The staircase is narrow and long up to the second floor of the Pamplemousse bar. And the steps are high. The thought arises directly from aching feet: to celebrate thirty years of ups and downs of an admirable singer-songwriter, the symbolism is appropriate. We struggle by telling ourselves that Sylvie Paquette is worth it. ” It is high ! » comments Michel Faubert. Pierre Flynn says the same thing.
What exactly are we celebrating? Let her be there. Let us be there. Faithful, supportive. Of all ages. We didn’t all arrive in Sylvie Paquette’s artistic or personal life at the same time. Rosie Valland, it’s very recent. Émilie Proulx, Chloé Lacasse, Salomé Leclerc, Antoine Corriveau, Philippe Brault, José Major, Ghyslain-Luc Lavigne, Ingrid St-Pierre, Elliot Maginot, it varies. The moment of anchoring doesn’t matter: once there, it’s there to stay. Luc De Larochellière, it was at the very beginning, even before the compilation Picture from 1991, where they signed the song together I believe. The first album, Soul About, appeared in 1993 by Gamma. Rick Haworth was artistic director. “He also plays on the new album,” says the person triumphantly.
Nothing ordinary
Everyone would say it, let’s confirm: it is a marvel, an unusual success, that this new album entitled So far. Extraordinary because it is not at all listened to as a duly marked anniversary, even if the thirteen titles have had lives, engraved on CD between 1993 and 2013, all tested on stage in different configurations, played guitar-voice or with musicians (depending on location or budget), or during collective shows. They definitely have age, wear and a patina. This should be perceived, logically.
Old songs, then, necessarily? No way. That’s not what we mean. So far is not a compilation, nor a solo revisit. And certainly not an album of solos, despite all the collaborations and the real duets (with Ingrid St-Pierre, with Elliot Maginot) which are exceptions in the process resolutely far removed from the very idea of a collection of duets and performers. “I hate duet albums,” says Philippe Brault, who worked mainly on the “artistic coherence” of the project. It’s a record of selected songs that shine in the present.
Proceed in reverse
The more than convincing result of a rich idea brought to fruition. Sylvie Paquette explains: “I made a strange proposition to people I love and admire in our profession. I said to each person: let’s say I entrust you with one of my songs, could you produce it? I don’t want you to sing it – and yet, they are performers -, I want you to work on it and offer it to me. And if you want, you can do backing vocals. »
Just that. “Not embarrassed, girl, eh! » Crazy laughter from the plaintiff hearing herself set her conditions. We think of the little girl who chooses her gifts in advance from the Sears catalog and who wants to go get them with each member of the family. Separately. And during the party, let others discover each gift. “I’m really crazy,” she adds, delighted. As delighted as each prospective artist, are you surprised? Émilie Proulx, still out of breath from the mountaineering staircase, recounts her achievements for Since And My night. “I loved working like that, for my part. Completely free. It gradually became defined. I made sketches, tested tones, I didn’t want to distort: the only criterion was Sylvie’s voice. If it’s still sung, that’s fine! »
Serving a voice
“I was in his hands, I felt good. You can’t be afraid with such caring and talented people,” continues Sylvie Paquette. “It didn’t take long to understand that our only guiding principle was going to be Sylvie’s voice,” summarizes Brault. Everyone felt it from their side. » For many, the reflex was to give the bass-drums pairing a prominent place and to favor keyboards and strings. The guitars are not very present, on purpose, to avoid thinking about pickings of origin from a singer who is hard to imagine without a six-string attached to her body. “That was also our luck,” Chloé Lacasse aptly observes. “There was room to arrange, orchestrate, imagine. However, I started from Spanish Sun, which had been very orchestrated by Daniel Bélanger, but the song still gave me plenty of possibilities. »
Antoine Corriveau’s creation for the song For a light rain is particularly original: the double bass is the main instrument, a piano is added, and all this leads to an immense crescendo of strings. “I took full advantage of the carte blanche aspect. It makes you want to have ideas. The other song I made, A lot, is very drum’n’bass, the atmosphere is rather dull. I didn’t want to listen to the existing versions again, I just had to let myself be inspired by Sylvie. » Proving that Dylan was right to say that a song is a living being and that any recording is never more than a moment of this life, arbitrarily chosen. “Everything remains possible,” said happily, the new performer of her own songs, “I have had proof of this thirteen times. »