Additional Information
After several years’ silence, Laurence Hélie is back in the spotlight with a new EP entitled Tendresse et bienveillance – an evocative title that sums up the artist’s state of mind. Laurence Hélie, who made a name for herself in the early 2010s with two acclaimed country-folk albums, before taking an indie turn under the name Mirabelle, now returns to her original name. A return to her roots imbued with lucidity, emotion and maturity.
Her first albums, Laurence Hélie (2011) and À présent le passé (2013), featured country-folk sounds combined with the artist’s melodious voice. After this second album, Laurence took a break from the music scene for several years. She reappeared in 2019 under a new name: Mirabelle. Opting for an indie rock sound with folk accents, she released the album Late Bloomer (2020), followed by the EP Flickering Lights (2023) under this pseudonym.
To refocus, get back to basics, and move forward, she returns to us today as Laurence Hélie with Tendresse et bienveillance, a title that illustrates rather well the spirit in which she sets out to reconcile herself with her own history.
PAN M 360 had the pleasure of talking to Laurence Hélie about the creation of this EP, her collaborations, her influences, and what this new chapter means to her. An honest, warm and vulnerable encounter, just like her music.
PAN M 360: Hello Laurence, congratulations on your new EP. It’s a great listen, I find, over a candlelit dinner, or while driving on a grey day.
Laurence Hélie: Thank you 🙂 I’m glad people listen to my music at candlelight dinners. Very cool!
PAN M 360: What was the context in which you created this EP?
Laurence Hélie: I have great bursts of music that last for a few months, then calm down and then nothing for a while. This often happens in autumn. I lock myself away with my guitar and a Dictaphone – not to mention my damn cell phone, which I feel like throwing at the end of my arms 3/4 of the time – although at the same time I couldn’t go a day without it, and that’s what makes me hallucinate! Sorry for the rant.
This time, I didn’t have much of a guideline to start with. I was going through a pretty dark period. I was constantly tired. Some doctors told me I must have long-standing COVID. I wondered if I was having a breakdown. It wasn’t really fun, and I thought all my song ideas weren’t very good. So I sent all my tunes to Navet Confit. And little by little he helped me build the puzzles, and one day I woke up and had 5 songs I liked! I wrote all the lyrics once the songs were recorded. It was really weird to work like that, but at the same time, the music really gave me full inspiration for the lyrics.
PAN M 360: Why return to the Laurence Hélie name? What is the difference between this project and Mirabelle?
Laurence Hélie: I don’t really know. Basically, there’s not that much difference, except that I had no choice but to do the Mirabelle project to get rid of all the knots I had as Laurence Hélie. I didn’t like what I was doing anymore, or at least I felt trapped, I didn’t have any confidence in myself and I couldn’t move forward. Giving myself a new name allowed me to explore, to let go, and to trust myself again as a composer, as a musician, and as an author. It’s as if I wanted to make teenage Laurence proud of her musical dreams. Now that I’m back on track, why not take back my name? 🙂
PAN M 360: What was it like working with Karolane Carbonneau and Navet Confit? How did these collaborations come about?
Laurence Hélie: I couldn’t decide who to work with on the production. So I asked Navet Confit (a long-time friend – we played music together in high school in Beauce! ), Karolane Carbonneau (we met when she was on sound for my Mirabelle show at the Lion d’Or in 2021, and then she played guitar and bass with me at the show) and Pierre-Guy Blanchard (we did two Christmas songs together with Navet and it was musical love at first sight) if they’d like us to form some kind of dysfunctional 4-headed monster. Haha!
I know that in some situations it could have been an epic fail, all those egos, all those different sensibilities, but in our case it was just too cool. From the very first takes, there was a real magic that took hold. Frankly, I’d go back tomorrow morning!
PAN M 360: What were your influences on this EP? Could you name 2-3 songs you listened to during its conception?
Laurence Hélie: There’s the song Boys by Amen Dunes. I love that guy. I feel so safe when I listen to his songs. It’s weird ha!
I’ve been listening to a lot of Eric’s Trip because… drum roll… I’d really missed it before. Pierre-Guy and Navet talked about it at length when we were in the studio. It was great to discover something nostalgic. Otherwise, it’s very eclectic, Sinead O’Connor, Fugazi, SZA, Frank Ocean, Cat Power, Kendrick Lamar, Madlib and a lot of Olivia Rodrigo and Fredz (I have a 9-year-old daughter haha!).
PAN M 360: What do the words Tenderness and Kindness mean in the context of your Ep?
Laurence Hélie: It was Navet, during a recording session, who came up with this phrase before a take: “tendresse et bienveillance les amis”. We sometimes tend to be hard on ourselves in the studio, our emotions running high. It became a mantra for Navet, Pier-Guy, Karolane and me. And it became the title of a song and of the EP, because indeed, tenderness and benevolence are needed everywhere.
PAN M 360: Who are you talking to in the song Mes sympathies?
Laurence Hélie: I’m talking to someone who hurt me. And it took me years to understand what had happened. And writing this text allowed me to heal my wounds. To move on.
PAN M 360: What video games would Last Chance Lake be about? Are there any video games you’re familiar with?
Laurence Hélie: Haha, no! I loved Zelda when I was young, but video games stress me out too much. I don’t want to put myself through more anxiety than I normally experience every day 😉 I mention video games in the song more to illustrate how we’re almost never in the moment anymore, in sync with each other. Always a damn device in our hands (back to my love-hate of the cell phone).
PAN M 360: Who plays the saxophone on Last Chance Lake?
Laurence Hélie: CHRISTOPHE LAMARCHE-LEDOUX!!! I was desperate to reunite my collaborators from the Mirabelle era on the EP. I knew Christo played sax, but I never expected him to come up with this killer solo (and Warren Spicer sings with me on More Thrill).
PAN M 360: For most of your projects, you write in both French and English. Is there a difference in the way you approach writing in one language vs. the other?
Laurence Hélie: It often seems as if the subject imposes its language. But I love both. I wouldn’t want to have to choose.
PAN M 360: What can we wish you for the rest of your life and your musical career?
Laurence Hélie: To have the chance to continue. To have the day-to-day freedom to take the time to write. To keep this mental space despite everything that’s going on around me. In the world. In uncertainty on a large and small scale. Tenderness and kindness, my friends!
PAN M 360: Are there any launches or shows lined up for you this spring and summer?
Laurence Hélie: I’m keeping my fingers crossed, for the moment I don’t know.
PAN M 360: Thanks for your time and see you next time I hope 🙂
Laurence Hélie: Thanks for the great questions! It’s been a pleasure answering them 🙂
