Sometimes, Warren Spicer, frontman of the indie rock band Plants and Animals, likes to drink a good beer while lying in the bath. This is the subject of Southsa flowing song wedged in the middle of his first solo album, Unessential Oils. “ Left alone with a cold beer in a bath tub », he croons as if he was still dreaming of it, his voice lulled by the gentle swirls of the percussions of this album partly inspired by the Brazilian tropicália sound of the 1960s and 1970s and the masterpieces of Sade — the singer, not the Marquis.
“One day when I was in the bath, I asked my son to go get me the last beer that was left in the fridge; this beer was magical! says the musician. Right out of the bath, I wrote this song. »
The Jungle, the fifth album from the trio Plants and Animals, was released in Desert Fall 2020 for Performing Arts. Let’s remember, the virus was raging and “taking baths became a theme of my daily life”, explains Spicer, who is also shown in the bathtub on the cover of his album. “During the pandemic, it was the only place I could find some solitude and inner peace. Bathing was my church — well, put like that, it sounds ridiculous, but I took my baths seriously. And doing a little reading there is wonderful! »
The music ofUnessential Oils is a reflection of these peaceful moments. He bathes in serenity, except for the song Which Way Will the Sun Set Now, denser, evoking the deceased parents of the singer-songwriter. The rest will no doubt surprise fans of Plants and Animals: “The sound, the vibe of the album are completely different from what we do as a trio — except for the sound of my voice, obviously, Warren believes. Honestly, I was looking to make the music that was missing in my life at the time, the music that I wanted to listen to. Subtlety, colors, very precise atmospheres, more than choruses, even more than the lyrics, written without thinking about a traditional song style. More focused on jazz or ambient music motifs. »
I don’t want to overwork my brain when I listen to music; my album is absolutely not cerebral. It’s a carnal album, music that has substance, that makes me want to move.
The project Unessential Oils was born from this era when musicians enjoyed more free time. A year earlier, his colleague Nicolas Basque, bassist and keyboardist of Plants and Animals, explored new pop avenues with his partner, Adèle Trottier-Rivard; they have just released a second album, Guard light, under the name Bibi Club. “It’s clear that seeing how they carry out their project is inspiring. For me, a solo project was also possible; I just had to go for it. »
“The three of us in Plants and Animals are close and continue to work together, but certainly there are times in group creative work where everyone has to compromise, because that’s the only way to work. But there was something inside me that sought more control” over the end result.
Warren asked his friend, composer, multi-instrumentalist and old synth cracker Christophe Lamarche-Ledoux (Lesser Evil, Organ Mood) to help him give shape to Unessential Oils, from sketches of songs that he kept in a separate folder. Aside from Plants and Animals, he has taken on the title of album producer, for the group comment debord and for singer-songwriter Ariel Engle (La Force). “I worked hard on making albums, it gave me very good experience, but it’s true that during this time, I forgot to work on my project. It took something to get me back into it, a window that opened,” and that something was the pandemic.
Musicians joined the project, including drummer Tommy Crane, collaborator of American jazz pianist Aaron Parks, and percussionist Martin Dicham, based in Belém, in the north of Brazil. “Martin was Sade’s percussionist — he’s still a big name! Warren gets carried away. The idea came somewhat from Tommy: once in the studio, he told me that he had spent the evening listening to Sade, wondering how it could be so good. He understood that it was the work of the percussionist who held all the grooves together; while doing some research, he discovered that he also played on Talk Talk albums, of whom he is also a big fan. » The guys contacted him by email, sent him the song tracks, Dicham recorded his own in his studio to return them to Spicer.
“Everything he does on the album is great, it really motivated us to bring this project to fruition. » The British percussionist also draws a new link with the music of Brazil which inspired the atmosphere of the songs ofUnessential Oils — Spicer cites legend Jorge Ben’s influence on the album’s colors.
“The bossa nova or samba rhythm isn’t clearly an ingredient on the album, but these rhythms showed me the direction to take with my grooves. I was influenced by those old albums, but I also didn’t want it to be too clear. It’s the aesthetic of this sound that inspired me — and the biggest nod I give to the Tropicália albums are the choruses,” sung by Ariel Engle and Adèle Trottier-Rivard. “This way of singing in unison, always the same note, without harmonies, is classic on albums from this era. »
“I have a hard time clearly explaining the sound of this album,” Warren summarizes. A little folk, a little jazz, Brazilian pop. What attracts me to music is the feeling. I don’t want to overwork my brain when I listen to music; my album is absolutely not cerebral. It’s a carnal album, music that has substance, that makes me want to move. » Or wading around, a beer in hand.