A particularly festive atmosphere will enliven the Esplanade Tranquille this Saturday during the Virée classique. Oktopus, an octet combining Eastern European and classical music, will take the stage to offer a new perspective on a number of works from the repertoire. Brahms, Liszt, Mahler, Bartok and Enesco will be drawn into the dance, and the folk roots of their music will be brought to the spotlight.

The result of in-depth research and a passion for klezmer music, Oktopus offers a show accessible to all, sometimes festive, sometimes melancholy, but always optimistic and vibrant. A reflection of the city’s diversity, Oktopus stands at the crossroads of many fascinating musical traditions. PAN M 360 had the chance to speak with Gabriel Paquin-Buki, arranger, composer and clarinettist for Oktopus.

PAN M 360: Hello Gabriel! So, to begin with, Oktopus formed in 2010 and has since made a name for itself on the world music scene in Quebec, Canada and internationally. What is the essence of the music of this ensemble, whose influences sometimes seem to be at odds with one another? What is the guiding principle?

GABRIEL PAQUIN-BUKI: Yes, the music we base ourselves on first and foremost is certainly klezmer music, in other words, the music of the Ashkenazi Jews of Eastern Europe. On the other hand, as some people have already done, such as Itzhak Perlman before us, we take a slightly more classical approach to this music. In fact, it wasn’t even a choice, since the musicians in the ensemble were classical musicians. We’re not basically folk musicians. It’s not a tradition that was shared with us or passed on orally by our parents. We went back to klezmer music in its folk roots, but also to Eastern European music in general, especially at times when folk music was closer to classical music, in the late Romantic period in particular.

PAN M 360: You’re musicians with a classical background, not a folk background. So, why do you do klezmer music, which is not your basic musical background?

GABRIEL PAQUIN-BUKI: Initially, when we started out as university students, it was just a form of music that particularly appealed to us. I suggested it to the others because it’s music I’d listened to since I was very young, music that had rocked my childhood. And when I went to see Klezmer music shows, I literally vibrated. So I wanted to perform it myself. That’s what it’s all about. It’s a music that came to us in a particular way, that we wanted to interpret and to which we wanted to add our grain of salt.

It’s music that’s very, very accessible. There’s folk music that’s just as good but requires perhaps a little more effort to understand or appreciate. Klezmer music is very, very accessible. There are certain elements that are shared with everyday music. I think it’s music that also knows how to touch people’s hearts. It’s a very old music. That may explain its popularity.

PAN M 360: The Klezmer musical tradition seems to be deeply rooted in an atmosphere of festivity and celebration. Is this really the case? Is there a contrast between the message and the music perceived by less familiar ears?

GABRIEL PAQUIN-BUKI: Yes, it’s true that this music has developed enormously in the context of weddings. So there’s an undeniable festive side to it. However, not all wedding music was festive. There are moments in the more religious tradition, for example, when a woman was told that she was losing her maiden status and that with marriage came all the obligations and all the trimmings, which is a more introspective moment of marriage. So there’s a whole slower, more melancholy side to klezmer music, with slower dances.

It’s also a music that bears witness to the history of the Jewish people. It’s a people who have been enormously persecuted. So their music can’t just be festive. Often, the joyful, festive aspect comes at the end. In other words, no matter what the tragedy, no matter what the misfortune, no matter what the persecution, no one is going to take away the possibility of celebrating, of getting together, of dancing. So, it always ends up a bit festive, but as you mentioned, that’s often just what we’ve kept. It’s become a bit of a cliché of music, sometimes, even circus music, whereas there’s a huge repertoire, a huge part of that culture that’s much more introspective and darker, slower.

PAN M 360: There’s a perpetual tension between so-called scholarly music and folk music. We’re generally used to hearing and talking about what classical composers have borrowed from folklore, but Oktopus seems to be doing the opposite. Is the process similar or fundamentally different? Are we talking about inspiration, influence, parody, emulation, hybridization?

GABRIEL PAQUIN-BUKI: There are a lot of composers who are inspired by folk music, taking only certain elements from it. Sometimes it’s just a melody, or maybe a certain accompaniment that gives their work a bit of liveliness. But in fact, folk music has many defining elements. Rhythm, melody, ornamentation, improvisation. You can’t really separate them. With Oktopus, what we’re trying to do is to rediscover some of that folk essence that lies at the heart of classical works. This is the case, for example, with one of the works we play, Enesco’s Romanian Rhapsody. In fact, Enesco composed almost nothing. He orchestrated a lot, but it’s all folk tunes. But to build up his orchestral work, he had no choice but to abandon ornamentation and improvisation, because there are so many musicians playing together, led by a conductor. You can’t just start improvising as you please. Basically, with Oktopus, we’re going to look for those folk traditions that inspired the composers, but bring back what they were obliged to leave out, i.e. ornamentation, improvisation and certain rhythms too, which are sometimes irregular.

Dance is intimately linked to folk music. For us, it’s an element we explore less because we don’t play in a dance context, and we don’t have a dancer with us, but once again it’s two things that were intimately linked to folk music. We were almost always there to accompany dancers. But just knowing that has its impact. Singing, too. Precisely, in our Enesco rhapsody on the album, we recovered the Romanian chant that was originally associated with Enesco’s theme.

PAN M 360: La Virée classique has incorporated a “World” component for some years now, and this year seems to place even greater emphasis on mixing music from different origins. Do you think these mixtures will become more and more frequent, or will concert audiences still seek some form of partition between Western and non-Western music?

