At first, you think it’s an electronic music album. After a minute, a rocking drum beat arrives, followed by the voice full of rolled “r”s of storyteller Michel Faubert. For more than nine minutes, we enter a surreal tale of events that took place in Lac St-Jean in 1949.
Over a quarter-century ago, Michel Faubert introduced himself to me as “a King Crimson-loving folklorist from Rigaud”. It was an excellent metaphor. A narrative art form that tells “ageless stories” wrapped in rather contemporary and, at times, experimental music.
La Chapelle Ardente is a new version of the tales, inspired in part by Victor Lévy-Beaulieu, and musically enhanced by the excellent experimental guitarist Bernard Falaise. The musical framework is remarkable and fits in perfectly with Michel Faubert’s narrations, sometimes enhanced by vocals. Bernard Falaise is no stranger to soundtracks, and this one is brilliant.
Multiple guitars, keyboards, percussion, viola, special effects. A sort of space rock, following step by step the emotion conveyed by the lyrics. Michel Faubert’s “tales” are distinctly more “modern” than those of previous opuses. Here, we’re in the 20th century, almost the 21st.
Michel Faubert continues to explore the Quebecois soul with brio. Bernard Falaise is a perfect musical companion. Hats off to him!
