Cœur de pirate is an author, composer, performer and pianist from Quebec. France adopted it upon the release of its eponymous debut album. His single Like children is the second French-language song to have reached number one in the ranking of singles sold in Canada, in 2010. Today, Cœur de pirate is back with a new album, Impossible to love.
franceinfo: Impossible to love, what does it mean ?
Pirate’s heart : It’s a reflection that I had for a long time because the media treatment about me was often: “Pirate’s heart, after tumultuous years, finds love again“or stuff like that. And then I started to believe that maybe I was” impossible to love “and I kind of plunged into my breakups and disappointments in love only to realize that eventually, it went.
The more time goes by, the more direct your songs are, less colorful, less metaphorical. You finally agree to drop the armor. Has it been long?
Yes. I was a bit cash before, especially in my second album Blonde hair, where really I had a little more direct side. But I think I needed to say some things about this album. Sometimes it might sound a bit violent, but it was necessary to move on.
“There is a certain quality to being very cash in life even if it can be offensive at times.”
Pirate’s heartto franceinfo
There is a real light at the end of the tunnel in this album, is it an ode to eternal love?
Yes. There is a song called We will always love each other, a song about the feeling of love when you meet someone who accepts you for the person you are. This is the conclusion of the album.
Is everything okay today? We were very worried about you when you had this voice surgery. It made you want to make an instrumental album to show that you were there and that you believe in a really positive future.
This kind of operation is quite benign for someone who is not a singer or a radio journalist because it is really a one-day operation. After that, there is a bit of recovery. There is a month of silence and a month of speech therapy to do. For a person who sings for a living, obviously, it was kinda freaking out because if I didn’t heal well, my voice could be changed forever. I still healed well even though it was a bit difficult.
You were afraid ?
Yes still. I think I had a little shock when I was diagnosed. I thought to myself, My God, I took my voice so much for granted in fact… that I will never do it again.
What does music mean to you? She has been with you since your childhood with this mother by your side and this piano that has entered your life all at once.
“I don’t know what would have happened if I hadn’t had music in my life.”
Pirate’s heartto franceinfo
I think music is everything, it’s a form of therapy too. I find myself extremely lucky to be able to do this job and to be able to express my deepest thoughts in music.
What about writing? We hear a real evolution in it.
Maybe it’s the age, I’m getting old! Writing is really a form of therapy. Afterwards, it also helps others, that’s why I keep doing it. If nobody listened to my songs, I think I wouldn’t show them, I would do them just for myself.
What does this album represent in all this journey?
It’s a big achievement for me because for a long time I thought people didn’t like it at all, even in my personal life. And finally, having written these songs, I realized that maybe, it was me who was looking for things that were unattainable because I was afraid of something healthy. Maybe that’s what I’ve been looking for in my career, over the years, so I’m really at peace today.
With little bits of cabbage around you, it’s important! Is it also what changes writing, responsibilities and desires?
My daughter isn’t at all interested in what I’m doing now, because she has her own tastes so she doesn’t care! Obviously, my handwriting is not changing, but I hope that the perception of my daughter or my unborn child is going to be good.
Does that mean that you take more time for yourself too, to appreciate things, to ask yourself?
Honestly, I didn’t see my daughter grow up and I realized this with the pandemic when it all stopped. I spent a lot of time with her and it did me a lot of good. We really reconnected in a lot of ways and I felt extremely guilty not to have been there at certain points in his life. Now I will try to plan more accordingly.
Finally, how do you see this already accomplished journey?
It’s crazy what happened to me. Sometimes I take stock of everything that’s happened in the last 13 years and it’s just amazing. Yes, obviously, there is work in all of this, but I’m lucky to have had people listening to me, to have been there at the right time, in the right place, clearly, but the audience has a lot to do with it. !