GABRIEL PAQUIN-BUKI: I have the impression that it’s going to become more and more frequent, because it’s really in the spirit of the times, but it’s also so much more representative of the metropolis that is Montreal, the hub where so many cultures rub shoulders. It’s also an unhoped-for opportunity to give different stages and musical contexts to so-called world music, to mixed music, because there’s a bit of a cliché where the Maison Symphonique is reserved for classical music and the Bar à Jojo is devoted to folk music. I’m exaggerating a little, but in the OSM’s last season, an Iranian ensemble came to present a few works on the Maison Symphonique stage, and it was absolutely incredible. Above all, it helps people understand that there is classical music from many other traditions. Sometimes, folklore is also a perfectly legitimate tradition taught in conservatories. I think it’s time for this kind of music to find its way into classical programming. I also think it’s very entertaining for the public. I have the impression that projects like Oktopus are going to delight certain classical programmers who want to get off the beaten track a bit, with the usual string quartets and piano sonatas.

PAN M 360: Your concert at the Quiet Esplanade features different arrangements of Romantic composers (Brahms, Liszt, Mahler) as well as Bartók, who made extensive use of folk music in his works. What’s special about his arrangements? How can we give them a new “Oktopus”-style dress? What can we expect when we go to the concert?

GABRIEL PAQUIN-BUKI: There are two approaches. One is more serious. Let me take the Enesco example again. In that case, it was really a matter of finding all the themes that inspired the composer, finding the folk version and then incorporating these folk elements into the arrangement. For example, the rhapsody ends with a theme called “Ciocârlia”, which means lark in Romanian. In the original version, the solo violin does a bird solo. All he has to do is imitate a bird with his violin. We brought that back. Of course, in the orchestra, we’d imagine a little less of that. Really, what we did was to work a little more methodologically, to see each of the themes, where they came from, then how we could incorporate them into Enesco’s work, and then create something that really straddled the line between his orchestration and the original themes. The other approach is a little more superficial. If it’s a work you really like, you want to give it a completely different personality. It’s less musicological, I mean, but simply, if you took an eighth note out of that theme, it would be really great. In Bartók, for example, there’s a passage where you just turn a 4-4 into a 7-8. Irregular rhythms are characteristic of Eastern European music and much less so in Western music, but it’s not something we went to Romania to check out. We sometimes like to bring these rhythms back.

We have an arrangement by Francis Pigeon of Saint-Saëns’s Bacchanale, which is a very good example of Orientalism. Saint-Saëns really fell in love with this scale, which is found all over the world, but very rarely in classical music. Some call it the Jewish scale, others call it “Hijaz”. For him, it was based on a mode, an Arabic maqam. We used that mode and then amplified it by showing how it was used in the various types of music of the Maghreb and Eastern Europe. This brings out the orientalist side that Saint-Saëns wanted to give to the work. So it depends on the work. As I say, sometimes there’s a pretty serious work behind it, and then sometimes you want to do it in a crazy way, and then you find the best way to do it.

PAN M 360: Did Oktopus carry out any musicological or ethnomusicological research to ensure the authenticity of its music?

GABRIEL PAQUIN-BUKI: The group did its homework in the sense that we went out to meet folk musicians and then worked on the ornament and style because sometimes you get the impression that you’re just interpreting other people’s music without any real work. A lot of people do, and that’s okay too, but in Klezmer music camps, courses, master classes, etc., we’ve worked to ensure that despite their classical training, musicians still have a solid folk base.

PAN M 360: What is your objective for this concert? Get people moving? Demonstrate the versatility of Klezmer music? Present the “classics” in a new light?

GABRIEL PAQUIN-BUKI: Certainly, people are experiencing a moment beyond their expectations. I would say to perhaps open up the vision of folk music in classical music, to see that the boundaries are not so watertight and that, in fact, classical music is built on so many elements from popular music, from folklore. There are some really special moments that can happen in our shows. One time, we were performing at a Balkan Party at Le Cercle, in Quebec City, and there was a mosh pit while we performed a Romanian dance by Bartók, la rapide. We’re very proud of that, to have had a mosh pit to Bartók. So we’re really open to any reaction from the audience.

Oktopus will perform at the Esplanade Tranquille on Saturday, August 19 at 1:30 pm, and at 7 pm. For more information, the complete free programming can be found HERE.

Katerine Verebely is a host and cultural journalist at Radio-Canada. She is known for her talent in communicating musical and literary works, as well as for her cultural suggestions that blend all types of art. She has hosted several listening clubs at the OSM, which take place before concerts and serve as an introduction to the evening.

As part of the Virée classique, Katerine Verebely will be hosting listening clubs combining music and literature, as well as organizing musical quizzes. Enriching discussions, fueled by curiosity and passion, are sure to be the order of the day for this 10th edition of Montreal’s great celebration of classical music. This year’s events are also varied, and the program promises to be of interest to everyone.

Just a few days before the festivities begin, PAN M 360 had the great pleasure of talking to Katerine Verebely about music, literature, multidisciplinarity, listening clubs and the Virée classique.

PAN M 360: Hello Katerine! Your career has taken you on a journey through the arts, music and literature. Where does this passion for culture come from?

