Montreal’s Centre des Musiciens du Monde (World Musicians’ Center) is now in the 7th year of its annual festival. This year, it’s the Silk Road, or rather Silk Roads, that we’re invited to travel upon, and with some women who pay tribute to it through their music and their vast talent. On May 16, 17 and 18, we’ll be treated to unique encounters between Mongolia and Iran, ancestral Turkey and Western chamber music, China, Baluchistan and more. So many concerts that it would be highly unlikely to encounter anywhere else in the world, because so unique is the Centre in its category on the planet, and it is generating a ripple effect that pushes more and more talented artists to choose Montreal to realize their musical dreams and open up their art to all kinds of other creative perspectives. In this regard, read the interview I conducted HERE with Uuriintuya Khalivan, a young musician from Mongolia and player of the morin khuur, the country’s traditional instrument, who has recently settled in our cultural metropolis.
From 17 to 31 May, Francis Choinière and his Orchestre FILMharmonique will be paying a heartfelt, even epic, tribute to Hollywood composer John Williams. From Montreal to Toronto, via Quebec City and Trois-Rivières, music lovers and film buffs will have the pleasure of reliving the thrills that Williams’ symphonic scores have probably given them. Star Wars, Harry Potter, Schnidler’s List, Jaws, E.T., Jurassic Park and many more will follow under the baton of conductor Choinière. I spoke to Francis about the music of John Williams and what it means to the musical world in general and to him in particular.
In our little corner of the Montreal alternative scene, the announcement that Corridor would be signing with the prestigious American label Sub Pop in 2019 was greeted with a satisfaction tinged with pride. By becoming the first French-language band (next to Les Thugs from France) to join the ranks of this iconic Seattle-based label, this recognition has fully affirmed the status of French-language independent music on the international scene.The album Junior, which followed this announcement, emerged from an intense creative process, punctuated by a mad rush in the studio where everything went together like dominoes.
It’s often when you lose balance that you learn to keep your feet on the ground. As a result, Jonathan Robert (guitar, vocals), Dominic Berthiaume (bass, vocals), Julien Bakvis (drums), and Samuel Gougoux (multi-instrumentalist) decided to change direction, adopting a more patient approach and breaking with the intensity of the work that had marked their previous opus.
Over the following years, the four musicians meticulously refined their compositions, shaping them like collages on Ableton, while exploring new ideas remotely with their co-producer Joojoo Ashworth. Samuel Gougoux’s expertise in the electronic sphere added a new dimension to the Mimi album while preserving the post-punk essence, with its dynamic guitars, soaring synthesizers, and stripped-down analog identity.
The result of this period of reflection is a heartfelt account of the realities of life as an artist, exposing the challenges of surviving in the music industry and the difficulties of self-promotion in the digital age. It’s also an authentic meditation on the lonely moments when faced with the naked vision of one’s own adult life.
Ahead of their European tour, the band kindly granted PAN M 360 an interview.
PAN M 360: Your album Junior was composed in a few weeks, in a sort of rush, whereas with Mimi you were able to take your time. The album was created as a collage of ideas, how did this process take shape?
Jonathan Robert: In a way, the album was a reaction to what we’d done in the past. Instead of persevering in one direction, we wanted to go further in the development of the songs. We recorded a sort of library of ideas which we then put together on Ableton, a bit like an electronic artist would have done. Most of the songs are collages. For example, the song “Mourir Demain” is made up of four elements from different periods over three years. We really approached it as a day job. The evening jams with the day jobs just wouldn’t bring the same energy as it used to.
PAN M 360: Speaking of jobs, the song “Mon Argent” highlights the struggle for artists to make a living in the music industry. We can easily have this fantasy that musicians like you, signed to labels such as Sub Pop, manage to make a living from their music. How do you actually go about earning a living as a musician?
Jonathan Robert: We manage to make a living from it sporadically, when we tour for example. But the wheel has to keep turning, it’s quite challenging to be constantly touring and producing. The two have to alternate, like a cycle. There isn’t the income there used to be. So you have to find it elsewhere. We’re not making big news, we’re not Drake, let’s say. When things are a bit slow with the group, I put my energy into my solo project Jonathan Personne. I also take on illustration and graphic design contracts and direct video clips. Julien has his own screen printing business with his company. During the making of this album, we were all doing work outside the group. As you get older, you reach a more conflicted point where you wonder whether you want to make music or something else. For most of us, we manage to do things related to music, as much as possible for Samuel, Dominic, and myself.
