On Saturday, April 4th at the Dièse Onze club in Montreal, trumpeter Jacques Kuba Séguin will host three excellent musicians from the rich Polish jazz scene. Rafał Sarnecki on guitar, Piotr Lemańczyk on double bass, and Adam Golicki on drums will step onto a Canadian stage for the first time. And this will only be the beginning of a Canadian tour that will then take them to Halifax, Edmonton, Calgary, among others. I spoke with ‘Kuba’ about this tour and the Polish program that supports the international export of its best musical talents, a potential source of inspiration for Quebec.
Interviews
The pianist Gentiane MG is releasing her fourth album on March 27, 2026. Can You Hear the Birds? resumes the format dear to the Quebec artist, namely the classic jazz trio (piano-double bass-drums). Discussion with Gentiane, for whom birds become the metaphor for a more attentive listening to the world around us.
In addition to a European tour in April, Gentiane will also embark on a Canadian tour in November, with a preview in Quebec city in May.
Canadian tour
May 21 – Québec – Palais Montcalm
05/11 – Vancouver
06/11 – Edmonton
07/11 – Calgary
08/11 – Saskatoon
13/11 – Toronto
14/11 – Waterloo
Originally, this track, written several years ago, was intended for David Cairol’s album, but following a phone call from Taïro, a new, more dub-influenced version emerged, adding a note of hope to the original. And this song is particularly timely given the current global context.
For his first two albums, David Cairol, a singer-songwriter from the Basque coast, was primarily a solo artist. But since then, he has been involved in numerous collaborations. His many trips to Jamaica have allowed him to forge strong connections over the years and to meet several big names in Jamaican reggae.
After the debut single “Building Bridges,” which spawned a series of EPs titled “Bridges,” the track “Ticket pour Mars” is featured in the “French Bridges” series. Our journalist Sandra Gasana spoke with the artist live from Biarritz to learn more about the song and his artistic journey.
Except for a side project launched in 2018 (Avenues), K.Maro had slowed down the pace since 2010, the year of the release of the album 01.10. We were already far from the glory generated in 2002 by the hits from the album I Am à l’ancienne, followed by La good life in 2004 and Perfect Stranger in 2008.
Place de Loréane Vol.1 is not a hip-hop album; it is another life of K.Maro expressed through a blend of French chanson and synth-pop/synthwave without denying the hip-hop flavors of his previous lives. K.Maro sees in this new inspiration “a retro-futuristic journey that explores the intersections between machines and the organic, technology and the analogue, and above all, that plunges us back into the 80s/90s while being irresistibly modern and current.”
In 2025, Cyril Kamar (by his real name) first toured with a commemorative show from his glorious era, during which the Montrealer of Lebanese origin ignited (mostly) Francophone Europe. Years of involvement in the world of production and recording followed, and here he is back to creation, but this time in the form of quality pop songs, with carefully crafted lyrics, carrying a worried and concerned realism.
K.Maro is also back on stage, this time in more intimate settings. On April 1st at Ausgang Plaza, K.Maro will perform material from his new album, all sprinkled with classics surely desired by his fans. Surrounded by samplers, beatboxes, and other analog synthesizers, K.Maro will perform alongside Olivier Pépin, known as Jalouse, as well as keyboardist Sheenah Ko. Meet at Place de Loréane on… Plaza Saint-Hubert!
To learn more about K.Maro, watch this great interview!
What remains of beauty in this formidable era? The Montreal pianist and composer Gentiane MG asks the question: Can You Hear the Birds? And answers it with 8 pieces of modern jazz, alongside bassist Levi Dover and drummer Mark Nelson, with whom she has been working for some time and with whom she has established her signature as a pianist, composer, and leader. The album will be released on March 27, under the Effendi label, which handles its distribution.
An experience “rooted in trust, intuition, and collective expression,” as the promotional notes rightly say. Gentiane’s fourth album, Can You Hear the Birds?, is the album of the moment for Quebec jazz trios, in terms of groove, harmonic richness, cohesion, and overall sound.
Among other insightful information about her work, you will notice in this video interview that Gentiane MG initiated a unique methodology for this album, that is, based on “a creative process rooted in listening rather than intellectual construction, giving the music a sense of immediacy, fluidity, and lived experience.” This was manifested through an initial oral transmission of her compositional wishes, which were then structured around sheet music.
In short, watch this interview!
Publicité panam
« Spiritual » et « content » sont deux mots qui, lorsqu’ils sont associés, forment un préambule ironique et aplati à un album musical. Mais pour un groupe comme Sunglaciers, dont la musique se situe quelque part entre l’art-pop et le punk, les contradictions sont inhérentes au processus.
Spiritual Content, sorti aujourd’hui chez Mothland Records, ne déroge pas à l’esprit d’expérimentation qui caractérise le groupe.
Comme ils l’expliquent, leur nouvel album apporte quelque chose de totalement nouveau à leur écriture : une approche tournée vers l’autre, qui raconte des histoires sans lien avec eux-mêmes. De cette manière, les chansons sont plus détachées personnellement, tout en restant étrangement plus intimes. Accentué par un vaste spectre de styles, Spiritual Content suggère un sentiment de « universalité » qui relie la narration dans son ensemble. Peu à peu, le titre de l’album prend tout son sens.