KATERINE VEREBELY: I am first and foremost a classically trained musician. The wonderful thing about classical music is that it makes you interested in so many things. If you play a concerto, you’re going to go and read about the composer, the period… Often, classical musicians are also history buffs, so there’s often this link to be made. When I was hired at Radio-Canada, I think it was recognized that classical musicians are basically jacks-of-all-trades, curious people. We read books, we go to the theater, we’re interested in dance, ballet, opera… Because that’s what classical music is all about.

So, when I started out, I already had this interest in different art forms. I think that, and I say this with humility, is what makes me a good generalist. In any case, I come from that school.

PAN M 360: What inspires you to make connections between works, both literary and musical? Is there a particular element that guides your thinking, or is it something more spontaneous?

KATERINE VEREBELY: On the radio, when you want to explain something or tell a story, the more levers you have, the easier it is. Personally, I like to make as many links as possible to interest as many people as possible. I’ll make links to politics, the weather, even hockey! The idea is often to evoke images on the radio. All very, very quickly.

PAN M 360: What about music, in particular?

KATERINE VEREBELY: When it comes to music, it’s all about listening. The works are filled with so many different things. You can listen to classical music without knowing all the things behind it, and then discover that it comes from a play, a novel, a poem and so on. In fact, I try to give you keys to explore a work.

PAN M 360: So you could call it a process of cultivating curiosity in people?

KATERINE VEREBELY: Yes, and at the same time, I want to make people realize that they know a lot more than they think they do. Sometimes, you don’t realize it, but someone reminds you of a story and you think “Oh yes, I knew that! I read that when I was at school!” or “Ah yes, I saw a film about that!” A work of art is not a flower on a desert island. It’s always surrounded by other things.

Basically, when you do the job I’m doing, you try to interest people by showing them that there are several levels of listening, several layers of understanding. You can appreciate a work without any prior knowledge. Then I’ll tell you a story, and you’ll never see the work as you did before. For example, I once did a listening club on Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique. You can listen to the symphony without knowing the love story behind it. You can listen to and enjoy the work all your life without knowing the story. Then, one day, that story is told to you, and you hear new things. For me, it’s magic, really.

PAN M 360: So, you can rediscover a work several times in the course of your life.

KATERINE VEREBELY: Absolutely! One of the examples I’ll be giving in my listening clubs this week is the idea that you can listen to a piece of music all your life without knowing the whole story. What I like is that the people who come to the listening clubs are very curious people, they want to learn more. What I love about listening clubs is that the level of listening is extraordinary. People are curious, we chat, we bounce ideas off each other. I ask them what the music makes them think of, and there are no wrong answer. The discussions are so rich, there’s always something to add.

PAN M 360: Speaking of listening clubs, what will be the format of the ones you’ll be hosting as part of Virée classique?

KATERINE VEREBELY: I host two types of events at the Virée classique: three listening clubs and two musical quizzes. The quizzes are a new formula, it’s the first time I’ve done this with the OSM. They’re really open-ended questions, for fun. I created the questions, which have nothing to do with literature.

Secondly, the listening club is a formula that has already existed at the OSM for some time. If I remember correctly, we started last year. Usually, listening clubs are linked to the theme of the concert presented by the OSM. In this context, the way I see these listening clubs is really to have the luxury of time, the luxury of having 45 minutes to dig into a subject while listening to good music. I come with my game plan, but I don’t want it to be just me giving a presentation either. So I plan questions and topics for discussion. We’re in the Espace OSM, which is a really friendly place, and people are close to me. For someone who does radio, it’s great to have the time to dig into a subject for 45 minutes. It’s really a great gift.

PAN M 360: However, in the context of Virée classique, the subject of listening clubs is freer. What theme have you chosen?

KATERINE VEREBELY: All three listening clubs will have the same topic. They’re about the links between music and literature, because the OSM has been interested in this angle for some years now. There are a number of works of a literary nature or with a connection to literature, or words in the broader sense. We’ve taken this theme and explored it. I’d say it was probably the most difficult listening club to prepare, even if it was a happy process. That’s because it’s a subject that never ends. The links you can make between music and words are infinite. I had to make some difficult choices.

PAN M 360: The programming of Virée classique shows a desire to offer multidisciplinary events. Do you feel there’s a growing interest in this multidisciplinarity?

KATERINE VEREBELY: Yes and no, I’d say so. No, because it’s something that’s already been anchored at the OSM for several years. It began with Kent Nagano, who started by involving Fred Pellerin, for example. When I first met Rafael Payare, he immediately told me about it. In Latin America, for example, it’s nothing new.

The cultural columnist, on the other hand, says yes, absolutely. You can feel that it inspires the creators of our time, and that there’s a general interest in it. There’s something there, I think, that’s very much of our time. It also allows us to explore and present works in a different way. I think that the OSM in particular always does this with great skill and respect for the work and its creator. It’s a lot of fun.

The listening clubs hosted by Katerine Verebely will take place on August 18 at 6:15 pm, on August 19 at 5 pm and on August 20 at noon. Music quizzes will take place on August 19 at 3:15 pm and August 20 at 10:30 am. All these events will take place at the Espace OSM, at the Place des Arts. For the complete free program, click HERE.

Photo credit: Laurence Labat

Founded in 2001, Oktoecho is an ensemble whose sounds are as diverse as its musicians and collaborators. It combines music from the Middle East, the West, Canada’s Indigenous Peoples, and much more. Under the artistic direction of Katia Makdissi-Warren, Oktoecho works to preserve and present these deep and rich musical traditions to its audiences. Through the bridges it builds, Oktoecho brings us closer, step by step, to our roots, to the Earth, and to our humanity.