Samuel Gougoux: Apart from Corridor, I play in other projects, including short films. I also did some music for a web series last summer. What I do always has a strong musical element. This work is easy to fit in with touring schedules. We’re all self-employed, which gives us flexibility in our schedules.
Dominic Berthiaume: It all depends on the economic context. For the album Mimi, we didn’t get any help or funding, we all paid for it from our own pockets. There’s also a difference between playing as a solo artist and playing in a band. In a group, the income gets split, which makes a big difference. A band has to work really hard for the members to be able to live on that only. You have to be hyperactive, if you’re not touring then you must be writing your next album. As soon as your music stops being played on the radio, you don’t really make any money at all.
PAN M 360: Even though the new album Mimi contains more electronic elements, you’re still a band that can easily be associated with the post-punk genre. Without wanting to label you, what does this genre represent for you?
Jonathan Robert: Not much … We never really decided we were going to do post-punk. Our influences are pretty diverse. I think it was also because of the local venue we used to have. When we used to play at Cité 2000 we were surrounded by metal bands so it was like a volume war. We had to play really loud, and that’s kind of what got the band started playing quite loud. Dom and I played in punk bands when we were younger. All those reflexes got into the band one way or another.
Dominic Berthiaume: We have always been a mix of all our influences, so to speak. If I’m thinking about the vocals or the melodies, it’s never had anything to do with post-punk. We’ve never been interested in doing spoken or shouted melodies. We’ve always been inspired by The Beach Boys vocals, which are quite ’60s and psychedelic. But the tone of the guitars is never very far from post-punk.
PAN M 360: Jonathan, you’re the one who writes the lyrics for the band. Generally speaking, the lyrics are fairly abstract and take time to reveal a certain meaning in the listener’s imagination. The melodies are very intuitive and satisfying to sing. How do you write your lyrics?
Jonathan Robert: To be honest, I actually write them a bit by default, a bit like Dom and I sing by default (laughs). It was like throwing a hot potato at each other, but eventually, I got comfortable with it and found my style over time. I’m not capable of writing down exactly what I have in mind. The vocal side comes to me like a melody. I choose the words that best fit into the melodic phrase. It’s not the words or phrases that determine the tone of the song.
Dominic Berthiaume: The word “dog” comes up a lot in Jo’s writing. So does “Ah non.”
Jonathan Robert: It’s true, they’re on the other three albums. The “Ah non” is a bit the opposite of the “yeah” (laughs).
PAN M 360: The visualizer for “Mon Argent” was made by you, Jonathan. It shows a funny little cat figure. Can you tell us about this video?
Jonathan Robert: The video was made with a lot of effort (laughs). I went to Dominic’s to get some curios and an old TV. The wire connecting my computer to the TV broke the day I was shooting, so I had to improvise something in a day.
Dominic Berthiaume: The cat figures are mine, I’ve got quite a collection of them in my apartment.
Photo credit : Delphine Snyers
PAN M 360: The video for “Mourir Demain” was produced by Paul Jacobs. The song is about death, but not in a gloomy way. What does this song mean to you?
Jonathan Robert: It’s about coming to terms with your own sudden death. I wrote it when I had to fill in my will for some life insurance. I realized that I’d reached an age where I had to think about things like that. It made me laugh, even if it’s not funny. When songs make me laugh, it’s usually a good sign.
PAN M 360: The song “Caméra” is about self-promotion in the digital age. Is this some kind of criticism about social media?
Jonathan Robert: It’s about this kind of conflict, this pressure to be on social media. We know that’s how it works, but sometimes it’s hard to draw the line because it’s so unhealthy. I hate that shitty self-promotion (laughs). I hate it but we still do it. Not everyone is charismatic or articulate. The less I show my private life, the happier I am. It’s OK to be introverted, isn’t it?
Samuel Gougoux: It’s a necessary step. We just want to make music, but that comes with the job. Talented people don’t always have this self-promotional side to them, and they may suffer from it more than they used to.
Dominic Berthiaume: Things were very different barely ten years ago. Now it’s implicit that it’s part of your job. You don’t have the choice of being good or resourceful when it comes to social media. Today, it has become a big part of the job. You’re required to engage in self-promotion, it’s not something someone else can do for you. You need to make it your own.
Scott Thomson is a trombonist, improviser, performer, composer and the new artistic director of the Festival international de musique actuelle de Victoriaville (FIMAV), which runs from May 16 to 19. For the first time, he talks to PAN M 360 and explains the approach that led him to his first program in the Bois-Francs. Below the interview with Alain Brunet, you can view some of his favorites.
