Interviews

The journey of this flamboyant 60 something-year-old does not seem to be coming to an end anytime soon, and it will be beautifully summarized on stage this Tuesday, February 17, at 5 p.m., at Le 9e in the Eaton Center.

Soprano Sharon Azrieli is a key figure in Montreal, Quebec, and Canadian culture. A vibrant opera singer, well versed in the classical repertoire as well as the Great American Songbook, modern jazz, and sacred Jewish music, Sharon Azrieli has enjoyed a long career and has also been one of the most influential patrons of the arts in the local music scene. She is responsible for the AMACC (Azrieli Music Arts and Culture Centre), a natural extension of the Azrieli Foundation, which was started in 1989 by her late father David J. Azrieli (1922-2014), a wealthy architect and real estate developer.

On the eve of what promises to be a packed show (one hour long), PAN M 360 caught up with Sharon to find out more.

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PAN M 360: How did you design your menu for Le 9e?

Sharon Azrieli: It will be a true Montreal concert, a true Quebec concert, even featuring excerpts from Gilles Vigneault! With my musical director, the wonderful pianist John Roney, I assembled (not composed) a song for Canada. I was looking for a pro-Canada song, but couldn’t find one, so John and I put one together from several Canadian songs.

PAN M 360: So you took a few fragments from each song.  Today, we call that a mashup!

Sharon Azrieli: Exactly, that’s it! I hope we did this mashup right, you’ll have to let me know after the concert!

PAN M 360: Okay!

Sharon Azrieli: In any case, we really worked hard… I did a lot of research to find songs that were pro-Quebec and pro-Canada. But that song didn’t exist, so we made it from several well-known and lesser-known songs.

PAN M 360: What is the core of this show?

Sharon Azrieli:  Basically, this show tells the story of my life. And I’m not a young woman! But what John Roney and I have put together is fantastic! I’ll even be dancing with four wonderful men who will twirl me around! 

PAN M 360: Not exactly a recital!

Sharon Azrieli: This is the first time I’ve done this. The first time I’ve danced. The first time I’ve spoken to the audience like this, with monologues between songs. Yes, it’s completely new to me!

PAN M 360: What instruments will be featured in the concert?

Sharon Azrieli: It will be piano and vocals, not counting the men who will join me on stage. I am very fortunate to be working with John Roney, my pianist and musical director. In addition to being an excellent pianist, he is so patient , so just with me and gives such sound advice… In short, he is perfect!

PAN M 360: An overview of the repertoire?

Sharon Azrieli: As I said, this is my life. I sing a varied repertoire, I will perform an excerpt from a piece by André Previn (Magic To Do), then the aria “O Mio Babbino Caro”, a very famous aria by Puccini (Gianni Schicchi ), perhaps the first opera aria I ever learned. We’re starting at the beginning of my life!

I then perform a song simply titled Chanson, from the film The Baker’s Wife (an American adaptation of Marcel Pagnol’s French film La femme du boulanger), composed by Stephen Schwartz, which is performed half in French and half in English.

What follows is jazz, for example, “C’est si bon,” which I perform in French, as well as excerpts from George Gershwin (“S’Wonderful,” “Our Love Is Here to Stay”). We continue with the mashup in tribute to Canada, then I will sing “Get Happy” (Harold Arlen/ Ted Koehler) as performed by Judy Garland.

And then my male colleagues will take to the stage to sing. And it will be the first time, old woman that I am, that I will dance on stage Broadway style. Incredible… so much fun! Of course, I might stumble, put the wrong foot forward… anyway, the audience will be amazed to see me dancing on stage!

PAN M 360: It’ll be entertaining, no matter what happens!

Sharon Azrieli: I hope so! So there will be this tribute to Judy Garland and then a “Rainbow medley”, made up of all my favorite songs about rainbows that I have been singing for a long time and still sing to my grandchildren.

PAN M 360: There is also some very good Jewish music on the program, since that is also part of who you are.

This is my life: I learned Jewish music from my parents, then I learned opera singing, and then… at my age it becomes very difficult, nobody sings opera at my age. I consider myself very lucky to still have a voice! I can still sing, but I’m not stupid (laughs), and I still try to sing the classical repertoire and also vary the repertoire towards Jewish music, Broadway music, or jazz. You know, you can be in your sixties or even eighties and still sing jazz!

PAN M 360: And what will be the Jewish inspiration for this program?

Sharon Azrieli: Of course! There will be, among others, “Sabbath Prayer”, a song from the movie Fiddler on the Roof, and it’s very beautiful when the men sing on stage. And then I’ll do Michel Legrand, “Papa, Can You Hear Me?” from the movie Yentl (Barbra Streisand). I myself recorded a tribute to Michel Legrand that I still find relevant, never boring or redundant, always creative. And then I’ll do “Everybody Says Don’t”, an incredible song by Stephen Sondheim (from the musical Anyone Can Whistle). Another song with a Jewish flavor, but which isn’t actually Jewish, is a song from Leonard Bernstein’s opera Candide that I often perform, called “I’m Easily Assimilated”, completely revisited with four dancers who throw me into the air—you won’t believe it! Obviously, I’m not a dancer, and I might end up laughing at myself!

Finally, there will be sacred Jewish music, the real thing, which I learned from the great cantor Sol Zim (Solomon Zimelman), who was my teacher.

PAN M 360: In summary?

Sharon Azrieli: Everything you see and hear will be authentic. It will only be about the truth about me as a singer, but also as a mother and grandmother. It’s all true, all these songs, it’s me… because otherwise, I wouldn’t have been able to memorize them, haha!

