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Loss of identity in 2014. Another journey in 2015. Farewell to the dancefloor in 2016. Working Class Woman in 2018. As a group with L’Oeil nu in 2020 for the Renegade Breakdown album, not to mention the many recordings under the Essaie Pas banner, in tandem with Pierre Guérineau throughout the previous decade. And then… pretty much nothing for the last two years. The pandemic had almost put Marie Davidson out of action until her resurrection, first as a DJ and then back to creation with a new live set underway for less than a year, the new material of which has become an album launched this Friday at the SAT: City of Clowns.
Needless to say, the clowns on this album embody the ultra-rich, authoritarian leadership of the world’s rulers in these dark times for humanity, as well as the atypical resistance fighters in the art world. Marie and her long-time accomplice, who co-produced this new solo opus with colleague Soulwax, graciously agreed to grant PAN M 360 this last-minute interview.
PAN M 360: Why such a long break from original music?
Marie Davidson: In 2022, I stopped making music. I took eight months off. I then enrolled in a naturopathy program because I was interested in health, and so I was embarking on a completely different path. I didn’t pursue these studies, because I wanted to get back to music. I came back to it as a DJ, really by chance. That made me want to make music again. I had several demos in the bank, including those composed in 2021 for choreographer Dana Gingras, and I finally started composing again in the summer of 2022. By then, I had a collection of pieces, but no guideline, no album. I wrote the song “Fun Times,” made a demo, and asked Pierre to co-produce the piece with me. And since he’s an excellent co-director, it went really well, so we decided to make the album together.
PAN M 360: But why exactly did you stop making music after Renegade Breakdown?
Marie Davidson: The pandemic and the post-pandemic period. I found it very hard not to be able to tour with the band (L’Oeil nu), and then I realized that social media had taken off during the pandemic and that it was going to stay for the presentation of music. Which led me to write about it. We could talk for a long time about this cycle, in which I went through all sorts of states, including considering myself a has-been, and believing my career was over. In the end, I got back on my feet and rediscovered myself through DJing, producing, and working with Pierre and Soulwax.
PAN M 360: And you, Pierre, how did you live through this period?
Pierre Guérineau: I released an album during the pandemic, then there was the band, and then doubt. We didn’t know what was going to happen. Marie and I were wondering whether we could go on making music. I also considered going back to school, and enrolling in a program offered by the Quebec government to learn computer programming. And finally, the music world invited us back. We got offers…
Marie Davidson: At first, I refused to play live, because I hadn’t had a career for a year and a half. Instead, I was offered a job as a DJ. Ah, DJ? So I rented some equipment and gave it a try. And I fell in love with the Pioneer CDJ-3000, which had just replaced the CDJ-2000. I loved the technology, the touch screen, the cue points, and so on. It reminded me a little of what I used to do with hardware. I cultivated this interest and started DJing more and more.
Pierre Guérineau: I also continued to produce on the side, and when Marie wanted to do not just one or two pieces, but a real album, we started working on it full-time. Meanwhile, I have plenty of extremely talented friends who were forced to take day jobs in order to continue (or not) to make their art without compromise. Even so, this episode was liberating, in that I realized that something else was possible. But I realized that working in a tech company wasn’t the job for me. But at the same time, this possibility gave me a certain lightness when I returned to music, to the pleasure of creation, and to this feeling of being privileged to be able to do it. Living modestly from my art, but being able to make a living from it.
PAN M 360: Indeed, making a living from your art today is a luxury.
Marie Davidson: I wouldn’t say it’s a privilege, it’s an opportunity, but it’s not a luxury. Our life isn’t luxurious, we have a middle-class lifestyle, and we’re lucky. But we have to make our own luck! Every artist who has survived the pandemic has had to face up to this situation, question himself, and turn around.
Pierre Guérineau: In another era, 20 years ago, it would have been easier and more profitable.
PAN M 360: So let’s get back to the new album. From a production point of view, how did the three of you work together?
Pierre Guérineau: Marie had the basic concept and lyrics, and we just kept going. We made the first version of the album and sent it to a few friends. Dave and Stef, from the Deewee label, really liked it. In fact, the way it works, it’s a house, a place where we meet, everything that comes out of their label goes through their studio. So we had to go there.
Marie Davidson: I didn’t know that when I contacted them!
Pierre Guérineau: So we went to Ghent in Belgium, a little town not far from Bruges. It’s a really great studio with lots of equipment. As a producer, I let go a bit and let them add their own touch. The album was well advanced when we worked with them, but the little touch they brought was the final link.
