Montreal's Banx & Ranx Is This Month's 'One to Watch' Artist

From Montreal, Banx & Ranx is this month’s ‘One to Watch’ artist.

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Members Soké (real name Zacharie Raymond) and KNY Factory (real name Yannick Rastogi) are producers, remixers, and songwriters.

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After meeting online in 2014, they both realized they had the same musical goals, “We both wanted to make a hybrid – bring Caribbean music to a different sphere. Even though we’re considered two white boys from the North, we have so much respect for the music and the codes,” Soké says.

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Before coming to Montreal from the French-Caribbean island of Guadeloupe, Yannick was a solo artist, producing dancehall trap and hip hip music. When asked of having to prove they could create this kind of music, he explained, “If you love what you do, and you’re 100 percent confident in what you do, no matter your colour skin, no matter where you come from. If you embrace the culture and respect everyone else’s culture [then it’s harder for you].”

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The duo released their debut track ‘Lit,’ which was released in 2017 followed by ‘Time Bomb,’ their second single which features Lady Leshurr.

Also released in 2018, Banx & Ranx released their dub flip of Gorillaz’s ‘Saturnz Barz.’

Banx & Ranx are best known for their single, ‘Answerphone’ with Ella Eyre featuring YXNG Bane. The track was released in 2018, it hit No.5 on the UK Singles Chart, and it debuted on the BBC Top 40 at No.19. The music video (below) has been viewed over 7 million times. “We had no idea. But, we were really confident in the record. We’re proud of it. And then, it just happened,” Soké says about their single becoming a hit.

And after signing with Universal Music Canada, fast forward to 2022, Banx & Ranx released a new single titled ‘Headphones,’ and it features Rêve, who is also from Montreal. “Making our first single on UMC with Rêve is a great way to start our new journey. It’s a pure energy track from Canadian artists to the world. We are really proud of this one and can’t wait to share what else we have coming this year!” the duo said in a statement.