By Divine Right

About

The artist

By Divine Right is a Toronto rock project led by Chilean-born singer, songwriter, and guitarist José Contreras. Active since the end of the 1980s, the band has treated lineup changes as part of its creative identity, with past participants including Feist, Brendan Canning, Brian Borcherdt, and many other musicians connected to Canadian independent music. Its songs combine melodic guitar pop, psychedelic colour, art-rock angles, loose grooves, and Contreras's direct voice. The early catalog includes All Hail Discordia, Bless This Mess, Good Morning Beautiful, and Sweet Confusion. After Mutant Message in 2009, the band continued with Organized Accidents, Speak & Spell US, and the 2022 album OTTO MOTTO. The current artist-operated Bandcamp describes By Divine Right as a Toronto rock and roll art project by José, Lysh, and Colin and preserves its catalog alongside Contreras's solo work. The project remained active through Toronto performances in 2024 and 2025, followed by a fifteen-date Canadian tour in autumn 2025. During that tour the band confirmed plans to make another record. A 2026 Ontario tour included dates in Toronto, Sudbury, Kingston, Brantford, Sarnia, Windsor, Peterborough, and Wolfe Island, while current presenter and Apple Music pages continued to identify the trio with Toronto. These first-party and current professional sources provide consistent support for an active Toronto, Ontario base.