Additional Information
Our collaborator Simon ‘Polon’ Gervais is joined by his good friend Rémi Gauvin, frontman, singer, and lyricist behind the band Comment Debord. He’s launching his solo project at a show Sunday as part of POP Montréal at La Sala Rossa, headlined by Unessential Oils.
PANM360: Rémi, hello.
Rémi Gauvin: Hello my old friend, how are you?
PANM360: I’m doing very well and did you have a good summer?
Rémi Gauvin: Yes, super nice summer, very busy with Comment Debord. We joke that it’s the ‘Comment Debord Never Ending Tour’, but now it’s really coming to an end, our very last show of the tour is this Friday, this weekend. So after that, it’s going to be the end of ‘monde autour’. We were lucky enough to run it for about two years, so it’s pretty rare to run a show for that long.
PANM360: Where will it take place?
Rémi Gauvin: It’s in the Gatineau area for an Oktoberfest.
PANM360: With beer.
Rémi Gauvin: With beer and with Bon Enfant, so it’s a nice way to end it.
PANM360: Great. We’re here to talk about your solo project, which I don’t know much about because nothing has been released yet, so it’s a big mystery. First, I’d like to ask you, what’s the motivation behind this desire to start a solo project?
Rémi Gauvin: Comment Debord has been going for a while now. It’s a space that’s super nourishing and has clearly shaped me as a musician. It’s been almost ten years since the first lucubrations emerged this fall.
PANM360: Back when it was called Phénix Leclerc.
Rémi Gauvin: Yes, and even before that, there wasn’t even a name. In the sense that we were in Olivier’s parents’ basement in Boucherville, and we were jamming as a threesome at the time. There was just Étienne, Oli, and then me. Then we had the chance to do the Francouvertes, it went well. Afterwards, we released two albums with Audiogram, and it went really well. We were surprised by how well it was received by the public, and we did a lot of shows across Quebec. It’s a project that works really well, and I put all my heart and soul into it. But I think that after that, I needed to develop a more intimate space of my own where I can really do what I want to do in my own way, and do it completely independently. Because the reality is, Comment Debord; it’s really a band. We make band decisions. And yes, I sing most of the songs, I write the lyrics, but it’s really a band. Then there are things that I wanted to tackle and there are things in my personal life too that provoked the idea of writing songs that are perhaps a little more intimate. Then to return to what is perhaps a little bit my first musical love, that is to say a more folk style, more songs, really. To do something more intimate. That’s it, I had a kind of desire to do that.
Then I’ve been working on songs for a couple of years, so basically, this is going to be the first show. I’m opening for Unessential Oils, which is Warren Spicer’s project, who was previously in Plants & Animals. Warren produced our two albums with Comment Debord. Then I’m going to work with him for my solo project as well. He’s going to work on the albums with Étienne. His two close collaborators will be producing my album. We’re still at the beginning of that. We haven’t even gone into the studio yet. But anyway, he wrote to me at one point, and he was like, “Hey, would you like to open for Unessential Oils at POP Montreal?” And it’s really a good way to test out songs a little, to test it out in front of human beings. Then I decided to really go for it, to throw myself into it a little, just like that, on my own, guitar, solo. It’s been at least ten years since I’ve done a solo show.
It’s an honour, then it’s super exciting, then it’s destabilizing to do this, but it’s part of a great deal that’s coming up.
PANM360: Is this a way for you to “level up” internally?
Rémi Gauvin: (Laughs) Well, it’s a new challenge, you know, definitely. And you know, practicing for these pieces, I approach it completely differently, in the sense that… Well, you’re completely naked, there, in front of an audience, being like that, with your lyrics and your guitar.
There’s nothing, you know. I can’t hide behind a band, I can’t hide behind grooves either. You know, Comment Debord, it’s like perks, it’s the bass, the music that dances, it’s not only that, but you know, there’s a lot of that. Then in a show, we put a lot of emphasis on that, because our shows always end up being danced, and it’s a big party. There, it’s completely different, I’m going for it for this first show. I want to test my songs to see if they’re good? If you’re alone with your guitar, an audience, and then lyrics, that’s the best test. That’s it, but I’m pretty confident, and I’m super excited, I can’t wait. I’m happy with the confidence that Warren has in me for that too, because it’s really exciting. I’ve been practicing every day for a month…
PANM360: So there, you’ll be all alone on stage, if we understand correctly.
Rémi Gauvin: Yeah, exactly, it will be in a stripped-down format.
PANM360: On this show, or even the project, it might be this approach, guitar-voice, simpler, in terms of the tracks, how are you going to put them together?
Rémi Gauvin: Oh no, there’s going to be a band, I’m going to be accompanied by musicians. But I really want to put the lyrics forward. I think that’s perhaps the big difference. The lyrics have always been important to me. In Comment Debord too, it’s always been central. But like it or not, when there are seven musicians on each song, everyone sings, and then everyone plays instruments, it means that the lyrics aren’t necessarily forward-thinking. It becomes less like a song. Whereas here, it’s really a folk approach, a chanson approach. I want to put that forward, I want to get a little more involved.
I think that perhaps subconsciously, being new to this environment when I arrived, surrounding myself with a big band was reassuring. And it still is… It’s like a team sport. If you make a mistake, the rest of the team can pick up the ball. Then, I put myself in more danger, but at the same time, it’s this vulnerability that interests me. Then I think it’s something I also discovered with Warren, who gave me a lot of confidence, even through the Comment Debord albums, where I really experienced magical moments, sometimes, when I was working on more intimate tunes, precisely, like I think, let’s say, on Plancher flottant, on the last album, where it was a really more folk tune, more vulnerable, then Warren, he encouraged me to assume that and then to accuse a little the imperfections, as much in my way of singing as of interpreting, that there is something beautiful in the imperfection, precisely. I think I assume that a little more in my project. Then at the level of the people who surround you for this project, well, you named Warren, you named Étienne, who has been your partner in crime for a long time, who is the bassist of Comment Debord. Do you have other names to name who will be in the adventure?