Mémoires du Monde brings together Indigenous Peoples’ music and Western classical traditions. A tribute to the women who have preserved and nurtured Inuit musical and cultural traditions, despite being banned for many years, this concert is a wonderful opportunity for encounters, exchanges and reconnecting with others.

PAN M 360 had the chance to chat on the phone with Katia Makdissi-Warren ahead of Oktoecho’s appearance at Virée Classique this Friday, August 18 at 7:30 pm.

PAN M 360: Hello Katia. Oktoecho covers a wide range of musical genres: Middle Eastern music, Arabic music, Indigenous Peoples music, Western music, or, as you say on your website, a blend of influences. How would you define Oktoecho’s music?

KATIA MAKDISSI-WARREN: It’s an encounter. It doesn’t matter, even when you know someone, you meet them. I see encounters between music and culture-bearers. I don’t always know what people mean by métissage, but for me, it’s a notion that varies over time. What is métissage today may not be tomorrow. But for me, the encounter is always present.

PAN M 360: So, encounters between different cultures, musicians and music?

KATIA MAKDISSI-WARREN: Yes, it’s about different cultures coming together, but not necessarily the same ones. It’s very much based on the Middle East, Arab music and music from the Maghreb. And indigenous music. That’s something we developed a little later in 2009. Obviously, as I also have a “classical” background, there’s also the influence of Western classical music.

PAN M 360: Is there also a form of classical, let’s say, in the sense of world music? Because, in fact, the concept of “classical” changes a lot elsewhere in the world. Classical is not necessarily classical music as we understand it here.

KATIA MAKDISSI-WARREN: Yes, there’s Arabic classical music, there’s Turkish classical music too. These are forms that have existed since the 18th century and continue today. Yes, I draw my inspiration from these types of music. And not just me, because there are other composers with me now. But it’s also an encounter with different musical backgrounds. On the whole, there are people who come from jazz music. Some come from contemporary music. And it’s the same with the Middle East because there’s as much music in the Middle East as there is in the West. It depends on the projects and the funds. We’re more likely to focus on a particular type of music, as in Trancestral, which is more Sufism, on the Eastern side. On the Indigenous Peoples side, there are six nations represented. But we have one piece, for example, which is more Gnaoua, from Morocco, which we don’t necessarily consider classical music either. Each project brings a focus to a particular musical part of each of these kinds of music.

PAN M 360: The ensemble has been in existence since 2001, with a membership and styles that have changed over time. What things have changed, or what constants have remained true since the beginning? You mentioned encounters. Is there anything else you consider to have been at the heart of Oktoecho’s mission from the outset?

KATIA MAKDISSI-WARREN: Music is really about meeting others. That’s what it’s all about. And sharing with the audience. We try to unite our differences on stage, and it’s really with the audience that we do that. After that, it becomes an exchange with them. At first, of course, it was more Middle Eastern and Western music, because my mother is Lebanese. It was really my two cultures. That’s why I founded Oktoecho in the first place. To bring together Middle Eastern and Western music. But I’d had my heart set on indigenous music ever since I was a little girl. It took a while to get into this aspect. First of all, it was an encounter, a way of thinking that’s different from that between Eastern and Western music. Sometimes, musical ways of thinking, or how to think about music, are different. With the musicians, it was a question of taking the time to get used to it, understand it and feel at ease. Once we felt comfortable between the Middle East and the West, we added the indigenous component. Which isn’t my culture, to begin with. That’s why I waited. Our collaborators have been with us from the start. One of them is Lydia Etok, who is the co-artistic director of the indigenous section, and who is a throat singer.

PAN M 360: As you say, the idea came about because you’ve always had a fascination for this music. Indigenous Peoples’ music has been on the rise for some time now. We’re trying to present it more, to present it better. Do you think it deserves a greater place on the Quebec and Canadian music scene?

KATIA MAKDISSI-WARREN: Well, it’s already started. It’s already started, because when we started working with them in 2009, we had to fight. There was very little interest, unfortunately. I say unfortunately, but it was really just because it wasn’t well known. It’s incredibly rich. So I think it’s only natural that it’s starting to become better known, and I mean it was wrong that it wasn’t known. It’s music that has incredible depth, even when it’s in the game. Because for Inuit throat singing, it’s a game. There’s a depth, a simplicity, an incredible human depth. It’s a lesson for the whole world, the whole planet. Because there’s a way of approaching music that reconnects us with who we are, who the other is, and who the Earth is, and that’s an incredible richness. You can feel it and hear it in the music. For me, it’s a lesson every time.

PAN M 360: In recent years, Oktoecho has been honoured with several nominations and awards, including the Prix Opus and the ADISQ. How do you feel about this new popularity, this recognition from the public and institutions? Do you see any changes that have led to this?

KATIA MAKDISSI-WARREN: Yes, we can really feel the interest now. We can see now how people are happy to hear about it and are curious. Even the artists with me, like for the Saimaniq project, which is based on the Inuit throat field, obviously with Arabic components in the rhythms and all that. It’s a project we started in 2010, and the first shows were in 2012. Whether it’s the awards, I’m very happy for the Indigenous communities, really, I’m incredibly happy for them and for everyone else because it brings so much to the table.

It’s one of Canada’s great assets. A country that has the most languages spoken because of the indigenous languages. I think there are 77 languages spoken in Canada. I’m just waiting for schools to teach students an indigenous language, the language of their territory. That’s my dream. That every elementary school learns at least a few phrases and a few ways of thinking in the languages of the Indigenous territory where they live.