She doesn’t come from a family of griots, but if she has to attribute her success to one person, it’s probably her grandmother. Indeed, Senny Camara went to live with her grandmother from a very young age, and it was her grandmother who introduced her to music, first to singing and then to the kora. Today, she travels the world with her 21-string instrument to spread human values. She recently received an award at the Aga Khan Music Awards in London in November 2025, and this continues to open doors for her. In addition to being a singer, guitarist, and kora virtuoso, she also self-produced her album Yéné, released in 2024. But it’s her meeting with Zal Sissokho that we’re about to witness (and yes, they’ve never met before) at Balattou on February 20th, during her very first visit to Canada. She’ll take the opportunity to do a short tour of the country. Our journalist Sandra Gasana joined her live from France to find out more about her and her background.




Their names are Vanessa Croome and Sahara von Hattenberger. The first is a soprano and the other is a cellist. They form an unlikely duo, rarely used in classical music, hence their name, both intriguing and appealing.

Their reality: the scarcity of compositions specifically designed for their training. Their solution: order new ones! The result of their calls: the album I Wish I Were Dead, which will be released by ATMA Classique on February 20, 2026.

READ THE ALBUM REVIEW

A program of contemporary music, accessible, non-experimental but original and surprising. Sometimes more lyrical, other times more atmospheric, the pieces presented are from today’s talented composers, mostly from Quebec (Montreal). Fong Jeffrey, Airat Ichmouratov, Luna Pearl Woolf, Laurence Jobidon, Nicole Lizée. Joining them are the American Maya Fridman and the Swede Anders Hillborg.

An unusual and captivating album, which I discuss with the two artists in this interview (why this title?) conducted in French and English, with respective translated subtitles.

On February 24, the program will be performed in its entirety at the Bourgie Hall in Montreal. Looking much forward to it!

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Interview bilingual (FR and ENG) with respective translated subtitles

La violoniste Marie Nadeau-Tremblay a failli arrêter la pratique du violon. C’est la rencontre avec la musique baroque qui lui a donné le souffle de continuer et de faire carrière pour de bon. Après un premier album nommé Préludes et solitude, c’est Obsession, sorti fin 2025 sous étiquette ATMA, qui cristallise toute la passion de la jeune artiste pour cette musique. 

Une obsession profitable car ça lui a permis de recevoir le Prix Opus 2026 dans la catégorie Album de l’année – Musique médiévale, de la renaissance et baroque. J’ai parlé de cet album bien nommé avec Marie, ainsi qu’avec le luthiste Kerry Bursey, qui joue également sur l’album. 

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Bernardino Femminieli is someone to be studied. Whether that study happens in psychiatric journals, police reports depends on how you read this homoerotic, masochistic philosopher’s words. Is it the fantasy of a perverted schizophrenic, or some kind of Marxist evangelist gospel. In a world weighed down by Judeo Christian guilt and ritual self punishment, Bernardino Femminieli plays the role of Max Cady, the sly antagonist who shrugs off conventional morality. Since the release of L’Exil in 2016, he has steadily ramped up the shock value of this persona. With the new video for Apprenti Gendarme, it is hard to imagine where he could go next. Shock turns into awe. Disgust turns into laughter. It is art. Not just because he lives in Paris now, but because he commits to it fully. It is clearly not made to please the masses.

If I tried describing the video it would feel incriminating. You just have to watch it:

If the video feels like a provocation, the man behind it speaks with a disarming calm. Off stage, the shock tactics give way to dry humor, blunt admissions, and the occasional romantic confession. We asked Bernardino Femminieli about rituals, exile, rejection, prison fantasies, and Valentine’s Day.

PAN M 360: Before recording vocals on a track or singing live, do you have any preparation or specific ritual to get into the mood?

Bernardino Femminieli: In the studio, I like to drink a beer and have a few notes on hand. For live shows, I like to be alone before the performance, if possible, and warm up.

PAN M 360: Why did you decide to move to France? Was it to be closer to your Italian roots?

Bernardino Femminieli: For many reasons, but mostly to start a new life somewhere else.

PAN M 360: On your latest album released in 2024, all the tracks were produced in Paris except for “La vie Gigi !”, produced in Grey Valley, a remote spot in the Laurentians. What came out of that session at Studio Panique?

Bernardino Femminieli: It is a particular record, recorded in 2020 after the first lockdown. Julien Gasc approached me to make an album in less than two weeks, him doing the music and me writing the lyrics. It was a kind of road movie about a broken man wandering around and meeting people with whom he would open his heart.

Bernardino Femminieli: “La vie, Gigi !” is the only track I composed with Adrien Belkout, my spiritual coach, and with Gasc. I even invited Mr. Flash to play on it and asked Dominic to mix the track from his home, since I was unable to return to Canada.

Bernardino Femminieli: The album took several years to come out and was categorically rejected and ignored by everyone in France, even though it was a tribute to a France struggling to find its bearings. Haha.

PAN M 360: This track was mixed by Dominic Vanchesteing, with whom you worked on L’Exil and several other projects. The public wants to know: are you in love?

Bernardino Femminieli: Yes. Since forever.

PAN M 360: If you could bring a musician back to life to collaborate on your next album, who would it be and why?

Bernardino Femminieli: I think it is better to leave the dead where they are.

PAN M 360: Hypothetically, if Bernardino Femminieli ended up in prison, what crime would he have committed to get there?

Bernardino Femminieli: Torture and kidnapping. Not for ransom. On principle.

PAN M 360: What do you say to people who claim you are the sex symbol of our time?

Bernardino Femminieli: You are cute.

PAN M 360: What can we expect from your Valentine’s Day concert at Taverne Tour? Would you recommend bringing a first date?

