Aether, by Peter Peter | To the end of the computer

Peter Peter has decided to combine his melancholy with hyper danceable electro sounds in his new album Etherhis fifth in his career and the first he has launched since his return to Quebec.

“I’ve had a fantasy of doing something radically electronic for a long time,” says the singer-songwriter, who waited years to be satisfied with his producing talent.

Change of pace

Electro and the mixture of textures were already part of his universe. But the singer, who rarely does things by halves, wanted to go even further. “I zoomed in, took a closer look at what I had already explored, rather than casting a wide net. » He invested in the creation ofEther by “fiddling” with his various devices, synths, sequencers, drum machines, and of course his computer. Exit the guitar, but also the traditional construction of songs.

Thus he forced himself to free himself from the verse-chorus form, let his songs breathe by giving more space to the music, played with duration, changed rhythm or tonality within the same piece.

“When I finished it, I sent it to a few people, including Pierrick Devin, who I’ve worked with before. He told me: “I was surprised, it’s quite more club than I thought.” That’s what I wanted! » The one who has distilled his spleen on all his albums since 2011 confesses: what he wanted was to make people dance. And he believes that “electro dance music and melancholy form a beautiful partnership”.

“And I’m not a clubber!” But this power to make people dance, this outlet, it’s cool. I’d rather be on this side than on the dance floor side. »

To break the mold of the song, he also had to “accept not to sing every two seconds”. “The language always breaks the beat a little. A song like Fcking poetry, at the beginning I had text and text, finally I kept one sentence! And it’s better like this. »

There are obviously pieces with a little more lyrics, and we find the delicate pen and evanescent poetry of the author-composer, who did not want an album that was too narrative. It’s even only at the end that the title, Ethertook shape.

“From the beginning, my mandate has been to make melancholy music, but also to comfort people. And if possible, to anesthetize them and make them forget human suffering. But as much as I have been dogmatic with electronic language, I have not been dogmatic with the themes. The only common thread was… not to ruin the fun! »

Back

After living eight years in France, Peter Peter returned to Quebec three years ago. He first moved into an apartment in Montreal, before buying a house last fall in Quebec, near the Saint-Charles River. “Leaving France was difficult, we had to pull the bandage. But I like my life in Quebec. In Montreal, sometimes I asked myself: why did I leave Europe already? » He needed added value, which he found in the nearby nature, the calm and the space of his new house, where he was able to build a large studio.

“But that’s not where the album was created. I mostly did it between my cramped apartments in Paris and Montreal. I carried it around on a hard drive for a long time. » When Guillaume Guilbault was brought on board as co-director and the project moved “into high gear”, Peter Peter, who had already conceptualized everything, knew where he was going.

The creation was therefore “less laborious” than for his previous albums, but the musician still experienced very difficult times, when a virus caused him to lose a large part of his hearing on the left side.

He spent several months without working and was even ready to sell all his equipment! But although his hearing loss is now permanent, he has rediscovered the taste for making music. “Psychological remission was difficult. Now I wear earplugs when I go to concerts, I’m careful. » The episode also made him realize that if he was forced to stop music, he had no replacement passion and that he would benefit from being less monomaniacal.

Peter Peter, who just turned 40, is doing well. He recently returned to Paris on promotion, and came back in peace, convinced that moving was the right decision. And he released an album, and “not just any”: he had been dreaming of it since Black Eden in 2017. Thanks to him, he hopes to travel – “I would like to add new territories, go to Germany and the United Kingdom, where I draw a lot of inspiration” – but also to reconnect with the Quebec public.

“I made myself rare here. I want this to be my main market, but also to have new experiences. I won’t say no to anything. » He is also preparing a tour where he will be surrounded by a bandand is very eager to go out to meet the public.

“I went to the end of the computer. I’m happy with my album, but post-pandemic and everything, I want to live in the real world while it still exists. »

Electro

Ether

Peter Peter

Audiogram