Qualité Motel is a party machine run by the guys from Valaire – a musical and recreational vehicle that oscillates between DJ sets, remixes and mash-ups of Top 40 hits and original compositions, all as fiery as a dragon shirt. An inclusive party, because it's a party: the audience is an integral part of the show, breaking the fourth wall to unleash your inner karaoke. Funky like spiky, gelled hair, as immediate as access to a Spyder, it rejects the notion of guilty pleasure – because fun is fun all the time. And it's been doing so for about fifteen years now.

The genesis of the project is that Valaire, as we know, is a big stage setup with lots of real instruments and all that – the thing is, the guys, unable to stay put, wanted to play at the after-parties of their own shows and also at friends' parties while they were at it. This led them to create a more compact setup, which would serve as an "interpreted DJ set": no acoustic or electric instruments, just synths and drum machines – and from there, anything goes tonight, as long as it's for the dance floor.

We wouldn't be talking about it if it hadn't turned out to be more successful than they anticipated. Given their love for pop music, they decided to use the project as a platform to showcase our beloved Quebec star system by inviting our favorite celebrities to sing over electro-pop tracks that encourage them to step outside their comfort zone for something more festive, but just as comfortable. Basically: fun.

This led to the release of Motel Califorña in 2012, a debut album featuring artists such as Mitsou, Elisapie, Karim Ouellet, and Socalled. Six years later came C'est pas la qualité qui compte, which this time brought together FouKi, Les Louanges, Karim Ouellet (again), Simon Proulx (Les Trois Accords), Sarahmée, and Marie-Élaine Thibert in a duet with Fanny Bloom (!) – and, most notably, Koriass and Christian Bégin on the hit "Basilic".

In 2019, they launched La virée du Saint-Laurent: a hybrid of reinvented festival and eco-responsible tour through which the gang travels by sailboat and stops on the banks of the river to clean them up in the company of fans, rewarding them afterwards with a show at sunset.

The following year saw the release of C'est la qualité qui compte, an EP featuring Claudia Bouvette and Mike Clay. In 2022, another EP emerged: Les plus grands duos francophones de l'année, bringing together – in duets – Marilyne Léonard and Jay Scøtt, as well as Franky Fade and P'tit Belliveau.

And now, Qualité Motel unveils Clé en main, their third album, due out in May 2025, just in time for summer. According to their own distinguished pronouncements, "it's gonna slap": faster tempos that take us back to the dance music of the '90s/early '00s, invaluable collaborations with Muzion, Boogát, Elliot Maginot, Marie-Pierre Arthur, RauZe, Aiza, and SeinsSucrer (contacted because he was offering a two-for-one deal on his Facebook page, lol) – and the spotlight on Ivarno, the new darling of Quebec's neo-chanson scene. The art direction is also slapped: summer means RVs, three-wheeled motorcycle road trips, flip phones, and pants with too many pockets (seriously, who doesn't say that?). Turnkey: to get your engine running, and also because Qualité Motel takes care of your party – takes care of you.

Oh, and in parallel with all this proud debacle, let's also note that the guys remain active as Valaire, continue the other musical projects linking them (Luis Clavis, Fanny Bloom, music for the image) and make your Thursday nights vibrate as the house band of Plaza Plaisir on Télé-Québec.

In short: this summer, keep your keys close by – and your quality standards at a very motel level.