16 years. It took Les Poules (“the chicks”) 16 years to record a follow-up to the 1986 LP Les contes de l’amère loi. Of course we can’t consider Prairie orange a true follow-up. Too much water has passed under the bridge and Joane Hétu, Diane Labrosse and Danielle Palardy Roger have played together in too many projects to let the quantum jump between the two discs sound anything but natural — or even the same band. This opus, marvelously titled Prairie Orange, presents the three musicians engaged in intense quiet free improvising: no lyrics, no song structures. Roger’s angular beats on the first opus have been replaced by delicate percussion work reminiscent of Roger Turner or Paul Lovens at their quietest. Labrosse works her sampler in much the same way as in her duo Parasites with Martin Tétreault. Treated water sounds, electrical glitches and the occasional recognizable sample (like foghorns) play hide and seek with the scraped and brushed percussion and Hétu’s ghostly, hesitant alto sax. The latter vocalizes on half of the album, her quiet screams and wails as profoundly disturbing as ever — why? Because they sound utterly alien, all the while tapping into something atavistically human. Each piece has been carefully edited and shaped out of longer improvisations to produce a spellbinding set that knows when to stop (a few seconds short of 50 minutes). These three have been sharing stages for 20 years. They have reached a level of understanding, listening and complicity matched only by the best. Highly recommended.

Le quatuor Ipso Facto est formé de musiciens qui ont de solides formations et une ouverture aux musiques du monde qui leur inspire un son unique et universel. Résolument acoustique, la musique du groupe se métisse d’influences gitanes et latines, le violon de Chantal Bergeron et la guitare de David Bussières semblant danser joyeusement sur les rythmes chauds tenus par le percussionniste Francis Bergeron et le contrebassiste Simon Dolan, avec de temps à autre juste ce qu’il faut de swing pour évoquer le fameux duo Grappelli/ Reinhardt. La prise de son de Bernard Grenon est magnifique. Ipso Facto sera en concert le 26 novembre à 21 h 30 à la Sala Rossa, et on nous promet même pour cette occasion, entre autres interprétations, des musiques de John Zorn.4/5

The poem Prose du Transsibérien et la Petite Jehanne de France written in 1913 by Blaise Cendrars inspired Cartier for this double cd. The poem evocates a journey by a teenager across Russia and Siberia during the 1905 war between Russia and Japan. Cartier sings the poem entirely. “Sings” is not the right word. What Cartier does is somewhere between singing and recitiating. It is obvious that Cartier is impressed by this poem from the swiss writer Cendrars. So in order to enjoy this cd fully it is needed that you have no difficulties with the french language. Because I don’t, I’m not wild about this one. As the music is in function of the text. The composition to this poem is played by Jean Derome (sax, flute), Jean René (viola), Tom wlash (trombone), Bernard Falaise (guitar) and Pierre Tanguay (drums). Plus Cartier himself on doublebass. He also composed the music. Cartier studied doublebass on the conservatory in Montréal and chose a career as a classical musician. He specialized himself in medieval music and gregorian chant. But that’s not all. Cartier met Pierre St-Jak and Jean Derome in 1973 and plays jazz, improvised music and forms of new music that are typical for the Ambiances Magnétiques scene. He guests on many cds by his mate Jean Derome. His own releases reflect a post-bop kind of jazz. With Chansons de Douve (1996) Cartier presents something new, a song cycle for two opera singers and eight musicians. Many influences are melted together in an impressive whole. Dis Blaise… continues more or less in the same vein. It is also a cycle of songs. Not a kind of jazz that is to identify as bop or whatever. Compostions are much more personal here, moving towards modern chamber music.

To celebrate their 25th anniversary, the NOW Orchestra asked none other than Martin Tétreault to compose 15 minutes of music for them. A concert featuring 17 musicians is held on November 29, 2002 in Vancouver (BC). The following day, traditional chinese musicians joins Martin and the Now for another live prestation.