Un album instrumental complet qui tient ensemble semble presque miraculeux dans l’industrie musicale actuelle. Est-ce une simple coïncidence, une force de la nature ? À la suite de cette interview, je commence à suspecter que ce n’est ni l’un ni l’autre, car la dévotion de toute une vie des Sunglaciers à leur art signifie simplement qu’ils ont un instinct affiné pour la poésie musicale.
PAN M 360 : Tout d’abord, félicitations.
Sunglaciers : Merci ! Nous en sommes fiers et impatients de le partager.
PAN M 360 : Spiritual Content arrive deux ans après Regular Nature. Est-ce un hasard ou y a-t-il un lien entre les deux ?
Sunglaciers : En fait, nos trois derniers albums (Subterranea, Regular Nature et maintenant Spiritual Content) sont tous sortis fin mars, à deux ans d’intervalle. Peut-être que c’est une coïncidence ; ou peut-être sommes-nous responsables de vous donner le mal du printemps (ou des allergies).
PAN M 360 : Les crédits de l’album sont partagés entre Evan Resnik, Mathieu Blanchard et Nyssa Brown. À quoi ressemblait le processus d’écriture, de l’idée initiale à l’enregistrement en studio ?
Sunglaciers : Kyle Crough est là aussi ! On ne peut pas oublier notre Road King. L’Illuminator. Lui et Nyssa sont les meilleurs ! Cette collection de chansons a commencé avec Mathieu et moi en créant des grooves et des passages avec batterie et basse. Une fois les structures établies, il était plus facile d’ajouter des mélodies vocales et quelques instruments au mix. Nous voulions adopter la même approche pour chaque chanson afin de créer un fil sonore entre elles et les coller ensemble. Garder l’album cohérent. Notre son évolue toujours et peut être spontané ; cette approche nous a en quelque sorte permis de choisir une ambiance et de rester dedans.
PAN M 360 : « Future Free » s’inspire d’Emily Roebling et d’autres figures historiques peu reconnues. Y a-t-il eu un catalyseur spécifique, ou une accumulation d’événements, qui a rendu ce thème essentiel à l’album ?
Sunglaciers : Mathieu a été un moteur dans mon apprentissage depuis quelques années. Il est très doué pour suggérer des directions intéressantes à prendre, et c’est son idée de sortir notre écriture de nous-mêmes pour cet album et raconter des histoires inspirantes. Beaucoup de cela vient de la lecture de livres sur l’histoire, la musique et les musiciens, ainsi que du visionnage de documentaires et de programmes télévisés. L’histoire de Roebling est essentiellement celle de la première femme ingénieure de terrain au monde, au début des années 1900. Elle est devenue ingénieure en chef du pont de Brooklyn, un peu secrètement au début, lorsque son mari a eu le mal de décompression, mais comme il ne s’est jamais remis, elle a officiellement pris la relève. Pour Eddy, c’était une combinaison de son approche novatrice et éclectique de la production, et de tous les obstacles qu’il a rencontrés en tant que personne de couleur dans un lieu étranger. Bien qu’il soit connu pour Electric Avenue, il a aussi produit et écrit beaucoup de morceaux intéressants pour d’autres.
PAN M 360 : J’ai été surpris de voir J Dilla cité comme inspiration pour « Dead Stop ». Qu’est-ce qui dans son travail vous a touchés ?
Sunglaciers : Oui, un peu la même chose ! Dilla était évidemment un virtuose du sampling, et le sampling est quelque chose qui nous a beaucoup intéressés lors de l’enregistrement de notre premier LP sur Mothland, Subterranea. La capacité de créer quelque chose de totalement magique et nouveau à partir de quelques segments découpés d’art oublié, c’est super intéressant. Il avait aussi une éthique de travail implacable. Il était infatigable dans tout ce qu’il faisait. Une approche incessante de l’expérimentation, des nouvelles idées, et simplement mettre le travail, même sur son lit de mort. Depuis le début du groupe, nous développons une relation plus forte et plus intime avec la musique, et créer beaucoup de musique est quelque chose que nous ferons jusqu’au bout !
PAN M 360 : Qu’est-ce qui vous a motivés à traverser les moments difficiles et à terminer cet album ?
Sunglaciers : La gratitude pour notre position en tant que groupe, notre amitié croissante et l’amour que nous ressentons de la part de notre label et de notre communauté. Les histoires mentionnées plus haut et l’apprentissage de l’histoire aident aussi à mettre les choses en perspective. C’est ça, c’est notre truc. Pas forcément Sunglaciers, mais la création musicale en général. Et les gens ont essayé de faire cela, d’une manière ou d’une autre, depuis des milliers d’années, des milliers ! Quand quelque chose vaut la peine d’être fait, on apprend assez tôt qu’il faudra accepter les revers qui viennent avec. Je ne vais pas laisser un contretemps, une déception ou un désaccord m’empêcher de faire quelque chose à plus grande échelle. La vie est trop courte pour se laisser peser par les petites choses – il y a du boulot !
PAN M 360 : Sunglaciers a été décrit comme de « l’art-pop post-tout avec une attitude punk ». Y a-t-il eu un moment particulier où vous avez vraiment senti que vous aviez trouvé le son du groupe ?
