He worked on the production of albums by Hubert Lenoir, Lou-Adriane Cassidy and Thierry Larose. But now Anatole is launching a third album that bears his birth name, Alexandre Martel, in which he abandons representation for authenticity, always with an uncompromising posture. He will be performing on Friday at the Esco as part of Coup de coeur francophone.
Posted at 8:00 a.m.
When Alexandre Martel undertakes an artistic process, it is to the end.
In an interview in a café, a few hours before the first ADISQ Gala, the thirty-year-old musician was calm and rather reserved. Hard to believe that he made himself known under the alter ego Anatole, made up and all in eccentricity. “I had to do violence to myself, but today, I wonder how I could manage to do that,” he says.
So much so that for his third album, which is titled his birth name Alexandre Martel, a photo of him in his natural state serves as the cover, while the songs have no title. It all starts with Toune 10 and ends with Toune 3 (not even in order).
These are “maskless” compositions. “This is what can come closest to the zero degree of representation: the tounes should not be in representation of themselves,” he believes.
A real stripping of the singer-songwriter, after an album called Will where he announced his rebirth? “A death of ambition,” he corrects.
Towards folk rock
Very theatrical performances like he did, it is no longer extremely rare. “It was a proposal that there was little at the time, but today, there is a sense of the scene which has developed, he explains. So why not reverse what I was doing before, buy myself a 12-string and write tunes? »
This is how Anatole abandons electro synth-pop sounds and a glam attitude to stick to a straightforward sound: organic folk-rock strings from the time when John Lennon was alive.
Having been at the forefront of “the Hubert Lenoir whirlwind” changed Alexandre Martel’s vision of success. He saw the flip side of success. “I don’t want that,” he said. I no longer feel the pressure to convince everyone. »
You should know that Alexandre Martel worked with Lenoir at the time of the latter’s group The Seasons. It was he who co-directed Darlenethe album that revealed to the general public who was crowned performer of the year last Sunday at the Gala de l’ADISQ.
Since then, Alexandre Martel has multiplied production mandates for many artist friends of the new generation on the Quebec music scene: Thierry Larose, Lysandre, Lou-Adriane Cassidy, Lumière, Alex Burger, not to mention veteran Keith Kouna.
“A more authentic posture”
In the studio, the same “authentic posture” guided Alexandre Martel’s choices.
All songs are takes live and end with improvisations. The vocal harmonies are everyone around the microphone. I wanted to put people back at the center of the process.
Alexandre Martel, alias Anatole
His voice is also without the slightest artifice with “a more conversational tone”.
Spontaneity provides access to the real, argues the musician. “When people doubt something, it’s because they reveal themselves […] and that’s where we touch people. »
Toune 7 remember A Day In The Life of the Beatles while Toune 9 gives the same comforting effect as Two of Us. “It’s the first time I’ve made a song that gets better because of the text,” says Anatole. This is my most open song about my intimacy. »
Excerpt from the clip of Toune 9by Anatole
Dans le clip, émouvant hommage à la quotidienneté, on voit l’auteur-compositeur avec sa fille de 7 ans et son amoureuse Lou-Adriane Cassidy, à qui il doit beaucoup, car elle a coécrit la majorité des textes (le couple était en nomination pour le Félix du meilleur auteur-compositeur).
« Je ne me vois pas écrire autrement maintenant. […] I tend to take a lot of detours, and Lou-Adriane likes it when it’s direct. We complement each other well, and I have 100% confidence in his taste and judgment. »
Toune 5 is about mourning while Toune 2 turns out to be “a denunciation of Instagram thought”. “There is a slogan thought that disguises itself as deep thought. This plays out as much on the right as on the left in the political spectrum, and that bothers me. »
” Until the end ”
As long as to reveal himself, Anatole insisted that the photos for the release of the album be taken at his home in Quebec in the Limoilou district. But why go so far to the end of his intentions? “It helps me to have a concept to base my album on, and I really believe in the idea of respecting your original intention. I make drastic choices that mean I can’t back down. »
“We have to go all the way,” he believes.