PAN M 360: La Virée classique has a fairly diverse musical offering, with an emphasis on concert music that isn’t necessarily Western or traditional. How do you see the relationship between the music of ensembles like Oktoecho and that traditionally played in more “classical” concerts?

KATIA MAKDISSI-WARREN: I’m delighted that all classical music ensembles are open to diversity in the broadest sense. I’m talking about both Western and ethnic diversity. Within diversity, even here in Quebec, there are people from all over the world, from different cultures, even within Western cultures, whether it’s jazz, contemporary music, etc. I’m delighted when classical music ensembles open up to all kinds of diversity. Personally, I’m delighted when organizations open up to diversity because it creates a decompartmentalization that creates richness.

For me, that’s important. It’s also very important that there are still very classical programs. Very, very, very important because they’re the guardians of tradition. It’s necessary. The more we crossbreed, the more important the guardians of tradition are to me. These two poles are crucial. I don’t want everything to become diverse, because I don’t think that would necessarily be a good thing either, because you have to know where you come from. We have to keep our traditions. On the other hand, I think that, in addition to keeping our tradition as a fundamental pillar, it’s important to be aware of all the art forms that human beings can create, because that opens the door to all the emotions we have inside us that we might not otherwise know about. For me, it’s like an important emotional biodiversity.

PAN M 360: Mémoires du monde is the title of the concert we’ll be playing on Friday night. What can you tell us about the concert and what to expect? What is the guideline or idea behind the project?

KATIA MAKDISSI-WARREN: The classical world opens its doors to us. We’re also taking a step towards them. It’s with a string orchestra. So, classical musicians, plus Oktoecho artists and soloists. Among the soloists, there’s Binnaz Celik, who plays the kamancheh, who’s from Turkey, but passing through here in Montreal, and Didem Başar, who’s going to play with us, the kanun. There’s even a double concerto written for both instruments. I wrote the first movement, and Didem wrote the second, especially for them. There are also two Middle Eastern percussionists in the ensemble. There’s a pianist too. And there are the two throat singers. They’re going to have their piece with the string orchestra. There are also two other pieces where everyone plays together. It’s really like creating bridges with a more classical, more written world, closer to what you’d usually get in a Western classical concert.

We did a project like that in 2008 or 2009 called Éponyme. We’ll also be looking for two compositions from that period. It’s really more of a mix. As I was saying, with each project, there’s a part that stands out. We put the magnifying glass on a particular cultural feature. But this time, it’s really Western classical music. That’s what we’re going to focus on. With Turkish music too. There’s also a piece inspired by Andalusian music. Anthony Rozankovic wrote the piece Andalous Shoes.

PAN M 360: Different cultures often have very different ways of keeping alive the memory of the past and the origins of the world. What memories are we talking about in this concert?

KATIA MAKDISSI-WARREN: Memories of the world. The title comes from a piece called Mémoires, in which we pay tribute to the Inuit singers who have kept the tradition alive despite its prohibition. This piece is one of the works presented. I’ve been told it’s a beautiful title. It’s evocative of keeping memories alive. Never mind diversity. No matter what. It’s about keeping alive the memory of all our ancestors who passed on so many different kinds of music. I hope it’s like biodiversity. I hope we can preserve all this music, share it and pass it on.

Oktoecho will present the concert Mémoires du monde on Friday, August 18 at 19:30 at the Théâtre Maisonneuve. INFO AND TICKETS HERE.

Photo credit: Benoit Rousseau

Before the release of his hit Flowers Need Rain last year, Preston Pablo was barely unknown on the music scene. Since then, the 21-year-old Northern Ontario native has released several excellent singles and become one of Canada’s most promising young artists. While at Osheaga, the young pop artist spoke to PAN M 360 about his latest releases, his love of Montreal, his relationship with Montreal producers Banx & Ranx and his next projects!

Born in the small town of Timmins, Ontario, the Canadian fell in love with music at a young age, watching his brother create with friends. After many hours of watching him, Preston Pablo began writing and recording his own material. In 2021, Montreal producers, songwriters, and remixers Banx & Ranx spotted the young man and decided to sign him to their label, 31 East. Less than a year later, the three men joined forces for Flowers Need Rain, his most popular track to date.

In early August, the artist collaborated with Indian artist Karan Aujla and Canadian producer Ikky on the track Admirin’ You. Since its release, the track has performed extremely well in India, and has remained at the top of the country’s charts. Preston Pablo’s most recent solo release dates back to May 12, when he unveiled For Keeps, a song that straddles the border between pop and R&B and is getting a lot of radio plays in Quebec. The Canadian continues to rack up the hits and is proving more and more that he has what it takes to shine internationally.

PAN M 360: Hello Preston Pablo! How did your performance go? 

PRESTON PABLO: It went very well, I had a lot of fun. I enjoyed it immensely, and it was the perfect way to get my first taste of the Osheaga experience! 

PAN M 360: During your performance, you covered Justin Bieber’s famous song Sorry. Is this an artist who inspires you? Do you do this cover at every concert?

PRESTON PABLO: Certainly, he’s one of my favourite artists. I remember the first time I saw him on TV. I was young and I thought he was really good. I loved his style and the way he looked in front of the camera. He was fascinating to me. I’ve always been a fan of his music. This is the first time I’ve done this cover on stage. My team and I decided to do it for people who don’t necessarily know my music. So there was at least one song that everyone could feel comfortable singing and dancing to. It was a beautiful moment. 