Vers le FIMAV 2024: coups de cœur de Scott Thompson
The magnetic voice of Nastasia Y (Ukrainian-Toronto) and her craft are steeped in the soul of Slavic folk, but also in the culture of her Canadian homeland, where she has lived since she was 11 years old. This is what she told PAN M 360 on the eve of her show in Montreal, at the Ministère on Wednesday 8 May at 8 pm, with other bands and artists – Dumai Dunai, Akawi, DJ OOnga, Chellz and Sauce Piquante Sound System.
As part of the Piano 2024 edition of the Concours musical international de Montréal ( Montreal International Music Competition), either with CMIM artistic director Shira Gilbert and jury president, cultural grandee Zarin Mehta, chat with PAN M 360’s Alexandre Villemaire.
After serving as jury president in 2018, following the death of André Bourbeau – co-founder of the CMIM with Joseph Rouleau – and presiding over the Piano 2021 and Voix 2022 editions, Zarin Mehta, former general director of the OSM in 1981, recognized worldwide as a seasoned consultant and manager in the cultural milieu will be back for this edition where he will preside over the international jury for the 2024 edition.
Made up of performers and career teachers who are experts in their fields, Louise Bessette, Robert Levin, Dmitri Alexeev, Hélène Mercier, Lydia Artymiw, Jan Jiracek von Arnim, Ronan O’Hora and Minsoo Sohn will have the task of deciding which of the 24 candidates will advance to the competition.
PAN M 360 caught up with him at his home in Chicago, along with CMIM Artistic Director Shira Gilbert, to hear from them just days before the start of the competition, as well as to discuss some of the new additions to the events, including the chamber music component.
One of the major annual classical music events in Montreal’s cultural ecosystem kicks off on Sunday, May 5. Recognized as one of the most important and prestigious international competitions for the new classical generation, the Montreal International Music Competition (MIMC) will see 24 young pianists from 12 countries showcase their expertise and talent.
Through various elimination rounds, over the next two weeks the public will be able to witness a heightened competition where, well, it’s anyone’s guess who will be able to predict which of these young musicians will stand out when only 6 of them will advance to the final where they will be accompanied by the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal and its guest conductor, the Chinese-American Xian Zhang.
With its well-established reputation for excellence, the competition’s identity has always been marked by the spirit of open camaraderie and conviviality of its community. Once again this year, competitors will have the opportunity to receive instruction from exceptional mentors in various master classes and – new this year – to take their music to a wider audience with The MIMC on the Road.
With just a few days to go before the start of the competition we talk to Chantal Poulin, General Manager of the Competition to get a glimpse of what the Piano 2024 programming has in store.
For an Arab, what is the experience of immigration to North America? Lebanese-Montreal avant-pop duo Wake Island explore this question in a vast 3-part artistic intervention, scheduled to take place at Centre Phi. It’s a sort of triptych, consisting of an immersive live performance with Radwan Ghazi Moumneh (Jerusalem In My Heart, Hotel2Tango studio, Asadun Alay label, etc.), a “spatial audio” listening experience and a role-playing video game. Over the past two years, Wake Island has seen the universe of the album Born to Leave grow, a collection of oriental synth pop released in 2021, now accompanied by a video game, centered on the themes of immigration and Arab identity. The result of close collaboration with a team of Lebanese creative minds in Montreal, this ambitious project is a pop work that has become multifaceted and experimental at the Centre PHI. On May 3, we’ll be treated to a live musical performance of the game’s soundtrack by Wake Island and Radwan Ghazi Moumneh, featuring a video installation by Giotto remixing the game’s 3D visuals. All week long at the Centre PHI, from May 1 to 7, you’ll also be able to discover and play the game in the Galerie 1 showcases, and visit the Habitat Sonore listening room for an exclusive look at the album’s spatial mix.
Alex Henry Foster, the orchestral post-rock provocateur, came back from the dead, literally, after a close call with his heart left him unable to talk, sing, or strum a guitar. During his recovery, he dove into his archives from multiple trips to Japan and found he had the basis for a film. Using his poetry, journals, and interviews from Japan, he also began writing music and sought the aid of producer, Ben Lemelin, his musical partner for a number of years, and vocalist Momoka Tobari. Together they created Kimiyo, a gorgeous, orchestral post-rock odyssey that is light and heavy simultaneously.
Foster was unable to speak in the studio and had to use hand signals and pure emotion to conduct the musical passages while Momoka adapted and sang her passages in Japanese, completely reacting to the music in real time. In Foster’s words, Momoka channeled several different perspectives while singing her parts in Kimiyo. We spoke to Foster about Kimiyo, his artistic revelations, and some of the sounds found on the album.