Bernardino Femminieli: Anti French anachronistic disco songs. Obviously. I am the break dealer.

When you discover the unique journey of Dice B—rapper, producer, journalist, and youth worker—you understand why he was chosen as spokesperson for Black History Month 2026. This role comes with several responsibilities, such as speaking in schools, participating in panel discussions for Black History Month events, and giving interviews to media outlets like PAN M 360. This interview reveals a truly inspiring profile, highlighting all facets of the artist and the common thread running through it all. He also shared some exciting news, including a single he collaborated on with his younger brother, Sun Shan, titled “Le gardien de mon frère.” Our journalist, Sandra Gasana, had the opportunity to speak with the artist to learn more about his role as spokesperson and, above all, all his accomplishments to date.






The Turkish pianist Fazil Say is one of the most remarkable artists of the last 30 years. His particular style, crouched over his keyboard, almost embracing it and murmuring more or less loudly while playing, may remind one of Glenn Gould. The artist, however, is more versatile than the Canadian. He does not shy away from the stage, on the contrary. He gives about a hundred concerts a year. Moreover, he composes a lot. He has already reached number 120 in his opus catalogue. Symphonies, concertos, and piano pieces, of course. In 2022, he recorded Bach’s Goldberg Variations, about twenty years after his previous album dedicated to the composer. Since then, he has been performing them in concert all over the world. On Tuesday, February 17, he will perform them at the Bourgie Hall in Montreal, as part of the “Exceptional Pianists” series (and believe me, in Say’s case, it’s true!). In addition, he will also play several of his piano works, including Black Earth and his Sonata Yeni Hayat (“A New Life”). I discussed Bach and his own music with Fazil Say before his visit to Montreal.

CONCERT DETAILS (No tickets are available, the concert is sold out)

PanM360: The recorded Goldberg Variations arrived in 2022, about twenty years after the previous recording dedicated to Bach. Why such a long hiatus?

Fazil Say: You know, I play between 90 and 100 concerts a year, in addition to writing a lot of music. Bach is important in my life, but you have to take the time to learn this music, especially major works like the Goldbergs. For the Goldbergs, it was the pandemic that gave me the opportunity. During the lockdown, I felt the urge to take the time that was suddenly offered to me to immerse myself in certain Great Works, such as the Goldbergs and Schubert’s last sonatas. For the Variations, I dedicated 3-4 months to the analysis, which was a great joy for me.

PanM360: In concert, do you do all the reprises?

Fazil Say: If we do them all, the piece can last almost 90 minutes. I decided to cut some repetitions and offer the entire thing in a timing of about 55-60 minutes. I don’t think this hurts the piece, and it allows me to offer a different second part of the concert.

PanM360: The Goldberg Variations are a masterpiece of musical architecture. They can be played with different narrative perspectives. Gould 1955 is almost atomistic, with each movement as a universe in itself. One can be completely holistic, with a pointed arch peak, like in a cross of ogives, at variation no. 16, a French Overture that can serve as a “second start” towards the second half. One can also conceive the whole as ten groups of three variations (a character piece, a virtuosic variation, and a canon) to which the initial Aria and its final reprise are added. In short, what is your narrative vision of this edifice?

Fazil Say: You are right to say that there are ten groups of three variations. You are also right to talk about the symbolic value of variation no. 16, right in the middle of the structure. For my part, I never play that way, with that idea in mind. I rather consider the long line, from beginning to end.

PanM360: Since 2022, how have the Variations evolved under your playing? What changes have you made to them, compared to the recording?

Fazil Say: After several dozen performances, I think the ideas are clearer, the whole is more mature. It’s normal. It’s a process that resembles life. I think my way of playing now is better than on the record.

PanM360: Do you want to play and, perhaps, record more Bach?

Fazil Say: I would like to record The Well-Tempered Clavier soon. But soon doesn’t mean tomorrow (laughs). Through all my concerts, commissioned works, chamber music, etc., I have to find the time. My next two years are already completely booked. And the Clavier is even more demanding than the Variations. So maybe in two years, a little more, I will be able to do the First Book. Then the Second, but I haven’t scheduled that yet…

PanM360: In the second part of the concert, on February 17, you will play your piano compositions, several of which are influenced by jazz. What place does this music have in your life?

Fazil Say: I have loved jazz all my life. Jazz and classical are not very different. I see jazz as a contemporary development of harmony and rhythmic play. A composer today must be interested in all kinds of music. Also the traditional music of one’s own country, or other countries, which I often incorporate into my compositions.

PanM360: Let’s talk about it. You will play, among other pieces, Black Earth, one of your first compositions and one of the most performed in the world. At one point, you mute the piano strings with one hand while playing with the other. It produces a sound that resembles a saz, a traditional Turkish instrument. How did you come up with this idea?

Fazil Say: By doing tests, experiments. I realised that it produced this sound, very interesting, very particular. That said, I didn’t invent anything. The prepared piano is a 20th-century innovation by John Cage. He would place pieces of wood, or metal, or plastic between certain strings to create strange percussive sounds. I don’t do that, but I draw inspiration from it.

PanM360: The program also includes the Sonata Yeni Hayat (New Life), Op. 99. What can you tell us about it? Why this title?

Fazil Say: I wrote it at the end of the lockdown during the pandemic period. I had in mind this terrible ordeal and all those deaths. I felt the urge to celebrate a new beginning. Hence the title. It’s a rather expressive piece, full of drama but also of hope.

I am also happy to be able to play some of my pieces in Canada. They are performed quite often elsewhere in the world, but, to my knowledge, not so much in your country. I hope people will enjoy them and want to hear more.

PanM360: What are you currently writing?

