The Whole Music Experience

Le Vent du Nord Tromper Le Temps Borealis Records Hailing from Quebec, Le Vent du Nord also performed at the Vancouver Folk Music Festival in 2003, as part of a celebration of traditional Quebecois music.   I interviewed the quartet, who at the time had a different line-up than the band has today.   Six albums and ten years later, Le Vent du Nord (the north wind) still rallies on, fired by founding members Nicolas Boulerice (hurdy-gurdy, piano, voice), Olivier Demers (violin/fiddle, feet, mandolin, electric guitar, voice), and Simon Beaudry (guitar, voice, bouzouki) and Réjean Brunet (accordion, bass, piano, jaw harp and voice).   Even when these musicians sing sober lyrics, you still feel like you have been invited to a soirée. Take a listen to the rousing opener Lettre À Durham , in which the singers address the 19th century English diplomat who inspired the Union Act bringing Lower and Upper Canada together, despite the Quebecois wishes.  ...

Harry Manx Isle of Manx The Desert Island Collection Dog My Cat Records/World Village I had the pleasure of meeting Harry Manx at the Vancouver Folk Music Festival in 2003.   And Manx introduced me to the music of Pandit Mohan Vishwa Bhatt (inventor of Indian slide-guitar), while also reacquainting me with American blues.   Manx created his own sound that combines the spiritual sounds of India with earthy blues.   But more than that, Manx is a born-storyteller, traveler, and a Canadian bluesman.   I allowed too many years to pass by, before revisiting Manx’s songs and then Isle of Manx (a best of album) arrived in my post office box. My favorites, Coat of Mail , Don’t Forget to Miss Me , Bring that Thing , and Lay Down My Worries appear here, along side songs I’m hearing for the first time.   Indian slide guitar, warm acoustic guitar, and American slide guitar frame Manx’s folk-blues vocals.   Sadly, musician credits don’t app...

Sagapool Coop Faux Monnayeurs Independent Release/Canada Similar to the French music collective Lo’Jo, Quebec’s Sagapool collectively represents a multicultural stew on its self-titled album.   However, as mentioned in the press notes, Sagapool performs meditative music.   Not to confuse meditative with new age, this sextet lead by clarinetist Guillaume Bourque musically ponders the Great White North, and oddly sounds like Finish or Norwegian folk music.   Sure, the musicians toss the words Klezmer and Balkan around in the band’s description, and we do hear an Eastern European gypsy tinge, especially on an upbeat song Marcel , which sounds like the circus rolled into town. However, I can draw comparisons between this Quebecois band and European musical acts, but by the end of the day, the best descriptor is original.   Now, I’ve never traveled to Quebec so I am left with a mystical description of the place--some far off land, bordering the US and ...

Good Lovelies Let the Rain Fall Six Shooter Records/Warner Bros. While the US had its sweethearts Doris Day and the Andrew Sisters, Canada presents its own version of the musical girls next door, better known as Good Lovelies.   This trio, like the Wailin’ Jennys, blends their sweet-honeyed voices on songs that swing. But unlike the Wailin’ Jennys, there’s not a prairie in sight. I'm also reminded of the rockabilly group Stray Cats of the 80's.  Good Lovelies perform urban grass songs that portray women getting around a city on bikes, and the simplicities of domestic life on their third album, Let the Rain Fall . With these adorable ditties and toe-tapping tunes, even us poor folks living under rain clouds for 6 months feel uplifted. The album’s warm production features lap steel, guitar, Wurlitzer (organ), bass, drums, mandolin, and harmonica.   But the instrumentation merely offers a backdrop for the vocal harmonies and the stories featured in each ...