Blossoming guitars and R&B at Les Francouvertes

The preliminary evenings of Monday and last Tuesday at the 26th Francouvertes could not have been more contrasting, the first offering a line-up of songs that groove under the influence of R&B, featuring Rau Ze, BéLi and YUYU, the second focused on the more classic rock song with Madame Autruche, Émile Bourgault and Allô Fantôme. Five of the six competitors earned a place in the top 9; do they have what it takes to stay there until the end of the round?

Monday: Rau Ze, BéLi, YUYU

The preliminary round of the Francouvertes also serves as a barometer of the musical trends of the new generation of French-speaking singer-songwriters. Last Monday, it was that of R&B which shone through in the proposals of Rau Ze, BéLi, and to a lesser extent YUYU, author of an exploratory pop song strongly influenced by hip-hop.

Thus, Rau Ze (a group led by singer Rose Perron) and BéLi (a project by singer-songwriter Ariane Béliveau) not only belong to the same musical family, but to the same community of musicians. Two of the members of the group of the first joined that of the second, even that Perron went to sing the backing vocals on the songs of Béliveau, as what the competitive dimension of the competition is very secondary to the spirit of camaraderie which hovers among the competitors .

Nervous at the curtain raiser, Rau Ze took some time to release her voice, which attempted gospel flights to adorn her choruses. We detect in the group’s approach the influence of Erykah Badu’s first albums, this very free mixture of R&B, soul and jazz, an influence that is necessarily heavy to bear, the orchestra not having yet reached maturity and agility to sublimate it. His singing turn was sincere and pleasant, and visibly appreciated by the public-jury, which catapulted him into first position on the preliminary list.

Curiously, BéLi did much less well than Rau Ze at the end of the race (8th position), even if his proposal seemed to us not more robust, but more original. Above all pop, with lyrics that are sometimes more hard-hitting (an “anti-patriarchy” song), a clear voice that didn’t venture into the codes of soul and R&B, even if the groove, he claimed it. At the end of the evening YUYU (Yoah Ouimet) showed up with seven accompanying musicians, offering a performance loaded with dense orchestrations which pleasantly supported his warm voice.

Tuesday: Madame Autruche, Émile Bourgault, Allô Fantôme

Back to more traditional proposals, at least in the Quebec musical landscape: this fourth preliminary evening began with the Madame Autruche project by singer-songwriter Mélisande Archambault, a project so named to highlight the character of her songs. “depressive but still joyful” and the posture of “denial” of the artist, like a bird sticking its head in the sand.

The orchestra offered a solid performance which did not, however, stray far from the career path of the musician who we saw in the groups Little Misty and Canailles — her folk-rock sometimes more pop, often delicately psychedelic, this voice frank who evoked the good old albums of Louise Forestier, would be in his element in the first part of Bon Enfant, to make another link with Canailles.

Allô Fantôme at the end of the evening could also have accompanied Bon Enfant on tour. Another solo project created by a musician-accompanist (Samuel Gendron) whose activities have been slowed down during the pandemic, the group of eight musicians bringing together members of Mort Rose and Efy Hecks was only at its second concert in life . Nothing appeared there: theatrical, tripative, nourishing, but still green conceptually, as if the musical identity of the project had not yet been determined. Between the two, Émile Bourgault who, at only 18, amazed with his poise and his ease on stage, in the absence of having an original musical proposal – in the sound of the guitars as in the form of the songs, the young musician lacked of character, his pop-rock song would benefit from being spiced up with effects pedals, for example. But Bourgault’s stage presence testified to his passion for the profession, and this was more than enough to seduce the public: he finished the exercise by taking 2nd position in the list.

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