Fazil Say: Among others, a concerto for piano four hands. And other pieces for orchestra.

PanM360: There are no operas in your catalogue yet. Are you interested in writing one someday?

Fazil Say: I have been asked a few times to do it. The problem is finding a subject and especially a libretto that suits me. Moreover, I am someone more familiar with instrumental music. I should also learn how to write an opera, a challenge in itself, as it is an art with its own requirements, its codes, etc. Let’s just say it’s not on my agenda for the moment.

PanM360: But it’s not impossible…

Fazil Say: One should never say impossible.

PROGRAMME

J. S. BACH Goldberg Variations, BWV 988
Fazil SAY
Piano Sonata, Op. 99, “Yeni hayat” [New life]
Nazim, Op. 12, No. 1
Ses, Op. 40b
Kumru, Op. 12, No. 2  
Black Earth, Op. 8
Claros: Temple of Prophecies, Op. 112
Summertime Variations, Op. 20
Paganini Jazz, Op. 5c

It took a meeting at a festival in Brasilia for Veeby and the collective of 11 Afro-Brazilian women, Funmilayo Afrobeat Orquestra, to decide to collaborate on their latest project: an EP entitled Muta Resistanz. Conceived during a ten-day residency in São Paulo in 2023, under the musical direction of Fredy Massamba, Veeby wrote all the lyrics and was the lead vocalist for the project. The whole thing was mixed and mastered in Brussels by Didier Touch, making it an international project involving Canada, Brazil, Congo, Cameroon, and Belgium. That said, this isn’t Veeby’s first project with female musicians. In fact, she had already collaborated with the women’s group Jigeen Ñi in Senegal a few years ago, with the same desire to highlight female musicians. In addition to this EP, Veeby is currently busy with Immersion 2026 with activities planned for February 14 and 15 at the McCord Museum, before flying to Gabon to participate in Black History Month. A woman of many talents! Our reporter Sandra Gasana spoke with her between two appointments to discuss her many projects.






Jazz multi-instrumentalist Julien Fillion captivates the imagination with his cinematic and immersive instrumental pieces. We spoke with him on the eve of his February 14 concert at Verre Bouteille, as part of the Taverne Tour.

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PAN M 360: First of all, I would like to congratulate you on your music, which I would describe as sophisticated, grandiose, and deeply inspiring.

Julien Fillion : Thank you, that’s very kind.

PAN M 360: You released an excellent EP entitled ego in 2024, followed in 2025 by an LP version, ego.alt. What was the mindset behind the ego EP, and how does it differ from that of the resulting album, ego.alt?

Julien Fillion : For me, ego.alt was really a second wind for ego. Once the EP was finished and with the idea of the film/live session project coming up, I felt like I hadn’t completely finished the work yet. Having to present this idea to a team forced me to push my thinking a little further, and quite naturally, new ideas for arrangements emerged. I had a lot of fun with Ghyslain Luc on the mix, taking the songs in a different direction.

En gros, c’est essentiellement la même musique, les mêmes arrangements, mais le fait de tout jouer en live change vraiment la donne. Il n’y a aucun montage, absolument aucun, ce qui rend le résultat beaucoup plus brut. Pour moi, c’est plus vivant, plus honnête et, au final, meilleur.

PAN M 360: You are a multi-instrumentalist: saxophone, keyboards, guitar, and electronic production are all strong points in your repertoire. What do these different instruments represent for you as a composer and musical director?

Julien Fillion : It all started with the guitar when I was a kid, and the saxophone came about by chance during an audition in high school. But my true love for the instrument really blossomed in college. I was that long-haired teenager who played rock music and electric guitar, haha.

Ultimately, all these instruments are different ways for me to express myself. I consider myself lucky to be able to play so many things, because it keeps me from getting bored and allows me to explore lots of different textures.

That said, I must admit that the saxophone remains MY instrument. It’s the one I’ve spent the most hours with, the one I’m most demanding with, and it’s also the one that requires the most courage from me. When I play the sax, I always feel like I’m letting others in on a part of my private life. It’s both the instrument I’ve mastered the most and the one that challenges me the most.

photo du site Costume Records

PAN M 360: Tell me a little about your collaborations with Bobby Bazini, Diane Tell, Adib Alkhalidey, and Les Louanges. How did these collaborations come about, and what form did they take artistically?

Julien Fillion : I consider myself really lucky to have crossed paths with these artists, because they truly nurtured and inspired the musician and artist that I have become. It’s hard to say exactly how these encounters came about… Music is a small world: you replace someone here, someone talks about you there, and poof, you find yourself on tour or in the studio.

“The only thing I can control is my work ethic. I’ve always prepared myself really well, because I strongly believe that you only get one chance in this business, and that first impressions are extremely important.”

PAN M 360: Your music has a strong cinematic dimension. It feels like you’re trying to draw us into vast, contemplative worlds, sometimes desert-like, sometimes cosmic (v(.)id, sahara, supernova). What are your sources of inspiration when you compose? Movies, video games, novels, visual arts… or something else entirely?

Julien Fillion : I’m really glad you see that, because that’s kind of my goal, haha. I’d love to give a super poetic answer, but in reality, I can’t really point to a specific source that inspires me every time. It’s more of a mix of my mood over the weeks of creation, production, rehearsals…

I feel like my brain ends up synthesizing everything around me and sending me ideas. For me, composing is really a craft: you shape it little by little, testing textures and atmospheres until it takes shape. And sometimes, these contemplative or desert-like worlds emerge on their own, as if the music had a life of its own.

photo from Costume Records

PAN M 360: Musically speaking, I hear echoes of Pink Floyd and Ennio Morricone, but also a wide variety of influences from all over the world. What are the musical influences behind your project (jazz, film music, etc.)?

