Ky

Ky Brooks’s life path is as multi-faceted as their musical career. They are a sound engineer, poet, audio producer, and PhD student in information studies. Their significant role in the Montréal experimental music scene dates back to the early 2010s when they co-founded the DIY space La Plante, a cultural hub where music and community came together and which became a launching point for their musical forays in the subsequent decade. Brooks played in projects such as 8-person queer punk band Femmaggots, improvisational quartet Shining Wizard, and noise rock band Lungbutter. Ky is their new solo project, and Power is the Pharmacy will be released by Constellation on 12 May. 

Ky was born in Oslo, where their parents lived for nearly two decades, and moved to the Ottawa region at the age of six. Their father, a mathematician, worked at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa, and Brooks would often accompany him, spending time backstage at the symphony hall. Brooks learned violin, took classical voice lessons, and was drawn to both classical and punk music from a young age.

Ky originally hoped to study opera as an undergrad, but after taking classes in both music and science during their first year decided to study physiology and applied mathematics. Their love of music was rekindled with the launch of the DIY space La Plante around the time of their graduation in 2011, where they also began to pick up live sound skills. Brooks became involved in several musical projects, including the surreal and provocative White Cube and Femmaggots, Drøm før du dør, Lungbutter, and later Shining Wizard Quartet and Nag, touring the New England noise circuit. They worked for the Mackey lab at the Center for Applied Mathematics in Bioscience and Medicine during this time, as well as for the Ecological Economics Lab at McGill. In 2014, they moved to Barcelona to complete a Masters in Biomedical Research.

Moving back to Montreal in 2015, Brooks started working as a front of house sound engineer in Montreal live venues. By 2019 they were working at the legendary Montreal studio Hotel2Tango. During this period, their sound began to evolve when they bought several synthesizers and “commenced to mess around.” Some of these early experiments can still be found on Brooks’ Bandcamp, alongside an EP with Matt Reading under the name Vexing.

Lungbutter formed around 2012, with Ky Brooks as vocalist, guitarist Kaity Zozula (from Femmaggots), and drummer Joni Sadler. All three were also involved in the label Misery Loves Company, which put out cassettes and ran Noisundaee, a Sunday afternoon experimental music series. In the following years, the band became a crucial part of the thriving experimental, punk, noise and rock scenes in Montreal. Their debut album Honey was released in 2019 and received widespread praise, but the sudden passing of Joni Sadler in 2021 marked the end of the band.

Today, Ky Brooks works locally in Montreal as a live sound engineer and is the North American front-of-house engineer for BIG|BRAVE. They record at Error 403 and Hotel 2 Tango, and are completing their PhD at McGill. In Brooks’ Power Is The Pharmacy, their experimental punk roots jostle alongside an eclectic palette of synthesizers, poetry, and noise.

Live Dates 

Artist Images

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Contacts & Links

Ky Bandcamp

Press enquiries UK & North America:
Lauren Barley at Rarely Unable

Press enquiries EU:
Ed Benndorf at Dense Promotion