, Amy Millan’s go-to gal for everything lap steel, is part of this important group. Her debut disc, Hammy’s Secret Life, is a delicate instrumental album filled with flawless slide guitar, jazzy melodies and enough variety to make you forget that there’s no one singing.

While everything here is worth checking out, Eastmount Park – a great emotive tune that dabbles in jazz, country and indie – is probably the most interesting track.”

-NOW magazine

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This Is Awesome

Christine Bougie & Dafydd Hughes (2008)

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“Somewhere between lounge, jazz and ambient pop lie Toronto composer-instrumentalists Bougie and Hughes. Their 13 low-key tracks are like daydreams set to music. There is no obvious melodic arc, no message and no purpose other than to foster enjoyment of the here and now. Bougie takes care of guitar work (including discreet use of lap steel) and percussion. Hughes works keyboard sounds and his laptop. Like a good date, this album gets better the more time you spend with it.”
– The Toronto Star

“Toronto, ON stalwarts Christine Bougie and Dafydd Hughes form a cool guitar/keys/much more duo whose happenstance debut, This is Awesome, lives up to its title’s playful boast. Booking shows without their regular rhythm section, noted guitarist Bougie and prolific keyboardist Hughes stumbled upon an intriguing dynamic, drawing beats and low-end foundational structures out of limitations. Likely best known in Canadian jazz and experimental music circles, they’ve also worked extensively with Feist and Amy Millan, and This is Awesome’s vivid instrumentals betray an appreciation for pop fare and playful harmony. “They Only Have to Look Like Humans” moves with patience, as though framing a dramatic film’s opening sequence, while the blend of processed percussion, teasing guitar lines and a chirpy melodica hook on “Baby Bird” recall something from Tortoise’s TNT. Similarly, the joyful wandering of Torngat bleeds through “They Don’t Have to Be Pretty” but there’s intimacy between Bougie and Hughes’ explorations that infuses This is Awesome with its distinctive charms.”
-Exclaim!

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Aloha Supreme

(2010)

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“Christine Bougie is one of Canada’s most in-demand session musicians, but she should be a household name in her own right. The guitarist’s instrumental chops have earned her credits on over 30 albums by the likes of Amy Millan and Julie Fader, and it’s this side she shows off on her third solo LP.

Bougie’s lap steel often takes the lead role, but rather than showboating, the songwriter inserts it into intricately arranged compositions that transcend the country-folk genre. Jumping between jazz, bossa nova and even prog rock, the album stays diverse and interesting enough to warrant the lack of vocals.

Augmented throughout the album by warm strings and brass, Bougie shows off her own abilities on the title track, playing every instrument from guitar to percussion, and transforms Brian Wilson’s I Just Wasn’t Made For These Times into a piece all her own.”

-Richard Trapunski, NOW Magazine

“This record is not about guitar playing chops nor is it intended to be. It’s more about melody: exploring new musical ground with the clever, tasteful use of other instrumentation, like clarinet, cello, trumpet, bass and drums.

That said, Christine’s lap slide work is pristine, as is her guitar work, staying true to the place where the simplicity of the melody abides.

You can go there too, but you have to be pure of heart and not fooled by the commercial hype of the fabled “Guitar God.”

My heart is full of this record. I have sipped from Aloha Supreme’s cup and the scales have fallen from my eyes…

I am smitten.”

-David Gillis, Roots Music Canada

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