PAN M 360: Let’s talk about your latest release, the track For Keeps. How did this track come about? 

PRESTON PABLO: It all started in Toronto when I was in the studio with producers and writers Sean Fisher & Nathan Ferraro. It was the first time we’d met and we created the basis for the song. For a while, we didn’t touch the song until we tweaked it and added several elements. The track really came to life when the producers Banx & Ranx heard it and decided to add their two cents. After that, we decided to unveil it, and we’re really happy with the result. 

PAN M 360: By the way, you’re part of 31 East, the record label of Quebec’s Banx & Ranx. Tell me about your relationship with them and their importance in your career. 

PRESTON PABLO: My relationship with them is superb, they’re like brothers to me. They were the first to give me the chance to succeed. Two or three years ago, they brought me to Montreal, and that’s when it all started. Right from the start, they believed in me and supported me. I feel very lucky to be able to collaborate with them and to be part of their musical family. 

PAN M 360: In a previous interview with PAN M 360, Banx & Ranx told us that you come to Montreal very often. What’s your relationship with the city? 

PRESTON PABLO: I think it would be easier to name the things I don’t like because I love absolutely everything about Montreal. The city is beautiful and I love the architecture. I love the vibe. The people here are very creative and there’s something very special about Montreal. It seems that people are always happier than elsewhere. It’s always positive here and I love being here to create. 

PAN M 360: Are you planning to move here soon? 

PRESTON PABLO: Certainly, I’d like to stay here for the rest of my life. Montreal is my second home. When Banx & Ranx brought me here, it was the first time I’d written music outside my bedroom. The city will always be very special to me. It’s very different from Timmins, my hometown in Ontario. 

PAN M 360: Let’s go back to your childhood in Timmins, Ontario. How did your passion for music begin?

PRESTON PABLO: My parents love music and I grew up with it. Also, my older brother is an artist. So he taught me to play guitar and drums. He started writing and recording music with his friends, and I was immediately fascinated by creating music. I learned by watching them, and then decided to create my own music!

PAN M 360: Earlier this month, you collaborated with Indian artist Karan Aujla and Canadian producer Ikky on the track Admirin’ You. The track is currently number 5 on the Top 100 in India, and it’s doing very well. Tell me more about this song? 

PRESTON PABLO: First of all, I’m really glad you asked me about it, because it’s one of my favorite songs I’ve ever been involved with in my career. Right now, my colleague Ikki, a Canadian & Punjabi producer, is creating an album with Karan Aujla. It’s thanks to him that this collaboration was born, it’s as simple as that. I’m very happy that it all came together. I’m proud to appear on a Punjabi track, because I love this culture. This track means a lot to me.

PAN M 360: Does this collaboration open up a whole new musical world for you? 

PRESTON PABLO: Definitely. I’ve met a lot of very talented Punjabi artists and I’d like to collaborate with them in the future. No doubt there will be more songs like this.

PAN M 360: Over the past year, you’ve released a number of excellent titles, including For Keeps, Love You Bad and, of course, Flowers Need Rain. Do you have any plans for your first project in the next few months? 

PRESTON PABLO: I’m currently working on a small project. Lately, I’ve been creating a lot of R&B music. It’s a bit of a homecoming for me because my musical roots are R&B. I’m still in the early stages of the process and can’t reveal much more than that. All I can say is that you can expect different music from me. In short, I’m going to start with an EP and a full project will come in time. As an artist, I’m not ready to create an album yet. I feel I need to perfect my art and become more comfortable with what I’m creating before I can embark on such a large-scale project. I’m sure that’ll happen when I’m ready. 

PAN M 360: You’re obviously not ready to make an album, but if you were to do it now, do you have any idea what the main theme would be?

PRESTON PABLO: I’d like to make an album in which I tell my story. I’d like to explain my life in Timmins and how I got to where I am today. There are so many incredible things that have happened in a short space of time in my life, and I want to tell them. I think it would be really cool to do that, to tell the Preston Pablo story in my first feature-length project. That would be my goal.

The inventor of afro-electropop, Kandy Guira, is on the scene in Montreal for the tail end of Nuits d’Afrique! But it’s by no means her only show in Canada: she’ll be passing through Gatineau, Sherbrooke, and Guelph before heading abroad for shows in Ireland, France, and Mexico. She’s using the tour as an opportunity to showcase her latest album, 2021’s Nagtaba, with which she hopes to break down barriers between cultures and languages, as well as make music accessible to people with hearing issues. 

PAN M 360: Hi Kandy! The tour you’ve been on these last few months, it’s taken you through Germany, Italy, and the U.S., and now it’s taken you to Canada. What’s the tour been like so far?

Kandy Guira: The tour’s going really well! It’s totally magnificent to see completely different crowds in each different country.

PAN M 360: What would you say is special about being able to do a tour across various countries?

Kandy Guira: It lets me meet the public in each country that usually follows me online. On the internet everyone’s there, everyone’s connected, but it’s better and more exciting to meet them in their own countries, to discover these countries, and to see the symbiotic connection. I always look forward to making this connection – it’s a pleasure to meet people who have already listened to our music because it puts a face on my listeners and gives me energy. 

My music and tours are also the mediums through which I can transmit my messages across language barriers. That’s why it’s special to me: it lets the public feel like they’re heard, and it helps me break down language and colour barriers. 

