Gilles Zolty

Who is Gilles Zolty?

Gilles Zolty is a Canadian musician, singer, songwriter and producer. He grew up in Montreal, Quebec, and was first part of the rock band Johnny Got His Gun. Travels to Europe were influential in his developing style, and the Zolty Cracker song "L'Immigrant" is semi-autobigraphical, based on his experiences living in a village in southern France, as well as his childhood in Quebec. A cassette of his early work was released as Zolty.

He moved out west to Vancouver, British Columbia in the late 1980s. Not long after his arrival he started singing for Freedom Press. From 1989 to 1997 Zolty along with band mates Annie Wilkinson and Wayne Adams played in Zolty Cracker, a band formed around the presentation of his songs. Three albums were produced in that time as well as tours across Canada, down the west and east coasts of the United States and over to Europe. Not long after Zolty Cracker's last gig Gilles started on his second solo venture. Called Horny Astronaut, it was finished in 2000.

Zolty is one of the founders of Music Waste, an annual festival in Vancouver established in 1994, supporting and promoting independent bands. Currently living in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Zolty continues to help young artists. In 2007 he produced a compilation album of young aboriginal hip hop artists, Burden of Truth. He has studied film scoring at Berklee College of Music and continues film work in Saskatchewan.