The 38th edition of the Gala de l’industrie des Prix Gémeaux, honouring the artisans of the Québec television industry, was held on Sept. 13, 2023. The ceremony took place at Complexe Desjardins, in Montréal, with two categories dedicated to screen music.
While SOCAN members nominated in the Best Original Score: Fiction or Documentary category were edged out by internationally renowned composers Hans Zimmer and David Flemming (for Xavier Dolan’s series The Night Logan Woke Up), the Best Theme Music: All Categories Award went to Clay & Friends, for their theme song for the TV show Infoman 2022. The song was co-written by Michael Mlakar (Mike Clay) and Samuel Ricard (Sam Rick), and co-composed by Michael Mlakar, Clément Langlois-Légaré, Adel Kazi-Aoual, Pascal Boisseau and Émile Désilets.
We reached Mike Clay on the day after the ceremony, which he was unable to attend, and he had this to say: “There are two things I want to say about this song. For one thing, it’s the only Clay and Friends song I’ve ever co-written with none other than Sam Rick the manager – I can’t wait for his album to come out! Secondly, it’s the only song that I’ve ever written with only one functional knee. It’s also the first time we’ve won a trophy, and I hope there’s no correlation. What a bucket list moment for La Musica Popular de Verdun. Thanks to Jean-René Dufort and the whole Infoman team for this incredible moment. Keep it movin’!”
Congratulations to Clay & Friends, and to all the nominees in the two music categories! For more information on the winners and nominated artists at the Gémeaux, visit the Academy website.