PAN M 360: Why’s it important for you to break down colour barriers?

Kandy Guira: We’re in such a divided world, and for me, the future is found in unity. That union, that’s what my album Nagtaba is about: it’s only together that we’ll create a magnificent and harmonious world. We build up barriers, create in- and out-groups, and say there’s no unity. That’s not true for me because there’s a vibe that’s unique for everyone, but we all exist, laugh, and cry in the same way. We have to deconstruct those barriers and see each other as we are.

PAN M 360: The music on your album, Nagtaba, how would you say it works towards breaking barriers like that?

Kandy Guira: Each song on the album talks about a specific problem and provides a possible solution. I sing in the language of Mooré, which is everywhere, even in sign language – I translate my songs into sign language to make them accessible to everyone because I have a brother who’s deaf. He doesn’t understand what I say, so what I do in my projects is I try to have a sign language singer at all my shows. 

I do all this to break down the language barriers, and if someone says, “I don’t understand Mooré, I don’t understand French,” I don’t think that’s a real problem because I’m listened to in the United States and China. If it’s possible for my music to enter those countries, that means it’s possible to come together.

PAN M 360: Could you tell me about the kinds of things that inspired Nagtaba? Was there any inspiration from your cultural heritage?

Kandy Guira: I’m Burkinabe (from Burkina Faso) and it’s the root of my inspiration. That is to say, the traditional Burkinabe music inspires me. I’m from the Mossi side, so on Nagtaba you’ll hear some bendré, a traditional tambourine used while singing for the king when he had to speak to people without anyone else hearing. 

I explored this instrument all while mixing it with my French side – I live in France now and I’ve been inspired by other musical styles I hadn’t known before. I wanted to bring them together for Nagtaba, which means “together,” to bring together the two different countries that served as my inspirations. It creates a bridge between the two countries, effectively.

PAN M 360: Does that make it important for you to play in a place like Montreal where there’s a similar mix between French and English?

Kandy Guira: It’s important for me because it opens the door. That bridge I’m building between Burkina Faso and France, I’m also extending it to other countries like Canada in this instance so Canadians and I can have an access point or each other’s cultures. 

PAN M 360: There’s an exchange there in both directions: you give your music, and they give back the culture. 

Kandy Guira: Exactly! By discovering others you can learn to accept them. The reason we don’t want to build bridges is often because we don’t understand people. If we give ourselves the permission, courage, and the desire to discover others, we’ll see that they’re a lot like us. We won’t be able to say we don’t know them anymore.

PAN M 360: Do you have any other projects that you’re working on now that are furthering those goals of unity?

Kandy Guira: I’m trying to make my music more accessible to people who are hard of hearing. It’s my passion because I want it to be a habit to think of them, not something extraordinary. I want it to be logical and normal that we include them in the general public. That’s why I always translate my works into sign language, and my ongoing project is to bring a sign language singer to all my live shows and tours. I’m also in the middle of learning sign language, but I don’t know it well enough to do it myself.

PAN M 360: Even at Nuits d’Afrique?

Kandy Guira: At Nuits d’Afrique, unfortunately not. I would be happy to have them but they couldn’t provide one. That said, I’m always in contact with friends who are deaf and maybe they’ll propose someone who can attend and take that position.

PAN M 360: Any other causes you address in your music?

Kandy Guira: I talk a lot about education for young girls, women’s rights, and environmental conservation; these are also causes I address in my latest album. The album is full of ideas that will help us unite because that’s what inspires me.

PAN M 360: Thanks so much, Kandy! Hopefully, you can unite the world one crowd at a time.

Kandy Guira will perform during the Festival international Nuits d’Afrique on the Loto-Québec Stage on July 23 at 7 PM. This concert is free. For more info, click here.

Since it was founded in Montreal in 2001, Ensemble Constantinople’s vision has been “to encourage blending and exchange between the world’s different musical and cultural horizons”. Seasoned explorers, they provoke encounters and create dialogues “from Mediterranean Europe to the East, via the free spaces of the Baroque New World.” This vision will be presented for the first time at the Festival de Lanaudière this Sunday, July 23, on the outdoor stage, where the musicians, accompanied by tenor Marco Beasley, specialists in vocal music of the 15th and 16th centuries, invite the audience to cross an imaginary bridge, where East meets West. We spoke to Kiya Tabassian, founder and musical director of Constantinople, about this program and what it represents.

PAN M 360: Tell us a little about the program you’ll present at the festival.

Kiya Tabassian: The program we’re presenting is called Il Ponte di Leonardo (Leonardo’s Bridge). It’s a program that musically redesigns a bridge that Leonardo Da Vinci imagined, but never built, to link the two banks of the Bosphorus, for the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire. I think it’s a program that stands strong like a bridge that you have to cross to meet the others. It’s a program that’s perhaps even more relevant today in the sense that, in the times in which we live, this kind of bridge of connections is increasingly important and primordial.

PAN M 360: As you mentioned, this is a program that builds bridges between East and West, and in which you will be presenting works from the XVIᵉ and XVIIᵉ centuries, which are drawn from manuscripts in the national libraries of Istanbul and Florence in particular. How do you work with such documents to appropriate the musical material? Do they have to be codified in some way?