Sunglaciers : Je pense qu’il y a eu un moment où nous avons trouvé une « essence » dans la façon dont nos tendances créatives individuelles interagissent entre elles. Et je pense qu’aujourd’hui nous en sommes à un point où nous pouvons reconnaître quand nous avons capturé cette essence dans une idée de chanson et dire : « ça mérite d’être une chanson. » Ce n’est pas un son, à proprement parler, mais plutôt un ressenti. Si nous avons un « son », j’aimerais qu’il soit toujours en mouvement tout en restant distinctement nous. Je veux avoir plusieurs « sons » différents qui contiennent ce sentiment spécial et ineffable qui fait dire à quelqu’un : « Ah, ça, c’est définitivement Sunglaciers. » Comme Bowie ou Cate Le Bon !
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Organ American virtuoso Cameron Carpenter is back at the Palais Montcalm! In 2024, he performed for the 10th anniversary of its grand organ, featuring a memorable program including the JS Bach’s Goldberg Variations and Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition. This April 25th, he will perform his own soundtrack for the legendary silent film The Phantom of the Opera, inspired by Gaston Leroux’s novel. In Quebec City, he will play while the movie will be screened in its restored version with French subtitles. Cameron Carpenter is a very special artist, he developed not only dazzling mastery and virtuosity on the instrument, but also undeniable skill as a composer and arranger. His approach includes classical repertoire but also great music from other styles, from Astor Piazzolla to Burt Bacharach. And his rock attitude, his unconventional look or his iconoclastic way of presenting himself add the finishing touch. While on tour, he answered PAN M 360 questions and provided great answers!
PAN M 360 : When this movie was presented in1925, some music was played. Over one century, I suppose that many pieces have been played live and I also suppose that you did some research and maybe some of those researches had an impact on your own composition.
Cameron Carpenter : Live music was always part of silent film since its inception, in more or less sophisticated ways depending on the time and place. In smaller theaters, a piano – or, sometimes, the bizarre “Photoplayer”, a primitive combination of organ, piano and percussion instruments which emerged before the development of the theatre organ – was used. In larger venues, orchestral music was first used, until largely replaced by the more effective (and cheaper) theatre organ, primarily as developed by Wurlitzer.
PAN M 360 : Can you give us some elements of understanding for your own score? How was that built, roughly speaking ? Is there some room for improvisation?
Cameron Carpenter : The score includes both composed and improvised elements.
PAN M 360 : Anyone who follows your career knows that you are an authentic game changer in organ playing and also composing for this instrument. In that particular program presented at Palais Montcalm, what are the different or unexpected elements brought to the table?
Cameron Carpenter : That would depend on the varying expectations of the individual. In general, silent film is interesting partly because it represents a juxtaposition of the familiar (film) with the unfamiliar, or new (live music, and new music, live to screen). Even though more or less everyone is aware of the existence of silent film in some remote way, comparatively few people have any contemporary experience of it.
PAN M 360 : Organ fits perfectly with Le Fantôme de l’opéra. It has been also used for many horror, vampire movies, fantastic movies, it became a sort of cliché. I’m sure that you want to avoid any cliché, so can we expect a totally different approach from you?
Cameron Carpenter : Not necessarily. Cliche can be very useful, and is after all just another aesthetic device. Anyway, it’s notoriously hard to get anyone to agree on what cliche in music really is. We are, after all, living in a time when the music of Florence Price, Ludovico Einaudi and Hans Zimmer commands puzzlingly huge audiences.
PAN M 360 : From the ultimate genius JS Bach to Astor Piazzolla to Mussorgsky or even Burt Bacharach, your musical spectrum is quite wide ! Your background and education are classical, but you sit somewhere else, in this place where any kind of music inspires you. Can you describe the key moments (or periods) in your artistic life that made you different from the classical players, what you are today as a player, as an arranger and a composer ?
Cameron Carpenter : It may not always seem like it from outside, but I’m a thoroughly classical musician and in many ways a rather conservative person at heart. All of my training has been rigorously classical. I’m more influenced by having had to make a nontraditional path with a traditional instrument, since unlike most organists, I have no church, teaching or orchestral position.
PAN M 360 : Regarding the perception of your work, did you suffer from the « fundamentalist » point of view in classical music criticism or did you always ignored it?
Cameron Carpenter : Neither, but not from any huge personal strength or conviction. It just turns out that past a certain point of professional accomplishment – or, at least, activity – it doesn’t greatly matter. The need to express a negative, usually condescending opinion is usually related only to personal insecurity, and music criticism last played a role in career development in the 1920’s and 30’s.
PAN M 360 : Nowadays, organ is undergoing a renaissance, and you’re one of the key players of this renaissance – we also think about Anna Lapwood, Olivier Latry, Ben Bloor, Thierry Escaich, Paul Jacobs, etc. How do you explain this comeback?
Cameron Carpenter : It is not a comeback, since the organ is not now revisiting any earlier era of its existence. This is a new period, largely due to the proliferation of the digital organ, which has made the instrument more accessible to more people. There are also, statistically, more people studying classical music in general, and playing it at a higher level, than ever before – just as there are more people on the planet than ever before. It’s really not that complicated.