Marie Davidson: They brought the energy we hadn’t had because we’d been working on the album for a year and a half.
Pierre Guérineau: Yes, they had fresh ears and it was great to be able to finalize over there. It was a great experience for us.
PAN M 360: And so, the current show continues with the new pieces.
Marie Davidson: Yes, that’s the show I’ve been presenting since last summer.
Pierre Guérineau: The only thing we’re adding at the moment is the visual dimension of the show. Sound-wise, we’re really happy with the show at the moment, and we’re currently working on the lighting with a great artist, Nick Verstand, who works with cinema, theater, installations, and music ensembles like string quartets.
PAN M 360: When we listened to the new songs from your current live set to be presented at the SAT, we recognized all the ingredients of your career, but even better channeled, i.e. all the stylistic referents of your art were better welded together than ever before.
Marie Davidson: To tell you the truth, I didn’t think much about that when I was making the new songs. I just wanted to make exciting music. I tried to concentrate on the message and feeling of what we’d done in the studio. I didn’t want to put too much emphasis on the reference game. Of course, we talked about it, it sounds this way or that way… But compared to Renegade Breakdown, where we made precise references, where it was part of the creative process and discussions, it was quite the opposite this time. But the influences are there and will continue to be. As a DJ, I’m constantly exposed to other people’s music too. But for City of Clowns, the message came first and so did the energy. We made an album that wasn’t too introspective, nor too dark… because we’re living in dark times. I preferred humour, excitement,t and social criticism, and reflection on the context.
PAN M 360: Exactly. In fact, all your art is a form of self-reflexivity. You create works based on your own condition and the environment in which you live. So, with that in mind, what justifies the title City of Clowns?
Marie Davidson: The subtext of the album could have been World of Clowns, because we live in a world of clowns, the evil clowns of politics, finance, and economics.
Pierre Guérineau: And also in the world of music…
Marie Davidson: That’s what I was going to say. In culture in general. Influencers are also clowns. But there’s also the other side of the coin, there are other types of clowns, all the misfits of society, the outsiders… I include myself in that and also the people I work with. I can’t speak for them, but there’s a lot of humor in it. They say, anyway, that my texts are pretty funny. I can say that there’s more humour than before. We laughed a lot making this album! As opposed to the bad clown, there’s the one who’s there to challenge the status quo.
Pierre Guérineau: Yes, a bit like the madman in the days of the royal courts, the only one who had the right to mock authority.
Marie Davidson: But if his joke didn’t go down well, however… oops… we got rid of him.
PAN M 360: We have to admit that this hasn’t changed, at least in the current period…
Marie Davidson: That’s right! The idea is to show how unjust and precarious hierarchies still are for people who question them.
Pierre Guérineau: We also like this title because it’s open to interpretation. At the same time, it’s also a nod to Montreal…
Marie Davidson: But that’s a joke, because Montreal is the home of Cirque du Soleil, and Guy Laliberté is a clown himself…
Pierre Guérineau: So there you have it, the title is open to interpretation, even if we have our own ideas behind it.
PAN M 360: Now, why don’t we pick a few songs and try to make sense of them?
Marie Davidson: “Sexy Clown” is about my experience as a female entertainer, i.e. musician, DJ, public figure, night-life entertainer, and also behind-the-scenes character after sets or in studios. That’s why I say entertainer and not just artist. It’s a humourous song about my experience in this world as a woman.
“Demolition” is an allusion to Shoshana Zuboff’s book, The Age of Surveillance Capitalism. I chose to embody the big tech people who own this industry. I also embody the seductive way in which they achieve their ends. I can also talk about “Unknowing,” the album’s closer, which is a little closer to my songs prior to this project. The text is based on my feelings and on asserting oneself and taking responsibility for one’s own life.
PAN M 360: So it’s all about entertainment, innovation and a critical stance. We think, we rage, but we also want to laugh and dance!
Marie Davidson: I didn’t want to make a heavy album, because we live in heavy times. I wanted to get my message across, and we put a lot of effort into overcoming this heaviness. One of the pieces composed during the process was too heavy. I’ll use it later, but it just didn’t fit into the progression of the album.
Pierre Guérineau: The best humourists are often very good philosophers, and that’s the spirit we wanted to convey. To be critical while illustrating absurdity. Humor is a great force for understanding the darker side of reality, lightening the atmosphere, and encouraging dialogue.
Marie Davidson: Humour is a great way to cultivate critical thinking in an inclusive and universal way.
City of Clowns launches this Friday, February 28 at the SAT: info here