Julien Fillion : I listen to everything, really, and I go through phases. I might spend two months listening only to Quebecois music, then switch to a Coltrane or Broïl phase. But my foundations—the music of my childhood—are Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, and Hendrix. I think that will always stay with me. It all mixes together in my head and ends up reappearing in my compositions, often in an intuitive way.

PAN M 360: Finally, what can we expect from your performance on February 14 at Verre Bouteille, as part of the Taverne Tour?

Julien Fillion : It’s going to be wild, that’s for sure! I can’t wait to play in Montreal, especially since we haven’t played here since the launch in October 2024. My friends and I have been playing together for about 10 years—the energy is incredible and we have so much fun on stage. The show will be intense, lively, sometimes gentle, sometimes completely wild… but always sincere. My goal is for the audience to feel how much we enjoy playing and leave with their heads full of music.

Julien Fillion will be performing on February 14 at Le Verre Bouteille as part of the Taverne Tour.

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Operating somewhere between sharp-edged rock, controlled chaos, and self-aware humor, Fake Friends have carved out a space that feels both immediate and slightly unhinged. The Montreal-based six-piece have built a reputation on songs that flirt with noise and tension while never fully letting go of melody, pairing abrasive moments with an instinctive sense of groove.

With Let’s Not Overthink This, their second full-length album arriving February 13, 2026, Fake Friends return with a record that feels bolder, louder, and more confident in its contradictions. It’s a project that reflects a band comfortable with friction between influences, personalities, and ideas, while continuing to evolve beyond their earlier releases.

As part of Taverne Tour, Fake Friends will be doing a free release show at Saint-Sacrament on the 13th of February. We caught up with Fake Friends to dig into the ideas, detours, and contradictions that shaped the record and the band around it.

From Brainstorm to Stage

PANM 360: You recently announced your second full-length album, Let’s Not Overthink This, coming out February 13, 2026. As a six-piece band, how do you approach writing and arranging? Does everyone contribute equally, or is there one member who leads the demo/riff process?

MICHEAL KAMPS: This album is basically Felix’s brainchild. He had a bunch of old demos on his computer, and we listened through them to pick the most inspiring ones. The lyrics are split between Felix and Matt. A lot of the arranging really comes together when we rehearse and play the songs live, which helps the tracks evolve naturally.

Noise, Basslines, and Everything In Between

PANM 360: Comparing this new album to your previous EPs and albums, and especially to your two singles (Sucker Born Every Minute and The Way She Goes), there seems to be a shift toward more noise and dissonance. You’ve incorporated more synthesizers, instrumental layering, and tracks that revolve around the bassline. As a band, who would you say are your main inspirations for this album?

MICHEAL KAMPS: People often compare us to The Hives and Shame. A friend who heard the album early even said we sounded like Spiritual Cramp. Honestly, it’s hard to pin down exactly where our sound comes from because there are so many influences within the band that we don’t all agree on. Luca tends to lean toward heavier music, Felix… doesn’t really like music at all (no joke). So inspiration kind of comes from a mix of everything and nothing.

PANM 360: Following up on that, is there a band or artist people often compare you to that you secretly disagree with?

MICHEAL KAMPS: In Halifax, some drunk guy almost peed on my shoe and said, “you guys are like the Canadian blink-182.” I absolutely hated that one.

PANM 360: Finally, are there influences on your sound that have nothing to do with music at all, such as movies, literature, art, or personal experiences, and how do they shape the mood or atmosphere of your songs?

MICHEAL KAMPS: Oh, the usual stuff — South Park, McDonald’s, the fine city of Cincinnati in the ’80s, spaghetti… Basically random pieces of our world end up leaking into the songs and giving them a certain weird vibe.

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Tracks, Guests, and Accidental Hits

PANM 360: Were there any collaborations or guest musicians on this album that fans should look forward to?

MICHEAL KAMPS: Absolutely. Our good pals Hannah Castelli (Cross Check) and Clarence Tremblay (Birds of Prrrey) contributed some amazing vocals on a few tracks. Akira Sato (Chop Sue Me) helped out with gang vocals and added some dialogue on one track. And, of course, sworn enemy and nemesis Timothy Aaron Bryan (Timo Bryan) of MULCH and DEATH AS IT SHOOK YOU tried to sabotage our recording… but somehow we ended up using his spoken word vocals for the benefit of the album.

PANM 360: If you had to describe the new album in one sentence to someone who’s never heard your music, what would you say?

MICHEAL KAMPS: 80s Cincinnati Spaghetti Chili Rock.

PANM 360: What’s the track you’re most proud of, and what makes it special compared to everything else you’ve done?

MICHEAL KAMPS: The last track, Good Friends, came together completely out of nowhere. Most of the album has kind of goofy, cheeky lyrics, but Good Friends is much more emotional and desperate. It wasn’t even supposed to be on the album, which makes it my personal favorite. It’s raw, unexpected, and heartfelt.

PANM 360: Compared to past releases marked by lineup changes and fragmented recording processes, how does this album reflect your growth as a band?

MICHEAL KAMPS: This one just feels solid. We were more focused, and everyone’s heart was in the same place. On our last release, we recorded in different studios with different engineers and went through so many lineup changes. Overall, this album feels more organic because it was all made with the same people from start to finish.

Greasy Sets, Big Stages, and Summer Plans

PANM 360: You’re doing a free launch show at Saint-Sacrement Bar in Montreal as part of the Taverne Tour. How are you adapting these songs for a live setting, and are there moments in your performance where you like to experiment or improvise?

MICHEAL KAMPS: You’ll have to come to the show to find out. The set is greasy, and we’re looking forward to performing in such a special space.

