the peptides

Hailing from Ottawa, Canada, The PepTides is a nine-member band with a distinctive larger-than-life pop sound. The five vocalists and four instrumentalists draw on funk, electronic and disco influences. In 2017, the band was featured on the cover of Ottawa Life Magazine as “Ottawa’s Best Band.”

A snapshot of Canadian diversity, The PepTides is an eclectic community of musicians with a rainbow of identities: girls and guys, gay and straight, English and French, black and white and in between, Ukrainian, Mexican, Guyanese, Cree, Acadian, Armenian and Scottish.

The group is noted for its extravagant live performances featuring thick vocal harmonies, theatrical choreography and colourful visuals. The PepTides’ songs juxtapose upbeat music with lyrics that comment on far-reaching themes like love, hate, revenge, sex, religion, war—and getting ready for dates.

In 2013, The PepTides garnered national attention by producing a full-length album in collaboration with Stuart McLean of CBC Radio’s Vinyl Cafe. They performed selections from the album live on the 20th anniversary recording of the show. Their 2014 release Love Question Mark was lauded by Exclaim! as “an ambitious collection of fun, daring, unadulterated, true blue art.” For Those Who Hate Human Interaction (2010) was named best album of the year by the Ottawa Citizen.

The PepTides EP, released in September 2016, features all-new studio recordings of the band’s live favourites—including the summer single “Don’t Believe in Love,” which aired on commercial radio from coast to coast in Canada and received positive reviews from DJs internationally. The EP captures the energy and colour of the band’s live show on record—a collection of sizzling pop, funk and soul that, in the words of the band, “will have neon hair coming out of your speakers!”

The band has charmed audiences at major music festivals (RBC Bluesfest, Ottawa International Jazz Festival), bars (Black Sheep Inn, Horseshoe Tavern), showcases (NXNE, Folk Music Ontario), and theatre festivals (SummerWorks, Undercurrents).

M3TV’s take on The PepTides says it all: “Mixing their stunning vocals with funk beats
underneath a soulful sound, an abundance of theatrical dance moves and kitschy quirks, they defy any genre or description. One must simply see them to believe them.”