Interviews – Page 18

Nuits d’Afrique is kicking off 2025 on a high note with an incredible treat for us: Omar Sosa and Seckou Keita’s SUBA Trio, joined by the phenomenal percussionist Gustavo Ovalles. Afro-Cuban jazz, West African vibes, and breathtaking improvisations—this trio is renowned for performances that leave audiences spellbound. As they get ready to bring us music from their last two albums, Transparent Water and SUBA, they’re promising an evening filled with soul, creativity, and a musical connection that runs deep.

PAN M 360 : Omar, Seckou, it’s such a pleasure to have you here. We’re all very excited about your upcoming performance in Montreal for Nuits d’Afrique. Have you performed in Montreal before?

Omar Sosa : Yes, I’ve played there a few times. It’s one of the great music cities of the world. The Jazz Festival there is legendary.

Seckou Keita : I’ve performed there as well. The energy is incredible. I remember being there for the Jazz Festival—the atmosphere was unforgettable. But I hear it’s quite cold in Montreal right now!

PAN M 360 : Yes, quite right. it’s around minus 10 degrees at the moment. But I’m sure your performance will bring the warmth we need.

Omar Sosa : Definitely! And with Seckou coming straight from Senegal, he’ll bring some of that beautiful warmth with him.

PAN M 360 : I know you’ve been performing together for a while now. But still, how do you manage rehearsals when you’re often on opposite sides of the world?

Omar Sosa : We have a connection that transcends geography. It’s not just about rehearsing; it’s about feeling. Every time we come together, something magical happens. Seckou brings fresh energy and grooves from Senegal, and that keeps our performances alive.

Seckou Keita : Yes, it’s a natural connection that grows stronger every time we meet. The longer we’re apart, the more intense and vibrant it is when we reunite. Our performance in Montreal will be a burst of that energy.

PAN M 360 : So by now do you mostly play established repertoire from your albums, or is there a lot of improvisation in your shows?

Omar Sosa : We blend both. We honor our albums, Transparent Water and SUBA, but every performance is different. The structures are there—A, B, bridge—but the connection between us always brings something new. Each show feels like a new creation.

Seckou Keita: Absolutely. There’s always a fresh dynamic. It’s like every performance is a new album in itself. We share this energy with the audience, and it’s amazing to see how it resonates.

PAN M 360 : When was the last time you performed together?

Seckou Keita : It was in March last year, during our UK tour. Since then, we’ve been working on separate projects, but we’re excited to bring all that new inspiration back to the SUBA Trio.

Omar Sosa : Exactly. Our music reflects not just our collaboration but also our individual journeys. Every time we play together, it’s fresh and deeply rooted in our traditions and spirits.

PAN M 360 : Let’s talk about your Tiny Desk performance. How was that experience?

Omar Sosa : That was actually my second Tiny Desk. The first one was years ago with Paolo Fresu, and back then, it really was a desk—no set, just pure and simple. Now, they’ve created a little set, but the intimacy is still there. The focus on acoustic sound and the natural vibe is beautiful.

Seckou Keita : It was incredible. The space is so small, especially for Omar’s piano and Gustavo’s percussion setup. But the technicians did an amazing job creating a sound that’s so alive. The interaction with the people in the office was fantastic. It felt like we were sharing something deeply personal with them.

PAN M 360 : That performance has gained quite a following. Did it help spread the word about the SUBA Trio?

Seckou Keita : Yes, it brought a lot of attention to what we do. People often tell us they discovered us through Tiny Desk. It’s a blessing to have such a platform where our music can reach so many new listeners.

PAN M 360 : As a musician myself, I’m curious about how you balance the sound between the kora and the piano. Both can occupy similar tonal spaces. How do you make it work?

Omar Sosa : It’s all about listening and being humble. If Seckou is leading with his voice and kora, my role is to support and create a foundation. We spent a lot of time during the production of SUBA understanding each other’s spaces and finding that balance.

Seckou Keita : Yes, it’s a dialogue. We know when to give each other space and when to blend. It’s about trust and knowing each other deeply, both musically and spiritually.

PAN M 360 : Your music often feels like it channels something beyond the ordinary. How do you explain that?

Seckou Keita : Sometimes, the energy we create is so powerful that it feels beyond human. It’s like we’re just channels for something greater. Those moments are humbling and remind us of the spiritual dimension of what we do.