PAN M 360 : Among other things, the organ was built originally to reproduce the sound of small or big ensembles. Now in 2026, digital or analog keyboards or even music softwares can also evoke orchestral works. What is the new role (or identity) for the organ?
Cameron Carpenter : One has to balance the idea of the organ “renaissance” with the joint reality that everything, now, is niche – one either plays primarily popular music for a large audience, to the damnation of the organ community (Anna Lapwood) or classical organ music for the classical organ community, to the profound disinterest of everyone else. The world has become a strangely pigeonholed place. I’m not sure it’s possible to predict anything in such an environment.
As for the organ, it has existed for more than 2600 years and remains impassive, aloof, and as always, merely a machine. It requires no loose talk about “the soul of the organ”, the “King of Instruments”, etc. – all this is marketing. The organ’s future existence was already assured in digital form long before the advent of digital computing, as the organ is itself an information system operating in binary. Notes are on or off – stops are on or off – the key is played fully, or not at all. Binary. It foretells the digital organ.
PAN M 360 : Organ is not a static instrument, and you are a vibrant illustration of its evolution. In 2014, you created the International Touring Organ (ITO), a custom-built digital organ. Can you explain to your audience how this instrument is different and how it has been renovated (or not) since a decade?
Cameron Carpenter : That organ hasn’t existed since 2021. If it did, I would still be playing it. Covid destroyed the organ, first financially and then – as failed attempts were made to house and save it – physically. I’m currently at the cusp of announcing a new organ.
PAN M 360: What are the next steps for your instrument? For you as a player? As a composer? Next projects after this tour?
Cameron Carpenter : I hope to develop myself more as a person, not only as a musician.
Publicité panam
The University of Montreal Big Band will welcome Cuban-Canadian pianist Hilario Durán this Thursday, March 26, at 7:30 p.m., in the Claude Champagne Hall at the UdeM Faculty of Music.
Hilario Durán is a virtuoso pianist, as well as an award-winning composer and arranger.
Throughout his long career, he has played with Dizzy Gillespie, Chucho Valdés, Arturo Sandoval, and Paquito D’Rivera, among other musicians. Our contributor Michel Labrecque discussed this very promising concert with Hilario Durán, conducted by trumpeter João Lenhari, director of the Big Band.
PAN M 360: Hilario Duran, you have recorded as much solo as in Big Band and in many other configurations. How would you describe the music you make?
Hilario Duran: It’s Cuban or Afro-Cuban jazz, but I also have classical, South American, and Caribbean influences. I’m interested in so many genres; I love mixing traditions with modern harmonies.
PAN M 360: Your latest album is called Cry Me a River, it was released in 2023, and it’s a big band album, is this a form of composition that you particularly enjoy? I imagine we’ll hear part of it during Thursday’s concert.
Hilario Duran: Yes, an 18-piece band in Toronto, where I’ve lived for 30 years. The band is made up of equal numbers of Latin American and Canadian musicians. I love arranging music for large ensembles. My friend, saxophonist Paquito D’Rivera, also contributed to this album. It features standards like Dizzy Gillespie’s “Night in Tunisia” as well as original compositions.
PAN M 360: João Lenhari, what does the arrival of Hilario Durán with your Big Band represent for you; can we speak of a privilege?
Joâo Lenhari: We are very excited to welcome Hilario; he is not only a great pianist but also a great arranger. It’s wonderful for Montreal, a city of great diversity, to open itself up to a variety of musical styles. At the Faculty of Music, we already have a world music program, directed by the Cuban Julian Gutierrez. This will be a great challenge for our students, as Hilario’s arrangements are truly sophisticated.
PAN M 360: In what ways is preparing for a concert like this demanding?
Joâo Lenhari: Our young musicians work very hard. In addition to the arrangements, there’s all the feeling and the unique character of Cuban jazz, which isn’t easy for people from the North to grasp. Personally, I want to prepare my students not only for jazz, but to open their minds and ears to a wide range of music, so they can play wherever life takes them.
PAN M 360: Hilario Durán, you have the opportunity to collaborate with many famous musicians, what does it mean to you to play with student musicians?
Hilario Durán: It’s always interesting to share my knowledge. It’s a real pleasure to collaborate with Brazilian musicians like João Lenhari. Brazilians and Cubans have such rich musical cultures. We’re going to have a fantastic evening.
PAN M 360: And what will we hear this Thursday evening at the Salle Claude Champagne?
Hilario Durán: There will be a lot of material from my recent album, Cry Me A River. You’ll hear three compositions by my fellow countryman Chucho Valdés, arranged for big band by myself. We’ll also play Angelica, a piece by the late Emiliano Salvador and José Miguel Ceruto.
Joâo Lenhari: I recommend everyone listen to Cry Me a River before coming to the concert. It will set the mood. But you’ll also hear a world-class improvisational pianist, Hilario Durán! Also note that there will be a free masterclass with him on Wednesday, March 25th at 5:00 PM in the Salle Serge-Garant. If you play the piano, you should definitely attend.
PAN M 360: Thank you both! See you at Salle Claude Champagne at 7:30 pm on March 26th for the Big Band concert with Hilario Durán.