On April 27 and 28, guitarist and composer Tim Brady will present a brand new opera entitled Information: Montréal Oct. 1970 at the Espace Orange du Wilder in Montreal’s Quartier des spectacles. To my knowledge, this is the first Quebec opera to be set during the October ’70 crisis.
With a libretto by Mishka Lavigne, the opera will feature Tim Brady himself on electric guitar, as well as Pamela Reimer on keyboard, Jean-Marc Bouchard on saxophone and Chloé Domingue on cello. On the vocal side, a fine cast including Marie-Annick Béliveau, Pierre Rancourt, David Menzies, Jacqueline Woodley and Clayton Kennedy.
After Backstage at Carnegie Hall, premiered at The Centaur in 2022, Information is the second opera in a tetralogy planned by Brady, entitled Hope (and the Dark Matter of History). The next operas will take us to Mars and a future infused with artificial intelligence.
Jonah Guimond, better known in the music world as P’tit Belliveau, sent ruptures through the Francophone music industry last year when he announced that his upcoming third release would be independent and that he would be leaving the label, Bonsound.
Now, almost a year since that announcement, P’tit Belliveau is back with his third album, a self-titled epic that switches from hyper pop, bro-country, nu-metal, and more. Guimond let it be known that he made this album for himself and knows it will be polarizing among some of his fans.
At the same time, P’tit Belliveau has always been an artist who throws convention out the window, so some of the weirder moments on this album; like the wacky frog song trilogy, shouldn’t completely shock his fans.
We spoke to Guimond from his home in Clare, Nova Scotia, about his newfound independence, his love of frogs, working with FouKi on the song “Comfy,” and of course, Income Tax.
Photos by Sacha Cohen
As a key figure of the Montreal independent music scene for almost twenty years, Annie-Claude Deschênes (PYPY, Duchess Says) is still driven by a constant need to create outside her comfort zone, to renew and grow through improvisation and provocation. Fuelled by a spontaneous creative impulse in her kitchen and hungry to take unplanned risks in her musical laboratory, the songs from her debut solo album, entitled LES MANIÈRES DE TABLE (released on Bonsound and Italians Do It Better), were conceived during the confinement to fill the void of inactivity, without initially being intended for public release. In the face of increasing digital surveillance, perhaps they should have been kept enclosed… Because everything seems hopeless when randomness starts to offend.
Using rhythms constructed from samples of utensils, the theme of the table has become a source of inspiration for looking at robotic alienation and the absurdity of social conventions that sometimes drive us to excessive politeness and precaution. By merging these rhythms with her new fascination for surveillance cameras and other supposedly innovative technologies, Annie-Claude reveals humanity in its constant struggle against its own programmed obsolescence in the face of the increasing dematerialisation of our time. Part of the same coldwave movement as Automelodi, Xarah Dion and Essaie Pas, this radical and masterful album, inspired by the pioneers of electronic music, will be transformed on 26 April at Centre Phi into a live experience combining minimal pop and culinary performance art improbably and experimentally. The audience will be invited to interact with the artist.
PAN M 360 spoke to Annie-Claude Deschênes to find out more about the motivations behind this new artistic vision. Careful, it’s hot. Bon appétit.
Opening photo by: Lawrence Fafard
PAN M 360: You are known above all as the frontwoman of the Montreal bands Duchess Says and PYPY, and you’ve just released your first solo album LES MANIÈRES DE TABLES on Bonsound. These tracks were written during the pandemic because you were bored in your kitchen. What motivated you to release them and share them?
Annie-Claude Deschênes: Well, these songs would obviously never have left home… In 2022 I was asked to do a show at the Centre Phi for HEAVY TRIP, to improvise and experiment to create a twenty-minute performance. I decided to use these songs because the show was scheduled three months later. I didn’t have the time to compose a lot so I took those songs. I enjoyed doing that performance. Then I had a residency at the Phi Centre, where I was able to develop the rest of the album.
PAN M 360: For this album, you used sequencers and drum machines to play around with sounds created with kitchen utensils. Can you tell us more about this particular creative process?
Annie-Claude Deschênes: I opened the kitchen drawer and suddenly had a flash! (laughs). I thought it was beautiful. I don’t know… I started sampling a knife and a spoon. I looped it, dephased it, added a kick to it and that made the first song. I played the keyboard over it. It slowly built up. As the album wasn’t conceived with conventional structures there are a lot of instrumental parts. I improvised it without any purpose.
PAN M 360: You apparently familiarised yourself with drum machines during the creation of that album. Was it something new for you?