PANM 360: You’ve done some incredible shows in Canada, like your memorable performances with Me First and the Gimme Gimmes, and at Club Soda in Montreal. What can fans expect from your touring and live shows this year?

MICHEAL KAMPS: We’ll be out and about this summer. There’s a big Pouzza gig on the outdoor stage in spring, and we’ll definitely be hitting Ontario and the Maritimes. We’re also hoping to play some festivals outside Quebec that we’ve never done before. For the latest updates, just check our Instagram.

Closing statement

PANM 360: Looking back at this album and your journey as a band, what’s one piece of advice you’d give to other artists about evolving their sound while staying true to themselves?

MICHEAL KAMPS: Delete TikTok, delete Grindr and Tinder, throw your labubu in a volcano, listen to Miles Davis… and maybe try opium. Just kidding. The real thing? Have fun, don’t take yourself too seriously, and be nice to each other. That’s the most important part.

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Run Body Run. The idea behind its design relates to the feeling of paralysis linked to fear, particularly when you start to realize that you need to tell your body to move.

Next Friday at 8 p.m., Yolande Laroche will share the stage at O Patro Vys with Améry and Jane Inc. as part of the Taverne Tour. A multifaceted artist who has been active on the music scene for over ten years, she will be presenting new material that will soon be released in the form of an album.

I was lucky enough to hear a preview of this new project. True to form, the artist explores a direction that is difficult to trace back to her previous projects: the pop-rock band Pony Girl, her solo project Orchidae, or her instrumental ambient project mal/aimé, to name a few. The direction is completely different and the proposal is frank. Within a danceable electronic aesthetic, the serious tone of her voice exposes us to lyrics with confrontational, almost violent images.

For a demo, it’s at a very advanced stage of completion. The overall form is complete and the sounds are clearly defined. My curiosity is definitely piqued for what’s to come from the album Run Body Run.

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Diversity of approach

Pan M 360: You have the projects Orchidae, Pony Girl, mal/aimé, and Yolande Laroche, the eponymous project through which you released an EP in 2022.

Yolande: There is also another project called KayFayb, which features two members of FET.NAT, Lindsay Willman and Pierre-Luc Clément. It’s a performance project, a bit like violent jazz. We haven’t recorded anything, apart from a few short videos here and there on the internet.

Pan M 360: One topic I wanted to discuss with you concerns the diversity of your approach to music, which is particularly evident in your work as a multi-instrumentalist. You sing, play the clarinet, keyboard, and guitar too, right?

Yolande: I’ve also just started playing the alto saxophone a little bit; I bought one last year. I love trying new instruments, but it’s still new to me, both the saxophone and the guitar.

I see lots of people doing new things all the time, and I thought to myself, “Why should I stop doing that? I can do it too.” I’ve just started trying to convince myself that I can start new things.

Pan M 360: It can be difficult at times, especially if you already have a certain level of proficiency with other instruments, to be inexperienced for a while.

Yolande: The classical world demands perfection. It’s really difficult sometimes, but over the years, I’ve had to face the fact that I wanted to sing, but I wasn’t very good at it. I had to start from scratch, and even though it hurt, it had to be done.

Pan M 360: As with instruments, you seem to place importance on maintaining multiple projects and cultivating a plurality of artistic expression.

Yolande:Pony Girl was my first pop project after leaving the classical world. We made two albums and went on tour. After a big Canadian tour that was very intense emotionally, we took a break for about eight months without playing or recording. It made me feel really lost because I had put so much of my artistic identity into that band, and I started to question the fact that it was based on just one project.

After trying my hand at experimental instrumental music, I wanted to sing. So I started writing for voice and piano, and Orchidae was born from that. Kayfayb came from a desire to move toward experimental music. I connected with Pierre-Luc Clément and Lindsay Wallman. Together, we created a trio. What we do on stage is truly magical, but it may not be a project that will be recorded.

After that, I became interested in electronic music and ended up with Yolande Laroche, my most recent project. I think this is the project in which my artistic expression has developed the most.

I wanted to embody the different characters I’ve accumulated over the years. I really want to say something that’s important to me.

A new direction: temporal pluralities

Pan M 360: I found that with your eponymous project in particular, you are definitely moving in a more experimental and very direct direction. With mal/aimé, there is something more abstract, perhaps because the music is purely instrumental, without lyrics. For the EP Journal d’enfance, did you collaborate with Nick Schofield?

Yolande: Yes, and actually, Nick Schofield is my husband. We produced Orchidae together for an album I released last year. We’ve been together as a couple for five years. I have an office in our house and he has an office at the other end of our house. When I was working on the project, he would sometimes come into my office and we would discuss ideas, but I wanted to produce this album on my own and he gave me complete freedom to do so. He was still an excellent guide.

There’s always music playing in our house. He works on his stuff and invites me into his office to discuss his music. It’s a really beautiful connection between him and me. I can send you some demos if you’d like to listen! The lyrics are pretty intense… I can’t wait to share it with you.

Pan M 360: Absolutely! Is that the equipment you’ll be playing next week on the Taverne Tour?

Yolande: Yes, I’m going to play it. It’s the kind of thing I like to try. I’ve played this material a few times already. It was by playing that I was able to continue writing the lyrics. It really helped me to put myself inside the music so I could continue developing it.

Pan M 360: Something that particularly struck me about the EP Journal d’enfance was the inspiration you drew from your childhood diaries. What was it that appealed to you about digging so far back?

Yolande: For Journal d’enfance, I had the opportunity to do a creative residency at Studio Daïmon in Hull. Nick and I went on this residency in 2022 or 2023. We had three days and we just improvised together.

