Where are we here? “In paradise,” replies Richard Desjardins, seated in the kitchen of his “camp”, one Sunday afternoon in May. “It’s my own paradise, in the woods, not far from Rouyn, in the middle of the boreal forest. I arrived here 70 years ago. »
Episode 2: Richard Desjardins
At his home, in Abitibi, on the shores of Lake Vaudray, Richard Desjardins talks about the 25th anniversary of the shocking documentary The boreal error and looks back on the creation of his legendary album Do you love me? He also remembers a six-month stay in Nunavik and recounts the founding of his first groups.
PHOTO JOSIE DESMARAIS, THE PRESS
Singer-songwriter Richard Desjardins
Three quotes from our interview
About the summer 2023 wildfires
“Last summer, I said to myself: ‘If the fire breaks out, where do I get out? There is no getaway.” It was the first time I thought about that. Because the forestry we are doing will increase the number of fires. And for the rest, for the planet, we know it’s all messed up. In The Existence [album de 2011], I’m talking about a man in a sea of tanks. Wherever you go on earth, you are always in a sea of tanks. »
About sponsorship of the cultural sector by mining companies
“They have always tried to have a good image, in relation to the fact that they have contaminated the territory, which is terrible, because they will subsidize the artists, those who project the images of their city. […] They even enter poetry competitions, if necessary. It’s outrageous. It’s a big theatrical mask, the domination of the cultural scenes here. »
About the many characters of bums in his songs
“Rouyn-Noranda was an intense city. There was more money in these cities than elsewhere. You could work easily, make good money. You’re 17, 18 years old, you go out, you go buy some dope, you go listen to rock music. They were all very colorful, very distinct characters. It was wonderful. In Rouyn, in 1960, there were around twenty hotels with around twenty orchestras. We walked from one to the other. It was an extraordinary musical education. The place was music lover. »
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