The singer, balafonist, and guitarist from Guinea-Bissau, Kimi Djabaté, grew up in a musical village. Indeed, his hometown of Tabato is a small town where most of the inhabitants live off music and have been griots for generations. The artist, who is now based in Lisbon, released the album Dindin in 2023, an album I have praised highly right here on this site.
CRITIQUE OF DINDIN, KIMI DJABATÉ’S ALBUM
On April 2, 2026, Kimi Djabaté will give a concert at the Balattou club in Montreal, a first for the artist in our city, who was invited by the singer Maritza (who asked him to accompany her at her own event on April 1 at the Lion d’Or). For his evening at Balattou, we are even told that Daby Touré will be on stage with Kimi! An evening that I am personally very much looking forward to. I talked with Kimi about his youth completely dedicated to music, his coming in Montreal, his collaboration with Madonna, and many other things.
**Thanks to Jacob Edgar from Cumbancha/Putumayo who served as an interpreter, as the interview was conducted in Portuguese.
DETAILS AND TICKETS FOR KIMI DJABATÉ’S CONCERT AT BALATTOU ON APRIL 2, 2026
PanM360: Hello Kimi. It’s a first in Montreal. But have you ever been to Canada?
Kimi Djabaté: Once, in Edmonton, for a single concert.
PanM360: You grew up in a small village in Guinea-Bissau called Tabato, a village of musicians (griots). Everyone there plays music… You hardly had a choice…
Kimi Djabaté: It’s true that Tabato is a village of griots. It is somewhat the destiny, the social obligation, of its inhabitants to play music. I was surrounded by music throughout my youth. Griots are required to learn at least one instrument and to tell stories with their music. For me, it was the balafon (a type of traditional West African xylophone) that has been my passion from the very beginning.
When I was five to eight years old, my parents would take me to play at wedding ceremonies, for example. I became something of a local sensation, they found me very cute with my instrument that I handled quite well. And then, the orders multiplied. Sometimes, I found it difficult. I was woken up at night to travel and play. I brought in income for my family that way, you understand. Sometimes, I wanted to be a child like the others. I never learned to play football (soccer)…
PanM360: A story like Mozart’s… Have you ever felt like giving up?
Kimi Djabaté: No, never. Nevertheless, around my teenage years, I started listening to Africa 1, a radio station from Gabon. There, there was a program broadcast every week, from 2 AM to 4 AM, and I discovered all sorts of other music. I used my money to buy batteries for the radio so I could listen to my show! Then, my passion was somewhat rekindled. But no, I never really thought about not making music.
PanM360: You are a griot from Guinea-Bissau. Here in Montreal, we have several griots from Mali or Senegal. Are there significant differences between the traditions of these different countries?
Kimi Djabaté: Not really. All the culture of the griots comes from the ancient Mandingo Empire (or Mali Empire), which encompassed the entire region during the European Middle Ages. It was the colonial forces who subsequently divided this entire region into various countries and brought new languages. For the rest, the sources, the codes, remain the same. In fact, we still frequently speak the same native language, Manding. In fact, it is the language of Touré (Lamine), the director and owner/founder of Balattou!
PanM360: At this concert, will you mainly be playing Dindin?
Kimi Djabaté: Yes, especially, but also a few songs from previous albums. Daby Touré, who is based in Montreal, will also come on stage with me. It’s a great honour. We will also play a concert in Toronto. And then, we might also play a few new songs, which we might have had time to work on in Montreal, as I will be there for a few weeks.
PanM360: Tell me about your collaboration with Madonna…
Kimi Djabaté: It was through mutual friends that we met. Madonna spent some time in Lisbon. We met at a private concert for French friends. She is a big fan of African music. Subsequently, I was invited to her birthday parties, and then she asked me to play a piece on her album Madame X. It’s called Ciao Bella. I sing, and Madonna does the backing vocals behind me!
PanM360: That is nice! We can’t wait to see you in Montreal and Quebec for the first time.
Kimi Djabaté: Me too, I can’t wait to be there. That reminds me that, many years ago, a Quebecer came to study the balafon in our village! His name was Sylvain Panneton. He even recorded a cassette. I don’t know what happened to him. If he can ever come, that would be really nice.
PanM360: The message is sent! Thank you.
Presented this Monday, March 23 at 7:30 p.m. at Chapelle Saint-Louis – Le Saint-Jean-Baptiste, Battements brings together three emerging artists in creative music. PAN M 360 has chosen to introduce them one by one before the concert; we conclude with Geneviève Ackerman, who presents Rimes défaites par le Sphinx for soprano and alto voices and two guitars in just intonation, 2026 (25’).
“Rimes défaites par le Sphinx” is a project of songs in “just intonation” for two voices and two guitars in just intonation (according to the design of Simon Martin). When we listen to sounds (the sounds of music, the sounds of life), we hear them through the prism of culture. Perhaps through songs (a form that is overly familiar!) sung in an unusual yet intoxicating temperament?
Geneviève Ackerman, composition and voice
● Florence Tremblay, voice
● Alexandre Éthier, guitar
● Francis Brunet-Turcotte, guitar
PAN M 360: Remind us who you are, your training, how you came to composition, and what you have created so far.
