The still hot launch of musician Catherine Major’s most recent instrumental record officially marks the birth of Alisma, a brand new record label created by Ad Litteram and Atma and dedicated to the popular neoclassical style. The entity aims to allow the country’s virtuosos — and many from Quebec — to benefit from the company’s full range of expertise, with an eye on the international world.
Alisma, “she’s Atma’s sister,” says Michel Ferland, general and artistic director of the great classical house here, which was bought in 2020 by the label and publisher Ad Litteram, chaired by Guillaume Lombart – who also oversees the Livetoune video capture division. The reconstituted musical family therefore has a new member.
According to Mr. Lombart, the creation of Alisma certainly responds to the public’s thirst for so-called neoclassical instrumental musical themes, but the label also fills the need of the creators themselves to have an adequate vehicle to disseminate them. Particularly because of Atma’s strong reputation, “we face almost daily requests for recording projects, in all kinds of styles,” he says.
Ad Litteram focusing on music with strong choruses (Éléonore Lagacé, Florence K, Cédrik St-Onge) and Atma focusing on classical works, a third way was needed to express a whole cluster of projects, let’s say, on horseback between the two. “Somewhere, we could have said: ‘OK, we’re keeping the classic entity to do it,’” says Michel Ferland. Except that, if we wanted to give these projects their own identity, it was better to imagine a label for that. So, Alisma is a corridor, which is part of the neoclassical spirit, but which also emerges from the classic. »
Neoclassical is a genre or a label that has a broad back and which brings together everything and its opposite in instrumental territory, between a pop border on one side and contemporary on the other, all headed by a classical capital. So, what will the Alisma corridor be made of?
Guillaume Lombart says he wants to focus on “very simple instrumentation, with a piano, a guitar, strings, but something which perhaps also allows for more melody”.
“It’s clear that we are not in the register of exploratory and research music,” adds Mr. Ferland, who will not rely on synthesizers. It’s really a post-romantic approach, with what it implies to moods hovering, moods which claim to be reverie, poetry, lyricism. […] The word “organic” came to mind while listening to the record we released with Catherine Major. When I listened to that, I had the impression of being in a body-to-body relationship with the music, more than in theory or aesthetics. There is real contact. »
Beyond textures and energy, Alisma also wants to focus “on an element of virtuosity,” adds Michel Ferland. And this, both in the way of composing and in the way of interpreting. Bye the “doers” and the “false interpreters” – these are his words – and welcome to those who “are capable of assuming live what they do in their studio.
The choice of the name Alisma and its slogan, “Bubble sound”, comes, according to Mr. Lombart, to reinforce the artistic identity of the new label. “We find it to be a simple and gentle word, and there is a sonic proximity between Atma and Alisma — with the “smooth” sound in the middle, like the lily of Quebec. » Ah and, what’s more, alisma is a Quebec water plant.
International aims
Alisma is therefore certainly from here, will be open to artists from Canada, but will target the international market with its releases which will only appear digitally – or perhaps also on vinyl, in the case where a record leads to a tour.
“The goal is not to limit yourself. And that’s why I think we are well armed compared to others, already thanks to our network of distributors with Atma, explains Mr. Lombart. Classical music is exported enormously. To give an idea, 90% of our streams [sur les plateformes d’écoute] are international. »
And ultimately, Alisma has the same objective of global distribution for its artists. “We claim to offer an infrastructure that allows artists to develop and then make themselves heard,” adds Mr. Ferland.
You should know, specify the two bosses, that for the moment the birth of Alisma is not accompanied by new human resources and that there will therefore be fewer annual publications at Atma – which has nevertheless marketed no less than 28 albums in the last 12 months.
They aim for four to six neoclassical publications per year, which should also be accompanied by score books. Alisma therefore launches the machine with Catherine Major and her record The memory of the body. The pianist was already in the extended Ad Litteram family, in addition to having composed Albertine in five stages. The opera for Atma in 2022.
“Then, there will only be one publication in the fall and another after that, perhaps at the end of winter or in the spring,” explains Michel Ferland. But there are discussions that have been underway for almost a year already with other artists, composers and performers. We’re not in a bad situation there, there are really a lot of them. »
Guillaume Lombart, who launched Ad Litteram in 1998, believes that neoclassical can also be interesting as a source of publishing income, particularly if producers eager for instrumental music use the works to accompany documentaries or fiction. But his approach is broader.
“We want to have both publishing and original works, create shows, make videos… It diversifies and increases potential income. With the objective of really helping Canadian and Quebec creation, affirms Guillaume Lombart. What interests me is working over the long term with artists and giving them the means to continue to develop their projects and make a living from them. If we manage to do that, we will also make a living from it and I will be very happy. »