The stars have aligned for Arcade Fire since their sixth album, WE, released last week, was generally well received by fans and critics. The stars, and — surprise! — a black hole more than four million times the mass of our sun dubbed Sagittarius A*, which, incidentally, serves as the title of the last song on side A of WE. Coincidence? Sagittarius A* is making headlines today after the very first image was unveiled on Thursday, during a press conference during which Win Butler and Régine Chassagne sang their new song. “Yes, we did that! ” was still surprised Régine, joined Thursday by Zoom in the company of her spouse, Win Butler.
” it’s crazy escapes Butler, specifying that “the conference took place live from Munich, with the director of this organization… What is it called again? he asks, turning to Régine. It’s called the European Southern Observatory, which coordinates the work of a team called the Event Horizon Telescope. “It’s been ten years since[elle] look for this place in space to photograph the black hole, thanks to triangulation “and the implementation of a dozen telescopes across the planet, continues Régine, all smiles.
We have long laughed about the sluggish marketing campaign surrounding the release ofEverything Now, five years ago ; this time, the publicity stunt is found, it must be admitted — bravo! Régine jumps: “No, no! We got an email 24 hours ago asking if we would sing the song at the press conference the next day! »
The song End of the Empire IV (Sagittarius A*) closes the apocalyptic first side of the new album, which begins with the expression of “the age of anxiety”, as Win and Régine sing. On this ceremonial ballad quoting the Divine Comedyby Dante, Win also sings this phrase that has caused a stir: “ Fuck season five! ” It was enough for the followers to see it as a kind of denial of the fifth album, Everything Now, perceived as the weakest link in the lot. Win makes things clear: nay.
“The text should not be taken so literally. In the song, I also say: “The clothes don’t fit me right / Must be the wrong body type”. It could also be a comment on fashion! The sentence rather wants to evoke… You know, these conversations that we have: “What series are you listening to at the moment? What show got you hooked on Netflix?” Régine cuts him off: “It’s about the endless generation of new content. » Win resumes the train of his thought « And I add: “ I unsubscribe” , I want to unsubscribe from your mailing list. Finally, I even believe thatEverything Now is one of the best things we’ve done, so I definitely wouldn’t have gone and said “Fuck my album…”I love this album! »
Fruitful collaboration
“We are excited at the idea that WE is finally out, Win continues. Its management took forever, we put enormous efforts into it “, in particular due to the pandemic, which upset its conception and which justified the call made to director Nigel Godrich (Radiohead), who came to support Win and Régine . “Because of COVID, the borders remained closed for a long time, so it took us eight or nine months before we were able to get everyone together” in the studio in New Orleans, says Win. The couple spends most of their time there.
In the absence of colleagues from Arcade Fire, “we finally managed to meet only three or four weeks, to record as many songs as possible” among the thirty that the couple had composed. Nigel Godrich served as a compass in the studio to effectively guide the band. “He’s such a good sound engineer, and above all, since we were in a very intense period of work, we didn’t have time to question ourselves. The band relied on the director’s expertise to create meaning in the eclectic WE.
The next tour, which will see Arcade Fire offer its only festival date on July 29 in Osheaga, will be without Will Butler, who announced last week that he had left the group. Will his departure have an effect on the way the band behaves on stage? We’ll see, but Win recalls that his brother was not part of the starting lineup during the tour for the album Funeral (2004), which instead included guitarist Dan Boeckner, from Wolf Parade, who is now picking up steam for the next cycle of concerts.
“And we invited [le percussionniste] Paul Beaubrun, one of the members of Boukman Eksperyans, to play with us, points out Win. He’s electrifying, he’s one of the most gifted performers I know. Régine calls him “my cousin, obviously because of our connection with Haiti. On stage, the chemistry is so natural with Paul and Dan.”
It bursts the Zoom screen, Régine is excited like a chip at the idea of hitting the road again. No nervousness, after all this time away from the crowds? “No, no, on the contrary! says Regina. Hey, we just been through a lot of things, it’s time to relive, let’s go ! We are here, we appreciate the time we spend together, it is in this perspective that I am waiting for the tour. When we played at the Bowery in New York [à la fin mars], it was abandonment, it was great! »
Yes, on that subject… You gave surprise concerts in New Orleans, in New York, in London, why not in Montreal, like in the good old days? Régine fidgets in her chair: “I know, I know! I must tell you that all the plans we make these days are written in lead pencil. You have to constantly erase everything because of this or that, usually because of COVID… Just coming back to Canada to play at the Junos is complicated. We’re at least going to play Osheaga! »
We got an email 24 hours ago asking if we would sing the song at the press conference the next day!