The last Dumas? When was the last time, new songs in the studio? It was five years ago. It is he himself who underlines this, from the outset, with a certain incredulity in his tone. five years ago Our ideals, How is it possible ? One wonders in what state the cover of the LP, with its puzzle pieces, survived the manipulations… Did he pass the time well, he, Dumas? elsewherethe first song of the new album, is balanced “on the timeline”, both weighed down and relieved of “everything that comes before us / our fears and our enchantments”, advances step by step, and comes what can.
Depending on the song and the vehicle, the speed changes. In Leitmotif, it’s on foot that it happens, at the heavy and regular pace of the long-distance runner. In Everything will pass, lighter, Dumas is on a bicycle: “I touch freedom / On my bike”. To arrive at Chicago (the song as much as the city), we had to drive. Drive fast. Erase kilometers, swallow asphalt. “Yes, everything goes like a flash […] On the road to Chicago, memories spin. » Destination: the future.
Proof of existence
“It’s not true that there is a before and an after the pandemic. You move forward, by all means of transport, that’s all, and your whole life goes along with you. And all the music is playing, through all the channels. “I have a CD player in my tank. It’s an old tank, luckily! I am anxious at the idea of modernizing myself: there are no more CD players! Big laughter in the basement of the former Montreal Operetta Institute, which now houses the La Tribu record company and producer Larivée-Cabot-Champagne. The anguish and humor of the observation are common. If we could, we would install 4-track and 8-track players. And a record player like the Beatles and Mohamed Ali had in their Rolls and their limousines in the 1960s: we can dream! “I also subscribe to listening services, because it’s practical to find a song, but I remain very attached to the physical object, in all formats. For me, this is proof that the disc exists. »
We were just wondering if it was still a good idea to release Cosmologie on CD. I think so. It’s more likely to stand the test of time. It’s really a story of time. The time, we had it, during the pandemic. So, quite naturally, we took our time to do it, the album, to the point where we no longer had the impression of being in process, of following the steps until completion.
In this case, his records. Some have appeared on CD, others on LP AND on CD. “We were just wondering if it was still a good idea to go out Cosmology on CD. I think so. It’s more likely to stand the test of time. Here we go again. “It’s really a story of time. The time, we had it, during the pandemic. So, quite naturally, we took our time to do it, the album, to the point where we no longer had the impression of being in process, of following the steps until completion. You can hear it: no demos at all, the songs don’t shine like new either. It sizzles a little, it scratches a tad, there are rough edges. One could say: marks of time.
The necessary relief
It’s a bit much the fault of Philippe Brault, director and mixer of the record. Having become a friend and then a collaborator during the mountain races, he pushed Dumas even more towards what could be called voluntary imperfection. “He was a new ear for me, we had never worked together. He liked the demos that I unpacked for him, as they were. Me too, in fact, but I didn’t dare admit it to myself. I thought it had to come to the polishing stage. Clean up. Whereas to feel that life is passing, you need relief. It can’t be too smooth. A photographer in his spare time, Dumas buys virgin film, develops in a darkroom: the same tactile approach. “Film is like tape, it takes light like it takes sound. In its thickness, in its truth. »
Whether you feel the seconds slipping in the hourglass or tumbling down an avalanche, whether you feel the pulsations in your stomach in Leitmotifwhether one reacts to road tinkering in Chicagothe whole universe of Dumas — his Cosmology — is palpable, hollow and protruding. The three instrumental pieces (out of ten titles) give the journey even more of its temporality, providing stops, setting beacons. summer moonwith its shaky sound recording, can be heard a bit like a transistor in the night, like lost Bowie.
“If life / Traces a path that we do not choose / How to fit the truth into the crazy agenda? wonder co-parole Dumas and Jonathan Harnois in Movement. “Movement, time / No better way to redo your own trajectory / Movement, time / To extend your gaze”, they answer. Adapt, it’s all there. Depending on what we have on hand. Electro keyboards if necessary, guitars if the chorus calls them. “I think it’s the most adaptable album I’ve done. According to the needs, according to the obstacles, according to the inspiration, we changed the vehicle, the instrumentation. Whether time contracts or stretches, the music followed, Dumas too. All around her Cosmology : “And the memories / That we want to retain / They will end / At the bottom of the galaxies. »