Annie-Claude Deschênes: Not in that way. In my bands, drum machines were added afterwards, in the studio. But this time I was on my own. I had no choice but to replace the drummer with a drum machine and the bass with a sequencer. That’s how the album became an electronic project.
PAN M 360: Precisely, you draw your inspiration from the pioneers of electronic music. On this album we can hear Kraftwerk, New Order or Simple Minds. We can also recognise the influence of the Montreal groups Automelodi, Essaie Pas and Xarah Dion. And then there’s the experimental, left-field feel of Born Bad Records’ ‘Des Jeunes Gens Mödernes’ compilations.
Annie-Claude Deschênes: In fact, all these influences were crushed together on this album. I wasn’t so much trying to sound like New Order, even though the album sounds very danceable.
PAN M 360: The subject of this album revolves around table manners, surveillance and the omnipresence of technology. This work has enabled you to deconstruct certain social codes. In the song ‘LES MANIÈRES DE TABLE’, you even say ‘Your table manners may offend’. Could you tell us about the reflections you’ve had around this work?
Annie-Claude Deschênes: I developed them because of the performance I had to do at the Centre Phi. It was a performance that involved interaction with the audience, with tables and objects, where the guests wondered what they could or couldn’t eat. For example, a USB stick made of marzipan. I wrote that song to speak to the audience in the context of that show. Of course, I’m always reacting against things that are a bit too ‘rigid’, if I can put it that way, but it was really just to have fun. I was also disconnected from the music scene for quite a while. When I came back, I really tried to get to grips with social media, to understand where we’d got to. I found it really strange to watch other people’s lives, I found it absurd. When you think about it, surveillance cameras may represent something technological, but they’re already outdated. There’s nothing really futuristic about it for me.
PAN M 360: And yet, with the emergence of facial recognition, cameras are going to become more sophisticated, aren’t they?
Annie-Claude Deschênes: Yes, of course. But it happens so quickly, you think you’re holding something that’s hyper-technological and innovative in your hands, and suddenly, in two seconds, it’s already obsolete. It also allowed me to reflect on my own existence. We can apply this thought to our own lives. As we grow older, we ourselves become obsolete. I don’t claim to be a great philosopher, but that’s how I felt as I tried to adapt.
PAN M 360: In the song ‘Y ALLER’, you even talk about a ‘digital gaze that uninstalls me’.
Annie-Claude Deschênes: Yes, everything is linked. At the same time, it’s absurd for me to have to explain any of it. It’s abstract. I find it interesting to try, but it’s something that is unconscious … It’s hard to try and explain what I really wanted to say. I just said it.
PAN M 360: You’re launching your album on 26 April at the Centre Phi. Your previous show combined performance art with music. What can we expect from your launch?
Annie-Claude Deschênes: I don’t want to say it’s an immersive experience, because it’s not an immersive experience as such. But we’re trying to create a certain aesthetic. There’s going to be a lot of food… There are going to be projections by Anthony Piazza and guest musicians. Lola 1:2 will be opening. I’m in the process of building a more danceable show, punctuated by three or four performances that leave room for improvisation depending on the audience’s reaction. These moments can end up going in any direction, as I’ve always done with PYPY or Duchess Says. I like to keep things open. This show is actually really dangerous for me (laughs). I really get myself into an uncomfortable situation. I’ve got my turntables, I’ve got my beatboxes, I’ve never done the song order, I’ve never played these songs with the musicians. I have no idea if the show will turn out the way I imagine. At the same time, I find it exciting, given that I don’t really take it that seriously. It’s just going to be funny at worst.
PAN M 360: It’s pretty cool to see artists like you still putting themselves at risk. It’s quite rare, there’s less and less room for improvisation these days. What do you get out of putting yourself in these kinds of situations? Does it challenge you to confront yourself?
Annie-Claude Deschênes: I’d say it makes life more complicated for me (laughs). Instead of doing what I have to do, I’m always looking for something new to surprise myself. Is it good, is it bad, is it interesting? I don’t know. But it allows me to renew myself, with good or bad results. Life goes by quickly, and even if it’s comfortable to repeat what I’m capable of doing, I don’t have the impression that it makes me grow.
PAN M 360: I just have one last weird question. Your first track is called ‘TASSEOMANCIE’. It is a divination method that interprets the patterns in tea leaves. Do you think music can be a method of divination?
Anne-Claude Deschênes: Absolutely, what I’m doing at the moment will also define my future. But first and foremost, this song has a link with the members of my family, who have a tradition of reading tea leaves in the morning, at noon and in the evening. There was also the fortune-telling dice and dream analysis. It was part of my daily life. I grew up in an esoteric environment. Even though I’ve always found it absurd, it still influences me.
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