We immediately think of High Fidelityby Nick Hornby, reading Analogous stories by Michel-Olivier Gasse. Like the English novelist, the bassist we saw with Vincent Vallières and in the duo Saratoga (with Chantal Archambault) shares his musical memories in short fictionalized texts, but first and foremost anchored in a contagious melomania.
Posted at 7:00 p.m.
The nuance is key. “Gasse”, as Vallières calls him in a song, does not write to put forward his knowledge. He accumulates vinyls, but is wary of people who accumulate by the happiness of having a large collection of records as others are proud of their big car, which already makes him likeable. What motivates him and what he shares is his love of music. He can marvel at an unknown album by Nino Ferrer or praise Barbra Streisand even if it is the very embodiment of “flat music” in the eyes of his friends.
From one short story to another, we go from known names, such as Elton John, Plume, Sade or Rush, to others that we only know if we have dug a lot: Merry Clayton (the female voice in the choir at the end of Gimme Shelter of the Stones), Orlando “Cachaito” Lopez (bassist of the Buena Vista Social Club) and many others.
Analogous stories is a trippy book. The anecdotes told by the author take root in a lively pen, real writer’s images and just the right amount of self-mockery. Let’s put it bluntly: what makes this little book so interesting is that Michel-Olivier Gasse is never boring or condescending. His approach is like the music he loves: authentic. He makes you want to discover the albums he talks about… and even takes us by the hand: just read the QR codes placed at the end of the book to access reading lists concocted by the author.
Analogous stories
Michel-Olivier Gasse
T-station
184 pages