Geneviève Ackerman: Every day of this strange life, I myself try to remember who I am! So let’s attempt the exercise once again: I do not come from a family of musicians, and we did not listen to music when I was a child. The arrival of music in my life is a great mystery. Yet from as far back as I can remember, there were sounds playing in my mind, endlessly looping in ever-changing variations.
I received a classical musical education. At the age of 18, exhausted by the constraints of that world, I left it. Several years later, haunted in spite of myself by the muses, I returned—this time not as a performer, but as a composer. Since returning to music, I have essentially devoted my life to the muses, and they keep me bound hand and foot. I have been composing for almost ten years now, and it has become the heart, the very essence of my reality. I compose concert music, music for (experimental) cinema, theatre, installations, and dance, and from time to time I perform myself, using my voice. I am particularly interested in the meeting point between poetry, the voice, and music.
PAN M 360: We know the work of Harry Partch (1901–1974) and others on just intonation and the microtonal approach—60 years before Angine de Poitrine, haha! This time we are talking about songs. How does one go about composing and writing songs in just intonation?
Geneviève Ackerman : Harry Partch is truly my guiding spirit! He himself composed many songs, and his music is inseparably linked to the inflections of spoken and sung voice. This music fills me with wonder to the highest degree.
A song composed in “just intonation” is simply a song—but one that hides behind it a whole host of carefully concealed mathematical calculations. If everything goes well, no one will notice anything—only… perhaps a certain ineffable magic, like a light, intangible cloud, rising gently among the listeners.
PAN M 360 : More specifically, what will be the role of the guitars and the voice?
Geneviève Ackerman : All the modes expressed by the guitars and the voices are in just intonation. The guitarists play on specialized guitars with asymmetrical frets, which requires some adjustment compared with their usual playing habits. For the voices, the effort is more demanding, since it involves reconstructing solfège on a scale of 22 notes per octave (rather than 12), 22 unequal notes, each interval unique and very precise. To my great surprise, this work proved easier than expected. When one sings a just interval, the sound aligns itself in a very perceptible way. By trusting this acoustic phenomenon—in other words, by trusting our ear and our sensation—we find solid reference points.
PAN M 360 : I’ll take up your question: how can we free our ears from the overly familiar and allow ourselves to be carried by the charm of the unknown?
Geneviève Ackerman: Well, if I have done my job well… all one has to do is come and hear this new music! The journey between the familiar and the unknown is part of its internal reality, part of its aesthetic experience.
PAN M 360 : Would a listener who does not know that these are songs performed with guitars in just intonation notice the difference?
Geneviève Ackerman: I hope that listeners will notice nothing at all. That they simply allow themselves to be carried by the immediacy of their senses, letting their minds wander freely into the intimate place of their dreams.
PAN M 360 : What do you think your contribution to the microtonal language is through this specific project?
Geneviève Ackerman : Most of the time, microtonality is used in musical contexts that are already complex, which makes it difficult to hear, because too many sonic events are happening at once for us to really dwell on it. In these songs, I try to keep things as simple as possible so that we can truly take the time to savor each interval, each chord, each modulation. This is also true for the musicians; this music proves that it is entirely possible to work with just intonation by ear. That seems essential to me. In music, the musicians must first be able to hear it themselves before they can offer it to the listeners.
PAN M 360 : Could you elaborate on the theme of these songs, Rimes défaites par le Sphinx? How does it become a prism for your song texts?
Geneviève Ackerman : The lyrics of the songs were written by the poet Frédérik Dufour, with whom I have collaborated for many years. He is a magician. The music was composed first, and then I gave him carte blanche (or almost!). I must admit that the title of the cycle is something of a UFO: Rimes défaites par le Sphinx. These words together disorient me in a euphoric way. That is a bit of the feeling I would like to offer listeners. The texts themselves are thematically free: algae under water, an old wound, a star seen in a dream, a returning moon, a woman who leaves…
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Presented this Monday, March 23 at 7:30 p.m. at Chapelle Saint-Louis – Le Saint-Jean-Baptiste, Battements brings together three emerging artists from the world of creative music. PAN M 360 has chosen to introduce them one by one before the concert; we continue with Emmanuel Jacob Lacopo and his two works on the program: Home and I Never Want To See That Day.
“Home, for classical guitar, electronics, and voice, is an intimate work that explores vulnerability through musical form and an experimental sound design inspired by the rock and pop musical background of composer-performer Emmanuel Lacopo. I Never Want To See That Day is a large-scale chamber work for electric guitar, electronics, strings, tenor saxophone, and drums. Inspired by Godspeed You! Black Emperor and Julius Eastman, it builds evolving textures and lyrical melodies with a live-processed guitar that shapes the ensemble.”
PAN M 360: Remind us who you are, your training, how you came to composition, and what you have created so far.
Emmanuel Jacob Lacopo: I am a guitarist and composer based in Montreal. I started playing guitar at the age of six with the help of my brother and brother-in-law, and my first musical influences came from listening to and playing in rock and metal bands during my teenage years. Even before I really understood the instrument, I was already writing music; composition has therefore always been a natural part of my relationship with music from the very beginning.
When I discovered the classical guitar, I immediately fell in love with the instrument and decided to pursue music seriously. However, during my studies I began to feel creatively limited by the traditional expectations surrounding the guitar, and for a time I even considered moving away from it.
