“Me, Philippe, I think that life is too short to say no. » At the end of the phone, singer Jérôme 50 drops these words of wisdom which say a lot about his way of thinking and conceiving his musical creation, which comes back to life this week with the release of his new record, entitled Antigeographically. But saying yes doesn’t come without effort.
Jérôme 50, who is based in Lower Town of Quebec, learned his lessons playing guitar on the sidewalk for eight years, which in some way shaped him for the future. “To be a street musician is to be a clown, and the number one rule, like in improv, is that the clown must say yes. If the clown says no, it’s over. »
And on Antigeographically, he said yes to lots of things. These new songs come to us five years after the release of his first album, The hierarchyand two years after its success Tokébakicittean ode as well as a satire of what Quebec can be today.
The singer-songwriter is already seeing questions arise about the long years that separate his two efforts – if we ignore his album adapting summer camp songs. “Ah, Jerome, The hierarchy, it dates from 2018… — Yes, but it’s because I have to say yes. Then, I have to respect my formal constraints. »
It is from there in the interview that Jérôme 50 confuses the semi-doubtful journalist, fooled by the seemingly light and amusing refrains and the musician’s slacker attitude. Constraints, then? The artist explains, for example, having said yes to choruses that were as concise as possible.
“It’s not on all the songs, but I write my choruses, for the majority, in one linerhe explains. Antigeographicallyit’s a one-word refrain, Tokébakicitte also, it’s a one-word chorus. I managed to take up this challenge, to respond to a need for conciseness in the words, then by paradoxically fleshing out the verses, in order to complete, to give flesh to the idea. »
The art of rhyme
Other self-imposed constraints: create real rhymes and structure them in a fairly academic poetic framework. Rhyme is increasingly neglected in favor of sonority or assonance, believes Jérôme 50, a way of doing things that he appreciates as a listener, but which he does not embrace as a creator.
He cites one of his models in this area: Georges Brassens. “Every day, Brassens lives in me. Then I also develop my pen. I tried to do something accessible, more… Let’s say for the people, and not for the elite, but with methods that could be described as intellectual. »
Jerome 50 gives the example of his play Baboune the clown, where one three-line verse rhymes echoing the next. Or that of the song Tomato sandwich, with rhymes “ABAB”. : “The church bells ring out / At the funeral of the colonized / Whose blood flows and fertilizes / My pretty fleur-de-lis flag”. “That’s the richness of rhyme. That’s Brassens, that, Philippe, Brassens. »
After two years of work, when you finish writing them, the three verses, you’re happy, because you’ve finally managed to say yes to the craziest ideas
And in his musical choices also the musician has decided to open his arms and offer titles with varied styles, but very typical. The title track is pure disco, Tomato sandwich And Tokébakicitte plunge us into a modern rigor, The can collectors takes us into the codes of ska, Double bed takes up the punk-rock rule book à la Blink-182, Quebec and bobo brings Django Reinhardt back to life, and so on.
“Today, we are at a time when we no longer want to accept the cliché,” analyzes Jérôme 50, who has accepted the fact of going against this trend. “And also, Philippe, you and I, we are fans of Love sickness by Jimmy Hunt, 100%. It’s an excellent album, which has a universe of its own, unique, but it still has instrumentations that are similar from song to song. For my own music, I don’t find what I’m looking for in this type of album. »
Death and sovereignty
Antigeographically, directed by Simon Kearney and where the sweet voice of the singer Lila shines, has its share of strings and brass instruments — arranged by Gabriel Desjardins (Philippe Brach). There are also children’s choirs, which are present on several titles. What does that bring? “It’s the whole question of death, then comes the question of sustainability,” he illustrates. I find that having children’s voices on my work gives it color. Whether it’s cheating to keep from dying, I don’t know, but it gives him a color of youth — which I know I’m losing every day. »
Death is one of the three central themes of this new album. Another angle of attack: the question of Quebec sovereignty. “Or at least of its emancipation in the world in a political context where nothing has changed since the invasion of the English and where we still do not have our own borders. »
Then, there is the effect of “the new codes” of digital technology in our lives, in love, but not only. Let us think, among other things, of Roommate search (written like a classified ad on Kijiji, mistakes included), at Every tea towel its damageon dating apps, and Version 2.0 of lovewhich talks about online pornography, “where a kind of subculture has developed which is incest”.
This last title well illustrates the overall touch of the disc Antigeographically : thoughtful rhyme structures, short chorus — “When I make love to the Internet” —, effective melody, supportive arrangements and a solid mix of humor and reflection.
“After two years of work, when you have finished writing them, the three verses, you are happy, because you have finally managed to say yes to the craziest ideas,” says Jérôme 50. That’s -say try to say the word “incest”, to say the word “slut”, to say the word “handkerchief”. It’s graphic, but you want to do it in the most beautiful way possible. Because that’s what the clown does. He takes the most violent elements, but he does it with tenderness. Then it becomes beautiful. »
Somewhere in the soil of Sète, Brassens can be proud of the young poet.