Before the residency, I went through my parents’ house to find the journals my mother had given me when I was young. At the time, she thought I was going through a lot of emotions and that it might be a good idea for me to put them down on paper. I decided to try to set the words I found interesting to music. I found the process really fun.

The first track on the EP is a recipe for a magic potion. The second is about the magic of the ocean, at a time when I was a little obsessed with The Little Mermaid. The third describes a strong feeling of rage, which I think was directed at my brother. I remember thinking as I was writing that I needed to end on a more cheerful note. So I wrote, “Let’s go to the wave pool.”

Those were very raw, very pure moments. I think that as adults, we tend to impose filters on ourselves that don’t exist when we’re children. Today, I try to keep up the habit of journaling by writing often. I also have a note in my phone where I write down lyrics or ideas all the time.

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Multi-channel composition and post-production

Pan M 360: At Daïmon Studio, you worked on compositions in ambisonic format. 7.1?

Yolande: Yes, exactly.

Pan M 360: How much did that affect the composition process?

Yolande: It was really fun. We got to decide how we wanted to do the spatial mix. In the first room, for example, the voices come from above your head, from the sides, from behind, and from in front. We got to play with the musical segments and make them spin around us. I found it really interesting.

Actually, I haven’t had much opportunity to present these pieces in ambisonic format. I did it once at Pique, a festival in Ottawa. The layout was a little different, with the speakers on stands arranged in a semicircle.

Pan M 360: And what was the layout like in the studio?

Yolande: It seems to me that there was a pair of speakers at the front and one in the center, two on the ceiling, and then one on each side at the back.

Pan M 360: You were also involved in the post-production stages of this project. Did you do the mixing and mastering directly in the studio?

Yolande: Yes, we had three days, and I wanted us to have a finished product when we left. It wasn’t something I wanted to take home with me. Nick and I set ourselves that challenge.

Pan M 360: Three days is the amount of time it usually takes you to compose three pieces, right?

Yolande: Not usually. It takes me a long time! I’m someone who thinks a lot, and I rarely stick with my first idea. I also need time for the lyrics, to sit with them.

Pan M 360: So you imposed a certain spontaneity on yourself during the residency.

Yolande: Yes, definitely. I think doing it that way added a certain element of magic for us.

Pan M 360: In your other projects, are you ever involved in post-production?

Yolande: Normally, you hire someone to do that. I don’t consider myself an expert at mixing. I like playing around with it, but there’s a lot I don’t know yet. I started using Ableton in 2019. For me, it’s still a new tool. I’m still discovering new features every time I use it.

Pan M 360: We are always learning!

Project in development

Yolande: The album I’m going to release under Yolande Laroche, the one I’m going to present at Taverne Tour, was composed exclusively in Ableton with my synthesizers, and the lyrics came later. It was definitely a new way of working for me.

Pan M 360: What will it be called?

Yolande: Run Body Run. The idea behind its design relates to the feeling of paralysis linked to fear, particularly when you start to realize that you need to tell your body to move. So I try to embody my fears and put those feelings into words and music.

In terms of aesthetics, I was inspired by a performance by Marie Davidson that I saw at Mutek last year. When I got home, I gave myself a month to make an album, with a view to presenting new pieces at an upcoming show. I started composing on Ableton every day, trying to create what I imagined to be my personal embodiment of the energy of Marie Davidson’s show.

Pan M 360: So once again, you’re going to be approaching a completely different musical style with this project. None of your projects have touched on purely electronic dance music yet, have they?

Yolande: That’s right. For the past few years, I’ve been going to more and more DJ sets, and I love going dancing. It’s so liberating to move your body to this kind of music.

Some of my other projects show a more vulnerable side of me, like Orchidae. I needed to embody that character in order to get through some sadder emotions and regain my confidence. I think now I’m ready to dance. I feel like moving a little.

Pan M 360: It’s going to be quite a varied evening next Friday. You’ll be sharing the stage with Améry and Jane Inc., is that right?

Yolande: Yes, that’s right. I opened for Jane Inc. with Pony Girl a few years ago, I think it was in Calgary. She’s really fantastic, I can’t wait to see her again! I don’t know Améry, but I’m looking forward to discovering her.

Pan M 360: Same here!

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Since the 1970s, when he was a member of the Montreal group Nébu, Jean Derome has remained one of the most prolific instrumentalists (saxophones and flutes), composers, and improvisers in Quebec’s creative music scene. Although never completely associated with contemporary or modern jazz, Jean Derome comes from that background and has always returned to it in his work, which can easily be described as multipolar, multireferential, and undoubtedly considerable. It therefore makes perfect sense that his work should be highlighted by the Orchestre national de jazz de Montréal (ONJ). The same goes for the title of this evening event on Thursday, February 12, at the Cinquième salle de la Place des Arts: The Audacity of Jean Derome, whose two long pieces on the program, orchestral suites entitled 5 Pensées and La Force et la Beauté, with the composer participating among the orchestra’s instrumentalists, are presented here by their creator.

PAN M 360: The NGO and Jean Derome have a somewhat natural relationship, since you have known its director, Jacques Lorain, since the 1970s.

Jean Derome : Since the days of the band Conventum.

PAN M 360: Jacques Lorain played in Conventum before becoming the bassist for the Orchestre Sympathique, that’s true!

Jean Derome : He played on Conventum’s second album. The bass lines he came up with on it were magnificent. I’ve known him since that time. I also knew him back when he wanted to start an association of jazz musicians. Then various circumstances led us down different paths, and I don’t know everything about his career… Just before the pandemic, there was talk of me singing classics of my choice by Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn.

PAN M 360: And that didn’t happen?

