Angine de Poitrine Wins Two Polaris Music Honors

Quebec instrumental duo Angine de Poitrine won two major Canadian music honors in one night, taking the 2026 Polaris Music Prize for Vol. II and the SOCAN Polaris Song Prize for “Fabienk.” The results were announced Tuesday, September 22, during the Polaris concert and awards ceremony at Toronto’s Massey Hall.

One name inside both award cases

The ceremony revealed the double victory immediately after the duo performed “Fabienk.” Two-time Polaris winner Jeremy Dutcher joined SOCAN executive Tanya van Luven onstage for a playful mix-up involving the award cases. When both were opened, each contained the same winning name.

Angine de Poitrine then maintained the silent, otherworldly stage persona that has become central to the act. The masked performers accepted without a conventional speech, communicating through gestures until manager Sébastien Collin spoke on their behalf and thanked the other nominees and Canada’s innovative music community.

A viral year reaches Canada’s biggest music stage

Formed in 2019, Angine de Poitrine has moved rapidly from a Quebec curiosity to an international talking point in 2026. The duo’s precise, eccentric instrumental music and unusual performance style have helped build a viral audience, while appearances on Later… with Jools Holland and The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon pushed the project further into the mainstream.

The group also reached larger festival audiences in the United States this month, including sets at Riot Fest in Chicago and Iron Blossom in Richmond. Those appearances gave the duo a live platform beyond the short clips and social posts that fueled its breakout.

The Polaris Music Prize is decided on artistic merit by a jury rather than sales or genre. Winning both the album and song honors on the same night gives Angine de Poitrine an unusually broad endorsement: Vol. II was recognized as a complete work, while “Fabienk” earned a separate distinction as an individual composition. The double result turns an already unusual viral rise into one of the year’s clearest Canadian music breakthroughs.