A turning point came when I received a full scholarship to pursue a master’s degree at Yale University. My teacher Ben Verdery encouraged me to reconnect with my musical roots and to explore the instrument more freely, especially by writing my own music. I also had the opportunity to attend composition classes, which greatly broadened my understanding of sound and musical form.
I then returned to Montreal to undertake a doctorate in music with Steven Cowan at McGill University. My doctoral research explored new possibilities for classical music in the 21st century by combining classical guitar with alternate tunings, electronics, and contemporary production techniques.
Since then, several of my works have been published by Productions d’Oz, I have received new commissions, and I continue to develop projects that blur the boundaries between composition and performance. This year I will also release a new album, Dreamscapes & Our Modern Contradictions, with Watch That Ends the Night Records. I was also selected for the Pôle Relève cohort with Le Vivier with my ten-musician ensemble project Il Buio, which will allow me to develop and present my music on its largest scale so far.
PAN M 360 : Home is described as “an intimate work that explores vulnerability through musical form.” How does this translate through the guitar and the electronic approach? How does your rock/pop background contribute to the piece? Could you give us some elements regarding its structure and performance?
Emmanuel Jacob Lacopo: Home is a piece that pushed me further outside my comfort zone than anything I had written before. It combines guitar, electronics, improvisation, and voice—elements I had always wanted to explore but had never fully integrated into a single work. While preparing the piece, I even began taking voice lessons so that the voice could become an organic part of the musical language rather than just an added element.
The piece moves between several worlds: moments of written guitar drawing on the virtuosity of the classical tradition, sections that leave room for improvisation with electronics, and passages where the voice appears in a way closer to what one might hear in a band context. In many ways, it reflects the musical environments in which I grew up, where playing music with friends often meant freely experimenting with sound, pedals, and textures.
My background in rock and pop is especially present in the electronic setup and the use of pedals. The piece incorporates looping and layered textures that evolve in real time, creating small indeterminate “micro-loops” that change according to how the pedals are manipulated during performance. This type of sonic environment is common in ambient or post-rock music, and I was interested in bringing that sensibility into a composed work for classical guitar.
Structurally, the piece alternates between more fragile, intimate moments and broader sonic landscapes created by electronics. This contrast between vulnerability and expansion is central to the idea of the work: the guitar and voice remain very exposed at times, while the electronics allow the sound to unfold and create a more immersive atmosphere around them.
PAN M 360 : For I Never Want To See That Day, what is the connection between the post-rock of GY!BE and the approach of the late African-American composer Julius Eastman (1940–1990) in this context?
Emmanuel Jacob Lacopo: Never Want To See That Day is probably my most ambitious composition project to date. One of my initial goals was to create a vast, almost anthemic sonic landscape inspired by the music of Godspeed You! Black Emperor. Their music often builds emotional intensity through long structures and gradual accumulations of sound. I was interested in translating this approach into an ensemble context by combining the iconic duo of distorted electric guitar and drums with classical strings and a saxophone, creating a sonic world that is both orchestral and rooted in the language of post-rock.
The second major influence comes from the work of Julius Eastman. In 2023 I released an album reimagining his music for guitar, and while preparing my arrangement of Gay Guerrilla, I spent a lot of time studying his compositional language. Eastman’s idea of “organic music,” where musical ideas gradually appear, transform, and disappear without clear boundaries, strongly influenced my approach to form in this piece.
In I Never Want To See That Day, much of the music unfolds through a continuous rhythmic propulsion built on repeated quarter-note and eighth-note patterns, while different instrumental ideas gradually accumulate and dissolve. Some elements are also left open to the performers, allowing the structure to remain fluid. In this sense, the piece sits at the intersection of these two influences: the slow, cumulative energy of post-rock and Eastman’s organic approach to musical form.
PAN M 360 : Why this octet instrumentation? What role will electronics play? Are you working with post-rock-style saturation in this context, somewhat like Godspeed does? What are the challenges of collective interpretation as well as individual performance?
Emmanuel Jacob Lacopo: My goal with this instrumentation was to create a massive sound. Lately I’ve been very drawn to the timbre and power of multiple cellos, so having three of them in the ensemble became a key element of the piece’s sonic identity. That depth in the lower register creates a kind of weight and resonance that naturally aligns with the aesthetic I wanted to explore, strongly inspired by post-rock and bands like Godspeed. At the same time, I wanted to merge that sonic universe with the colors and precision of classical chamber music.
Electronics play a central role in this blend. In the ensemble, the guitar is the only instrument using live electronics, while the rest remain acoustic, creating an interesting contrast between the two worlds. The main tool is a pitch-shifting delay that transforms the guitar’s arpeggios and melodic lines into a kind of evolving wall of sound, acting as a harmonic and textural background on which the other instruments can interact.
One of the main challenges in performing the piece is the collective energy. The music needs to feel cathartic and driven by momentum—somewhat like a post-rock concert—rather than rigid or mechanically precise. Of course, the ensemble must remain synchronized, but the interpretation depends on maintaining a sense of propulsion and intensity, something the drums help sustain.
Balancing the ensemble is also a constant challenge, especially with such dense textures. Ultimately, a successful performance depends on the musicians listening closely to one another and on how they shape the sound together so that the piece feels unified and immersive.