Jean Derome : I was writing a play called La force et la beauté (Strength and Beauty) at the time, and that’s the one we performed. It was only performed as a web concert. This play was performed in the first half, and the second half featured a series of songs.

PAN M 360: I remember that you were, if my memory serves me correctly, a big fan of saxophonist Johnny Hodges.

Jean Derome : Yes, I love Johnny Hodges.

PAN M 360: Who was the viola player in Duke Ellington’s big band?

Jean Derome : Yes. And Ellington, I studied that inside out and upside down.

PAN M 360: For this period of his professional life, spanning more than half a century, it is perhaps the greatest of them all.

Jean Derome : It’s an incredible production too. High quality, but also phenomenal in terms of the amount of work he put into it. 

PAN M 360: But ultimately, people know very little about him.

Jean Derome : What struck me, even while putting this project together, was that I realized that songs I had been listening to for a long time were very, very little known. We know the series of hits: Satin Doll, Take the A Train (Strayhorn), etc.

So, well, it was an opportunity to start again. Then, basically, as time had passed, Jacques, instead of wanting to restart that show, suggested that I do a show featuring only my music.

So to complete the program, apart from the piece I had written for the ONJ, I proposed a piece composed for a Vancouver orchestra, the Hard Rubber Orchestra. The piece was premiered in 2001 and was performed once in Montreal as part of the Hard Rubber Orchestra’s Canadian tour. A piece like that, a large suite, is a lot of work. From my point of view, it’s precious. I won’t be writing many more like it. I feel a duty of loyalty to my pieces, to give them a chance to be heard. So I’m very, very happy that this piece is being performed again.

PAN M 360: And you won’t be conducting the ONJ this time?

Jean Derome : No, it will be Samuel Blais. For the 2020 concert, I was the conductor, and there was no conductor for the Ellington section. I had planned to play, but in the end I couldn’t play as much as I wanted to because I had to keep the group together, so I ended up conducting more than I had planned. So this time I’ll be part of the orchestra rather than in between. Now I’ll really be able to play, so I’m giving myself a little more space, I’ll be doing a few more solos than in the original version.

PAN M 360: Let’s now describe the program and the specific features of your pieces in the program. First, the one composed for the Hard Rubber Orchestra.

Jean Derome :  It is called Five Thoughts for Hard Rubber, a piece in five movements. These movements do not have titles but different characters. The first is described as dark, dramatic, mysterious; the second is relaxed and spiritual; the third is processional, noble, and expressive; the fourth is energetic; the fifth is crazy, festive, almost frenetic, dedicated to the great Dutch drummer Han Bennink.

PAN M 360: From a formal point of view, is it really jazz?

Jean Derome : Yes, it’s jazz, but not that much… As you know, I have a very broad view of jazz.

PAN M 360: That’s your style. Except that sometimes you do things that are totally improvised, with instructions that have nothing to do with sheet music. So this time, you’re working in a more jazz-like mode, so to speak.

Jean Derome : It’s true, but the Hard Rubber Orchestra also did Latin music shows, so I kept some Latin elements in this piece dedicated to the memory of Ken Pickering, the late director of the Vancouver Jazz Festival, who was, I believe, the best artistic director of Canadian jazz festivals of his time.

PAN M 360: Let’s move on to the second part of the concert.

Jean Derome : The piece is entitled La force et la beauté (Strength and Beauty), commissioned by the ONJ.

PAN M 360: OK, and did the order come with any instructions?

Jean Derome :  Nothing.

PAN M 360: It was carte blanche, in fact.

Jean Derome : Yes, yes, yes, the idea was to put together a concert combining Ellington’s songs. I went to see Kim Richardson’s show, where she sang Ellington with the ONJ, and it was very good. But it was funny because there were several pieces that I had chosen for the concert I did in 2020.

PAN M 360: So, in the end, the work you did was indirectly useful?

Jean Derome : Yes, exactly.

PAN M 360: Let’s go back to Thursday’s program. Can you tell us about the second piece from a compositional point of view?

Jean Derome : The subtitle of this piece is Clin d’œil amoureux au jazz, seven pieces that are actually dances. In this suite, I used a number of themes in different ways. That is to say, for example, the themes you hear in the first movement, Scat Funk Gospel, are presented in different ways. Later in the work, they return in other incarnations, other moods. The second and third parts are linked, one is called Intro Bossa, another is called Bossa dedicated to Hermeto Pascoal. Then there is a section called Intro Groove, which reprises motifs from Bossa, leading to the next section, Groove, which is almost a funk base, dedicated to Gil Evans. The last one is called Stride, which illustrates different adventures in a style reminiscent of film scores.

Seven pieces that are actually dances. In this suite, I used a number of themes in different ways. That is to say, for example, the themes you hear in the first movement, Scat Funk Gospel, are presented in different ways. Later in the work, they return in other incarnations, other moods. The second and third parts are linked together, one is called Intro Bossa, the other is called Bossa, dedicated to Hermeto Pascoal. Then you have a section called Intro Groove, which reprises motifs from Bossa, leading into the next section, Groove, which is almost a funk base, dedicated to Gil Evans. The last one is called Stride, which illustrates different adventures in a way that’s a bit like film music.

PAN M 360: Stride refers to a style of jazz from a century ago, doesn’t it?

Jean Derome : It starts like that, but gradually it modernizes, almost exploding. I take the stride more relaxed than James P. Johnson, Willie “The Lion” Smith, or Fats Waller. I take it more “medium,” and then it doubles in speed, with almost all the themes of the piece coming back and overlapping at the end. This layering is really complex because the themes don’t have the same number of bars. In any case, these are beautiful moments of music.

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