INESPERADO,

Following the death of my father, I needed to reassess my life, to find myself and to rekindle the little flame inside me. His long months of illness had caused me to put my life on “pause” to accompany him on his end-of-life journey. In January 2019, I found myself in a self-directed artistic residency in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, racking up master classes and meeting so many wonderful Brazilian artists. Then, one day, I had a meeting with Maestro Leandro Braga, at his home. Our meeting had an abrupt end and in the process, the bracelet of my father’s watch (which I was wearing) broke and the watch was found long after I had left. As our schedules did not coincide, I had almost lost hope of being reunited with my father’s watch, until one day Leandro called me to invite me, one Saturday afternoon, because he wanted to see me again and had something to give me. My friend Michel Tasky, took me on his motorcycle to Leandro’s house (carioca style!), where not only did I find the watch, but he also gifted me an extraordinarily beautiful melody – like a Brazilian Debussy! It is now the song “Nous imaginaires”. I cried. Of joy, of finding my watch, of melancholy, of everything…

 And that same Saturday afternoon, we decided to record some song I wrote in Rio: Jayme Vignoli concocted arrangements at great speed, gathered some extraordinary musicians, and on Tuesday (yes, three days later!), we were in a studio recording the first 5 songs of the album. Back in Canada, I had another album project coming up (#jesuisUFO) so I put my Brazilian songs on the back burner.

 Then came the pandemic. The album #jesuisUFO died an early death, Covid induced. I chose to let go, to fall back on what was precious to me. The idea of finishing the recording I started in Brazil was more and more present. I contacted some Canadian-Brazilian artists and together we wrote the last songs that appear on the album. Eleven songs full of sun and warmth, completely acoustic, with delicate orchestrations, where passion and warmth permeate everything. These pieces are filled with light, with a deep and palpable beauty. The lyrics are crafted, and they flow smoothly to form songs that leave room for imagination between the lines.  You will discover two sumptuous duets “Au bout de nos horizons” (At the end of our horizons) and “Je t’aime en majuscules ” (I love you in capital letters) with the warm voice of Paulo Ramos, a “Choro extasiado” which translates a legend, a romance of lovers on the island of Paqueta in the bay of Rio, “Chanter l’espoir” (Singing hope) a song co-written with Rodrigo Simoes – a samba that invigorates and infuses as much of hope as it lifts your mood …

A production that is both luminous, full of emotions and reverence for life.