Omar Sosa : It’s love. Love for the music, for each other, for our traditions, and for the audience. When that love is true, everything flows naturally. It’s not something you can force; it’s something you feel.

PAN M 360 : Thank you both for your thoughts. We’re really looking forward to experiencing that love and connection in Montreal.

Omar Sosa : Thank you. We’re excited to bring our music to such a special city.

Seckou Keita : Yes, thank you, merci. We’ll see you soon in Montreal!

Here’s an insight into the immersive part of a program presented at the Satosphère on February 15 as part of Montreal / Nouvelles Musiques, a festival presented every two years by the Société de musique contemporaine du Québec. Performed by pianist Eve Egoyan, Simple Lines of Enquiry “takes us on a slow musical drift that lets us experience the emotional possibilities of the piano and its ethereal sonorities. “Imagined here as an echo of this piece by Eve Egoyan’s long-time accomplice Ann Southam, the immersive video Machine for Taking Time by Eve Egoyan’s life partner David Rokeby “transports us through an impossible panorama of Montreal. Drawn from 750,000 images of the city taken over the course of the seasons and weather conditions, it shows us a city that is slowly transforming, superimposing its different images unpredictably over time.” To further enlighten PAN M 360 users, Alain Brunet interviewed Eve Egoyan prior to this M/NM program.

INFOS AND TICKETS HERE

Montreal/New Music gets off to an explosive start with the Dynamite Barrel concert by the Dutch ensemble New European Ensemble (NEuE), presented on February 14 at the Society for Arts and Technology (SAT).

We’re encouraged to prepare ourselves for a “motley mix where music and images intertwine in a frenzied dance with nostalgic and playful works” by Tjøgersen, Cendo, Black, Bailie and a creation by young Quebec composer Francis Battah, commissioned by SMCQ.

This program is “a collection of precious memories, filled with dance, shadow theater, energy, raw technique on instruments, and reminders of nostalgic moments spent watching cartoons”.

In this context, Francis Battah respects the instrumentation of the New European Ensemble, this time drawing inspiration from Miles Davis’ legendary Bitches Brew album to take us truly elsewhere, into his own space. Alain Brunet introduces us to Francis Battah and to the foundations of this SMCQ commission, created in the context of Montréal / Nouvelles Musiques.

INFO AND TICKETS HERE

One of PAN M 360’s mandates is to promote creative music through encounters. One of the most successful since the platform went online in 2020 brings together Le Vent du Nord, a flagship of Quebec trad music, and L’Oumigmag, a jazz group led by Sébastien Sauvageau and very open to different influences, including American minimalism and… Quebec trad! That’s why Alain Brunet decided to bring the two groups together for a truly creative encounter. Here’s the film and interviews with the artists to mark the release.

Igloofest, master of the Old Port of Montreal’s year-end celebrations, produces Igloo Nouvel An, a free New Year’s Eve mega-event that takes us from 2024 to 2025. From 30 a.m. on December 31 to 2 a.m. on January 1, Igloo Nouvel An features such multigenerational stalwarts as Alaclair Ensemble, CRi, Champion and his G Strings, joined by Robert Robert, Laure, Arielle Roberge, DJ POPTRT and DJ Tallandskinny. Initiator of the event with his colleagues from Multicolore (Igloofest, Piknic Electronik, Palomosa), of which he is a co-founder, Nicolas Cournoyer talks to Alain Brunet about this festive innovation.

PROGRAM HERE

To round off the year, PAN M 360 devotes 3 separate interviews to Nicolas Boulerice and Olivier Demers from Vent du Nord, flagship of Quebec trad, to demonstrate the full spectrum: right field, center field, left field. The second interview occupies center field, as this is a consensual celebration experienced annually on December 30 at Club Soda. In addition to the Vent du Nord show, the program will feature traditional dance, boustifaille and special guests, including the group De Temps Antan, commemorating 20 years of existence. Alain Brunet caught up with Nicolas and Olivier to talk to PAN M 360 users.

Soprano Odéi Bilodeau and baritone Marc-Antoine d’Aragon started out as a lyric tandem. Alongside pianist Étienne Génier, who can also sing and add a 3rd voice to the harmonies, the tandem-turned-trio has just released the album Souvenirs de Noël, whose material (and more) will be presented at least three times on the eve of the winter solstice. And it all kicks off this Wednesday, December 18, in the intimate setting of Salle Claude-Léveillée at Place des Arts. At the end of a rehearsal, they explain their lyrical memory work to Alain Brunet for PAN M 360.