Kiya Tabassian: It’s something of a specialty of the Constantinople Ensemble, which has been working with such sources for over 20 years now, to realign all these musical currents and traditions so that they come together well. As you say, these are ancient manuscripts, so they’re codified, written in older notations that don’t correspond to today’s modern notation. So, there’s a lot of deciphering to be done, a lot of research work, as a first step, which is very interesting indeed, because it really means going into the archives, the writings, the manuscripts, the works of musicologists and studying this historical ensemble. The next step is: “How can I make music with these sources? because often, these melodies and notations are quite simple. It wasn’t a notation designed to be put in front of a musician to play necessarily, but rather a means of preserving and safeguarding them.

That’s where it gets even more interesting because we can use this music as the basis for building something connected to our emotions and creativity as musicians. In this way, the whole music takes on a musical momentum, in the sense that we really live this music. It’s not historical music; we don’t pretend we’re playing like musicians from the XVᵉ and XVIᵉ centuries, we’re playing music that’s alive. There’s even an element of improvisation in the way I arrange the pieces. I make this music a complete entity again. And this collaboration with the magnificent singer Marco Beasley is precisely in line with this very lively approach to music. He’s a singer who is highly specialized and recognized in these repertoires, but he’s also a singer who sings this music as if it had just been born.

PAN M 360: This is very much in keeping with your intention to act as a conduit for the memory of this music, isn’t it?

Kiya Tabassian: Absolutely. What interests me in this music are qualities that no longer exist, or exist much less, in today’s music. These are qualities of depth of detail, of concern for ornamentation; qualities that have become rarer in more recent music. These are qualities that I bring to the fore in this music and that I want to pass on to today’s audience, because these qualities enable the musicians, but also the audience, to think differently, to listen differently and to take a musical approach to the present moment.

PAN M 360: Indeed, Leonardo da Vinci’s image of the bridge is very telling, and fits in well with the mission of your ensemble, which is to build links and bring together musical universes that could be described as opposites, but which ultimately end up coming together. Why is it important for you to express these similarities and bring these musical worlds together?

Kiya Tabassian: I think it’s because I’ve always believed that dialogue and knowledge of others make people grow. Whether in civilizations, cultures, knowledge or any other sphere of life, dialogue and knowledge of others lead us further down very interesting paths. It’s the same for me on a musical level. I’ve always believed that when a musical aesthetic, a musical tradition that’s well established, when I bring it together with another, I like that musically, it really enters into a deep dialogue. It’s a bit like meeting someone. You can start by saying “Hello, how are you? and talk about the mundane things in life, but when you get into deeper subjects the conversation goes further. Musically, there’s something new emerging that’s even greater than each of these traditions. It’s not a question of juxtaposing them and making collages.

When I discovered that a great personality like Da Vinci and others 500 years ago dreamed of building a bridge to link continents, to make it easier to go back and forth from one shore to the other, so that people could meet and exchange ideas, I immediately said to myself: “That’s really interesting, I want to talk about it”. Let’s try to rebuild this bridge with these kinds of music that surely met back then too. You know, Constantinople was the city where, for centuries, there was the greatest number of ambassadors concentrated in a single city. It was a city where there were people from all over the world, and where ambassadors also brought musicians and artists with them to their embassies to meet people, to bring them to the Ottoman court, to present them to the Sultan for ceremonies and so on.

Musicians have always been creators, curious people, and people who liked to travel and talk to other musicians. Today, in our own way, in 2023, we’re rebuilding this bridge that makes so much sense in today’s society, to help people experience a moment of well-being and peace through music.

PAN M 360: I may be opening Pandora’s box by saying this, but this musical discourse you bring to the table, do you feel that the world music label is valid today, or are we still in this sort of ambiguous position of a “marketing” label?

Kiya Tabassian: Of course, I’m stuck with the idea that these are marketing labels. On the other hand, I always try to see the positive side. Of course, “world music” means absolutely nothing, and it means a lot of things at the same time. If we look at the positive side first, I’ve always put an “S” to “world music” because there isn’t one world music, but many world musics. Once again, it’s quite interesting to listen to and be curious about music from all over the world. So I think world music is beautiful. I think it’s a nice term. But does it correspond exactly to what we do? No. Sometimes, there are very specific projects for which the world music label is far too broad. Ultimately, what interests me is contact with the public and the impact our music has on the people who come to hear it. I don’t pay much attention to that label. What interests me is that my music is heard by a wider audience and that these people spend a moment listening to music that touches them and takes them elsewhere in their imagination, in their hearts and in their minds.

PAN M 360: After Lanaudière, what are your next concert dates?

Kiya Tabassian: This Il Ponte di Leonardo project is on tour in Canada. We have four dates this summer with this project. There’s Lanaudière, on July 25 we’ll be presenting it in Montreal, then Ottawa on July 27 and Vancouver on July 28. After that, the ensemble leaves for concerts in Europe, and from September onwards, tours start up again all over the world. Also, in October, to kick off our 2023-2024 season, we’ll be presenting a concert in which I’ve decided to bring together Johann Sebastian Bach and the great Persian poet of the XIIᵉ century Omar Khayyam, who are two great thinkers of humanity with very different visions of the world. This project puts these two figures and the Bach music I revisit into dialogue, always in this spirit of encounter and dialogue.

The Concert Leonardo Da Vinci: From East to West will be presented at the Amphithéâtre Fernand-Lidsay on Sunday, July 23 at 2 PM. Part of the Festival de Lanaudière programmation. For information and tickets, click here.

To know more about the Ensemble Constantinople’s next shows, visit constantinople.ca