No respite for Marie Denise Pelletier. The tall, fiery-haired singer has only just finished the show’s major 125-date tour For a one night stand, where she shared the stage with Marie Carmen and Joe Bocan, may the wind lift her again. After 12 years without original material, the artist returns to present Under my female skina record carried, this time, by a love story.
On the other side of the screen, the one who is widely known for All the SOS cries And Invent the Earth is almost surprised to see herself with 12 fresh pieces in hand to offer to her audience. The push came from her producer Martin Leclerc, who inspired her to get to work.
“Suggesting new songs, I didn’t necessarily think I would do that again one day,” confides Marie Denise Pelletier in complete transparency who, in 2017, offered covers of Claude Léveillée. “Today, making records, we know very well, is more like before. Me, I’m no longer an artist who plays on the radio… You know, after 40 years of career, it’s over for us. But, on the other hand, I told myself that my freedom was total. »
What worried him, however, was the weather, because Under my female skin set himself up “right in the completely crazy whirlwind” of the tour with his two accomplices from For a one night stand.
“The process of finding songs or composing them is long,” emphasizes Marie Denise Pelletier. Finally, I sowed some seeds here and there… And the people responded to the call, it worked out well. And it’s magical, I have an album that I like, of which I’m very proud. »
The artist’s harvest turns out to be most fruitful. On this new disc, we find two pieces by Michel Rivard and one by Claude Gauthier, texts by Marc Chabot, Marc Séguin and Moran, as well as music by Louis-Jean Cormier, Robert Charlebois and Corey Hart. Among other collaborations.
“I say that this album is daring, but in fact, it’s not the album that is daring, it’s me who was daring by asking everyone, by knocking on doors! » laughs the one who was involved for 17 years at the Artists’ Union and in its collective management company, Artisti. The singer, despite her career, sees in these offerings a valued proof of “recognition from her peers” and “a priceless gift”.
Under my female skin includes songs about friendship, music and breakups, but the hard core of the album remains love, in general, but also in particular. After years where her heart was flayed, Marie Denise Pelletier found the right one during a blind meeting with a Madelinot. It was almost ten years ago, and today she dedicates this album to him.
“It is certain that [les chansons] are imbued with everything I have experienced since the last record, including my meeting with Normand, which is fabulous. It was like destinies linked. So, I wanted to sing that, to sing my happiness, to sing my joy,” she says, smiling.
“And it’s universal,” she explains in the same breath. You’re still young, but people our age, when they find true love in their fifties or early sixties, it’s still something exceptional. Because there are so many women who are alone, who age alone, so I think it’s important to… to say that it happens, that it can be done, you know? »
She also instilled this desire for universality into This woman, written by Martine Pratte and which rather faithfully depicts Marie Denise Pelletier without naming her: “a little famous”, “very reckless”, “on edge”… “The text challenged me, I said: “My God , but she’s talking about me!” But I made her add a bridge so that other women could recognize themselves. » And it goes like this: “So many women and so many lives / which are also similar / so many women and so many stories / paths of corridors”.
Candy
All these texts and music from all sides were put together by director Jacques Roy (Dominique Fils-Aimé), who worked to make everything coherent. The binder? Gentleness, notes Marie Denise Pelletier. “There are songs that are very nuanced,” she says. I’m known for my voice, which is capable of bursting out en masse, but this album is all about interiority and I think Jacques understood well what I wanted. »
The choice of instruments goes in the same direction, all relying heavily on guitars, piano and violins. The accordion rears its head on The heart of the Islandsand the double bass shines on The magnetic shoulderby Mario Chénart, a piece chosen to pay tribute to the musician who died in 2019. “I wanted to have a kind of cocoon that envelops us,” she sums up.
From February, Marie Denise Pelletier will go back on tour throughout Quebec and intends to give pride of place to her new additions – “you don’t make an album to leave it on the shelves! » The one who will celebrate her 40th career says she prefers to look ahead rather than behind, even if she will not deprive the public of her immortal songs.
“There will be a section where we will talk about the author-composer that I am. Because people don’t know it. At the time, the guys were songwriters and the girls were performers… But I still wrote or composed a third of my repertoire, or around fifty songs. So, I’m going to focus on that a little! »