The Christmas concert season for Quebec ensembles is always a highlight for music-loving audiences. Messiah, Christmas Oratorio, Christian Midnight and other traditional carols echo through concert halls and churches. The program for the Orchestre symphonique de Laval’s final concert of 2024 is no exception to this grand tradition. Under the title Fêtes et célébrations, the orchestra proposes an encounter between tradition and novelty, where well-known and lesser-known tunes will rub shoulders in a festive outburst.

At the helm of this concert is young conductor Thomas Le Duc-Moreau, who explains what awaits Laval audiences in this Christmas program.

Photo Credit : La ptite photographe

Very active on Quebec stages as accompanists, but also classically trained musicians working in the more serious spheres of music, four instrumentalists have chosen to take up the challenge of pop melody by becoming the “singers” of their new album. Homonymous, their third studio album is aimed at a wider audience, with an eye on the neoclassical, film music and instrumental pop markets. Released in November on the Juliette Records label and produced by its owners, the Twenty-Nines (Julie Lamontagne and Anthony Albino), Esca is making headway and its members plan to defend it on stage in 2025. In the meantime, they are defending the material, notably in this interview with Amélie Lamontagne (Esca’s 1st violinist) granted to Alain Brunet for PAN M 360.

Album credits
Musicians: Amélie Lamontagne, Edith Fitzgerald, Sarah Martineau, Julie Dessureault, Kaven Girouard, Julie Lamontagne, Anthony Albino
Production and arrangements: Les Twenty-Nines
Sound recording and mixing: Rod Shearer
Matrixing: Le Lab Mastering
Publishers: Disques Juliette, Les Éditions Esca, Éditions Clémentine

Violinist Emmanuel Vukovich is one of Montreal’s hidden treasures. Of Croatian origin on his father’s side, he has dual Canadian and German nationality, and his relationship with Montreal dates back to 2004, when he began a new academic cycle at McGill after studying at Juilliard in NYC. He went on to study at the New England Conservatory in Boston, then completed a doctorate at Stony Brook University (Long Island NY) and spent long periods in Vienna as an interpreter. Based in Montreal, he enjoys an international career and teaches at McGill. Released at the end of 2023, his album Resilience is more than a calling card; it’s also the vision of a solo violinist with a passion for modern and contemporary classical music, but also for traditions that are atypical for the vast majority of Western ears. What’s more, Resilience evokes its performer’s deep commitment to planet earth and the human beings who inhabit it. What’s on your mind? Let’s get to know Emmanuel Vukovich! Alain Brunet met him for PAN M 360.

Since their first album, Don’t Think You Can Escape Your Purpose, and perhaps their split EP with Acid Mother’s Temple in 2020, the local post-krautrock titans, Yoo Doo Right have been spreading their sonic influence and super high decibels worldwide. Their latest offering From The Heights of Our Pastureland is somewhat of a closed chapter in their album trilogy, not forgetting to mention their fantastic second album, A Murmur, Boundless To the East—as the band is now already thinking about new music on the horizon.

Yoo Doo Right recently had their album release show From The Heights of Our Pastureland at Théâtre Plaza (you can read our review here), and two members, Justin Cober (guitar/synth/vocals) and John Talbot (drums/percussion) gave a brief but exploratory interview with PAN M 360 just before their soundcheck.

We spoke about the catharsis of playing at ridiculously high volumes, writing the new music during a snowstorm, and a hint of their political edge through music.

Christopher Pravdica is often associated with being the bass player of the legendary experimental rock group, Swans, as well as a number of other projects like Xiu Xiu, The Medicine Singers, and The Gunga Din, but last week, he played his first ever live show in Montreal under his solo project, We Owe—opening for other Mothland label bands, Victime and Yoo Doo Right. Pravdica was supported live by his longtime friend, drummer Brian Chase of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. The show was an explosive debut of bassy and sinister post-punk with trippy visuals in the backdrop.

PAN M 360 spoke with Pravdica in person in the basement of Theatre Plaza just after his soundcheck and learned more about the solo project. Pravdica wrote a whole new batch of songs for the show and will soon be recording them for another album to follow-up last year’s Major Inconvenience.

We discussed the band name origins, shifting into more of a vocal frontman, and learned about some of the musical lore surrounding Pravdica and his many projects.