Well, I have a lot of ideas right now. I have prospects, I have people I’ve asked a little, but I don’t want to get too involved because we’re not very far along. But I already know that in the studio, because I really want to take it one step at a time, I really want to put the songs forward, then I want to bring in musicians for each song, asking myself what will elevate the song, what will do the song good, what will make it better. I really want to approach it like that, and not, ah, here we are a band, there are all these musicians, and then we do this… which is more the Comment Debord approach. But you know, I’ve already asked to have a good friend, then a drummer that I admire a lot, who will come to the studio with us. We will begin studio sessions in the coming months.
Then there’s Pete Pételle, who’s a drummer for several bands, including Klo Pelgag. He’s a guy I discovered in the last few years, who’s a really great guy, a guy I really, really like. Then, well, we met him, because with Comment Debord, we did the Festif tour in schools, then we went to Charlevoix at one point with Pete and Étienne, we were in a small format, and we really got along really well. Then at one point, quickly it was like natural, I asked him, “Hey, are you interested in drumming on some songs?” Then he’s super motivated, I sent my demos, and all that. Among others, there will be Pete, but there might be a lot of people there too, left, right, it’s not clear yet, but there will be people.
PANM360: Around here?
Rémi Gauvin: There are other people who are also interested. I’m going to surround myself with good people; I’m lucky, I’m a good conversationalist, I’m able to make friends, and then invite them to come and play on my project.
PANM360: We touched a little on the difference that there will be between Comment Debord and your solo project. We see that the emphasis will be really more on the song, the approach on the lyrics, rather than having big solos, having big musical flights into funk, disco, all that we saw with Comment Debord. This leads me to ask the question in terms of influences. We’re talking about what kind of influence, in terms of what are we trying to draw inspiration from?
Rémi Gauvin: There’s definitely a lot of folk stuff. I’m a huge Bob Dylan fan, obviously. I’m really into John Prine, I’m really into JJ Cale. Really influences like folk, a little bit of country too. I’m really into Townes Vincent. Those are definitely major influences. I’m really into Michael Hurley too. I think he passed away recently, but he made a kind of super touching, super real folk. Those are influences. In terms of Quebec music, the lyrics, I think they’re a bit like the same influences that I had in the sense that I always mention Stéphane Lafleur from Avec pas d’casque and Richard Desjardins. Those are major influences. In Quebec, I’ve really been into Ariel Soucy recently too, more recently on the folk scene. Recently, I discovered an artist named Ada Léa, who’s from Montreal. I love what she does. I really like it, I think it’s incredible. I’m really into Big Thief. It also makes me think about influences in terms of a more indie sound. I come from there too. When I was in high school, at Cégep, with my good friends, we would go see indie shows in Montreal.
We were leaving the South Shore for Cégep. I would say Cégep-Université, early twenties, all that. I come from there and I think I want to find that in the productions too, that little side and the sound of Montreal.
PANM360: A return to Montreal indie perhaps?
Rémi Gauvin: That’s it too. Warren is Plants and Animals. It’s that era, that sound. There’s something naturally that brings me back to that. There’s a lot of 90s music that’s popular right now too. I fell back with Pete in Mazzy Star. He’s definitely an influence. I love Mazzy Star. Otherwise, to go back to the great Montreal classics, I’m also a big fan of Leonard Cohen. That’s it. I would say those are perhaps the major influences. It revolves around those artists.
PANM360: Not too many French songs like Brassens, Moustaki, Brel, Gainsbourg?
Rémi Gauvin: Of course, these are artists I’ve listened to endlessly. In the sense that it’s a song, yes. Afterwards, from an aesthetic point of view, I don’t quite think so. But at the same time, a song remains a song. It’s a really interesting creative constraint to say that we’re putting the lyrics forward; choruses, verses, a little bridge. It’s kind of the kind of material I want to work with. French songs, in a way, yes, but I think that what I do is resolutely Québécois and it always will be. In French, obviously for what I write. Recently, I might have an idea for an English cover. In any case, something from Montreal, I thought, maybe I can afford it. We’ll see. Yes, a song. I think that’s it. The song, a folk song, which has a little country influence. But I don’t think I’m going to do country, but maybe have a cut of tunes that are a little more country. That could be also.
PANM360: And finally, is there anything you can reveal to us about your solo project? A little nugget, a little scoop or a little detail about what it’s going to be about? One of the themes?
Rémi Gauvin: Well, it’s true that I want to allow myself to go into more intimate, more sensitive areas. And it’s true that in Comment Debord, I didn’t talk much about love, let’s say. I think that I really wanted, when I started making music, to write about something else. I almost made it a point of honor to tackle other subjects. Then I think that reality is catching up with me. (laughs) So in the end, I talk about it a little more. Maybe it’s inevitable. Maybe it’s a certain maturity with that, I don’t know. Maybe in the end, I realize that I’m not better than everyone else. You have to tackle real subjects like love, in the end.
PANM360: Well, Rémi, we’re really looking forward to Sunday. We’re going to see the opening act for Unessential Oils. It’s going to be a pleasure to hear these new songs.
Rémi Gauvin: It won’t be too long. I have to keep it short so Patrick Lagacé is happy.
PANM360: (Laughs) ‘Not too long the first parts.’ It’s quite a pleasure, my dear friend.
Rémi Gauvin: Thank you very much, my friend.