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Presented this Monday, March 23 at 7:30 p.m. at the Chapelle Saint-Louis – Le Saint-Jean-Baptiste, Battements brings together three emerging artists from the world of contemporary creative music. PAN M 360 has chosen to introduce them one by one before the concert; we begin with Alexandre Amat and his piece Tracé, Fossile for violin and cello (2023, 12’).
Tracé, Fossile is inspired by the slow mineralization of organic matter. Through a gradual metamorphosis from fluid sounds to rough textures, the piece is conceived as a summary of a fossilization process extending across several geological eras. Through the progressive increase in density and the gradual rarefaction of movement—both temporal and physical—Tracé, Fossile becomes a reflection, even a meditation, on the becoming of matter.
Alexandre Amat, composition
Paul Ballesta, violin
Audréanne Filion, cello
PAN M 360 : Remind us who you are, your training, how you came to composition, and what you have produced so far.
Alexandre Amat : I am a composer of instrumental music, currently pursuing a doctorate in composition and sound creation at the Université de Montréal. Originally trained as a horn player, I followed a classical musical path in several conservatories in western France, from childhood until obtaining my performance diploma in 2011. I then studied musicology at the University of Bordeaux before turning toward instrumental composition by joining Jean-Louis Agobet’s class at the Bordeaux Conservatory. After earning my composition diploma, I decided to continue my studies at the Université de Montréal, first in a master’s program with François-Hugues Leclair, and then in a doctorate under the supervision of Jimmie LeBlanc.
I believe several paths led me to composition. I could mention my interest in performing contemporary music since adolescence; my practice of free improvisation on horn and analog synthesizer; and probably a particular attraction to imagination, exploration, and the unexpected, which led me to take an interest in contemporary artistic practices and experimental music in the broad sense.
Over the past decade, I have written more than thirty works almost exclusively for instruments and have collaborated with several ensembles, mainly in France and Canada, including the Orchestre National Bordeaux Aquitaine, Ensemble PTYX, Ensemble Prisme, and the Quatuor Cobalt. Over the past year I have collaborated with Sixtrum for their latest production Espace d’interactions #1, with Stick & Bow on a commission jointly produced by Orford Musique and the SMCQ, and more recently presented my piece Zone for electric guitar and bandoneon at the most recent annual concert of the Vivier Interuniversitaire.
PAN M 360 : Regarding your piece, how is the « lente minéralisation d’une matière organique – slow mineralization of organic matter » evoked in the work?
Alexandre Amat: The idea of process, transformation, and transitional states interests me greatly. In my compositional practice, I systematically consider sound as a material that evolves, unfolds, or deteriorates through time. In the sound of an instrument as in nature, nothing is immutable: the growth of a tree, the course of a river, the shape of a continent—everything constantly transforms according to its own temporal scale. My relationship to musical writing tends, in a way, to draw inspiration from natural, geological, and physical phenomena by considering musical form as a continuous metamorphosis between sonic states and textures of different qualities. This way of approaching composition is inspired by drone music and spectralism, but also by the sculptor Giuseppe Penone’s work with natural materials.
The trajectory of Tracé, Fossile is built through the articulation of two parallel processes: a progressive reduction of movement and a progressive increase in sonic density. The piece begins with dynamic figures whose energetic trajectories are mobile, unstable, and unpredictable, evoking a certain form of organic fluidity. It then gradually moves toward a static, granular state, as if the sound were becoming solid, drying out, and fossilizing over time. This trajectory affects the sonic material but is also embodied in the performers’ physicality, as their movements gradually diminish and slow down.
PAN M 360 : Could you give us some indications about the musical structure, the choice of instrumentation, and the playing techniques requested from the strings?
Alexandre Amat: I conceived the piece as a duo for violin and cello that avoids the usual logic of dialogue and interaction often found in writing for two instruments. I wanted to treat them as a single dense and fused sonic organism, a kind of “super string instrument,” by bringing their timbres close together and introducing slight temporal displacements between the voices through writing techniques close to canon.
My writing is based on a tactile approach to instrumental performance and particularly explores the idea of contact: the entire structure of the piece is inseparable from gradual variations in pressure, position, speed, amplitude, direction, and movement of the bow and the left hand on the strings. The piece especially explores certain extreme bow positions, from very high positions on the fingerboard to various positions behind the bridge. Finally, a slight scordatura in the violin allows me to explore a microtonal harmony in a section built on alternating open strings and natural harmonics.
PAN M 360: How do you relate this work to your compositional signature? Where do you situate it?
Alexandre Amat :Tracé, Fossile is a piece that I consider quite representative of my musical language as it has evolved since my arrival in Montreal. The exploration of the noisy dimension of instrumental sound in a slow, continuous, contemplative, and almost minimal way is an aesthetic direction I pursue in many of my recent works.
It also occupies an important place in my creative journey. It is the first piece I composed as part of my doctoral studies, and it seems to synthesize many of my current musical, conceptual, and poetic concerns: approaching sound in terms of materials, textures, sensations, contact, transformations, and temporal scales, and seeking an immersive listening experience analogous to certain sensitive connections we sometimes experience with our natural environment.
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