Born in Montreal, Marie Martine Bédard  is a singer, songwriter, guitarist, producer and survivor. 

As a teenager, it is on bass guitar she makes her debut on the “rock” scene with Patrick Bourgeois, who later became famous with band “The BB”,  As a rising music figure of the Montreal underground music scene of the 80s and 90s,  she has the chance to work with artists as well as Jane McGarrigle and the producer Glen Robinson.  She performs close to a thousand concerts until she sees years of efforts and momentum short-circuited. 

Two months after the birth of her first child , in the heart of her neighbourhood, le Plateau Mont-Royal, she is the victim of a sexual predator. Powerless, she attends the slaying of her soul and body while on the other side of the boutique’s window the summer sun dips and shines onto Rue Saint-Denis, which itself over flows with life.

Her guitars will rest for about a decade before deciding, in 2009, to embark upon a healing journey through music studies with the renown Berklee College of Music. In 2010 she receives the celebrity-sponsored “Steve Vai Scholarship”. In 2014, she obtains a Professional Certificate in Guitar and in 2018 a Bachelor Degree of Professional Studies in Songwriting.  She is the first French Canadian and Québécoise obtaining a degree with Berklee Online.  A nice way to come back to life knowing that she was one of the members of the first all girls band in Quebec, Blue Oil.

In the making, the Hippocampus project is a music album that aims to raise awareness and empathy for survivors of sexual assaults.  Co-produced by Jean-François Lemieux and done in two disctinct languages, English and French, it will paint in nine songs the different pathways of survival.  All profits from sales will be given to the non-profit organisation which supports victims of sexual assaults in Quebec, RQCALACS.

Where is the name Hippocampus coming from?

As she was struggling with PTSD and wanting to live a better life, Marie Martine Bédard started to educate herself about her illness.  She becomes aware of the work of Dr. Muriel Salmona, a psychiatrist and activist from France who dedicated her career and work to  the cause of victims of sexual violence. 

It was a turning point in her survivor's life. She learned about the hippocampus of the brain and its role in rape.  Thus understood that if the hippocampus allowed her to survive during the attacks,  it was now damaged.

Did you know that the shape of the hippocampus of the brain resembles one of the seahorse and that is exactly the reason why it is named that way?

Well, Marie Martine Bédard did not! With this dicovery though her metaphor for her new project was about to come to life.

" As a survivor, I tried to live my life hiding my fears, my weaknesses and my strange ways to get by.  Yet, I knew there was something beautiful about surviving the worst. When I made my first discoveries on the seahorse I began to draw parallels.  To understand these parallels I guess that you must know that the seahorse does not live nor function in life like any other fish. For example, it is the slowest and as a consequence wears an impressive camouflage to protect itself from possible predators on his path.  That being said, it is also a magnificent creature." — Marie Martine Bédard

Thank you to all those who have supported me through difficult times.

Thank you to my two sons and Valerie for their unconditioannal love.

Thank you to Jean-François Lemieux for wanting to coproduce the Hippocampus project. Without his support, his talent and his great patience, it would have been difficult for me to keep going through the storms. Part of what you hear on my EP, it's him!

Thank you to all those who did collaborate so far with their talent to the Hippocampus Project:  Kimura Byol, Daniel Desmarais, Julie Desmarais, Jacqueline Van de Geer, Julie Laurin, Morty, Ella Negrescu, Pascale, artiste peintre, Wil Putt, Karine Rathle, Christine Roberge, Marie-France Thibault, Selvi Subramanian and Josée B.

Thanks to my Berklee Online Family,  for the knowledge, guidance and challenges.
Thank you to Muriel Salmona for her work and to all my sisters-in-arms.

A special thank to my emotional support dog, Ophelia..

Marie Martine