Marianne Bel
A couple of years ago I feel head over heals in love with the "Le balcon", the debut album by twenty-something Québec-native Auteure-Compositeur-Interprète, Marianne Bel. At the time I'd pencilled in a flight to Japan to both unpick the various themes woven throughout the album and write the post - it's an 11 hour flight - loads of time... or so I though. By the time we touched down in Narita, I realised instead that I'd just let this album completely smother me in it's warming embrace...
So I was very pleasantly surprised when - without any fanfare - Marianne released her new mini album, "Lumière" earlier this autumn and one which again highlights the poetic lyricism and soothing compositional skills of this enchanting artiste...
Whereas "Le Balcon" revealed an artist who happily skirted several musical genres - jazz, country, folklorico, simmering ballads or toe-tapping pop songs - "Lumière" follows a gentler country-folk chemin with just a hint of those Latin influences so apparent on her earlier album. It's a collection of songs - stories - that are strongly influenced by Marianne's affinity with both nature and her cultural - folklorique - roots...
The album opens with "Notre chant d'amour" - an achingly beautiful love song that is as delicate as the 'soft wind in the midday sun' and which offers the first opportunity to once again allow yourself to be enveloped in Marianne's warm, soothing vocals and the gentle strumming of the acoustic guitar. The song speaks of those telepathic bonds that binds lovers together; of two who are at one; "...La mer a le sel, le bleu a le ciel et la rivière coule en son lit..." / "The sea has the salt, blue has the sky and the river flows into its bed..." The song is inspired by Trova - one of the great roots of Cuban music, rich in poetic texts and traditionally accompanied by the guitar - championed by artists such as Silvio Rodríguez and Pablo Milanés. With "Notre chant d'amour" Marianne captures the essence of Trova; "...Notre chant d’amour est plus long que le temps qu’il faut pour parler d’avenir, Plus long que l’écho qui remplit le silence sans le détruire..." / "...Our love song is longer than the time it takes to talk about the future, Longer than the echo that fills the silence yet without destroying it..." The song's Latin influences leave an overwhelming impression of inner peace and tranquility.
Themes of Love also feature on "Mississippi." There's a notable chord progression half way through its introduction as if the song - like the mighty river itself - no longer meanders as it flows from it's source out into the Gulf of Mexico. The river seems to act as a metaphor for love - whatever course the river takes, the timeless ebb and flow of the waves on the shore - this love will endure and grow; "...Le long des côtes d’estran et de battures, l’amour est éternel, le temps qu’il dure..." / "...The coastal foreshore and tidal flats, love is eternal, the time that it lasts..."
"Les Pitounes" demonstrates Marianne's keen eye for detail - a song composed as a result of attending workshops hosted by the famed poet and singer-songwriter Gilles Vigneault - it addresses two of themes discussed; La Drave or 'driving' of felled logs down the great waterways of Québec to the mills and the fight by women in their strive for equality. The 'pitoune' of the song's title is both an (often) disparaging Québecois term for women as well as the name given to a felled log ready to be floated to the mill. As Marianne admits, the song is also inspired by the film "La Source des femmes" and a story that focuses on the women of a remote village who go on a sex strike to protest against having to fetch water from a distant well. Again there's a deceptive simplicity and clarity to the song; the accompanying acoustic guitar not only adds a lilting folk-tinged air but also immediately disarms. Meanwhile the voice of Nicolas Pellerin adds warmth and added depth to the chorus. However, it's the poetic nature of the lyrics and the vivid imagery of the story they convey that identifies Marianne as a truly exceptional lyricist. The song is - unsurprisingly - written through female eyes - a young girl who refuses to be constrained and conform to the norms of society; "...Moi je le sais depuis des lunes, je veux voyager comme le bois rond, Je ne veux pas attendre la fortune, je veux travailler avec les garçons..." / "...I know for many moons, I want to travel as the logs, I do not want to wait for fortune, I want to work with the boys..." And yes, the women of the village - perhaps ennobled by this young girl - present their menfolk an ultimatum...
The EP's title track is inspired by Marianne's uprooting herself from the city to seek answers and comfort amongst the seclusion of nature. The lyrics speak of those moments as twilight approaches where the shadows lengthen; there's a feeling of being alone with just thoughts. "Lumière" illustrates the ease at which Marianne marries gentle folk-tinged melodies to her poetic lyrics; once again there's a pleasing simplicity to her soothing guitar, as here the strings of Étienne Dextraze heighten the air of tranquility and solitude. Poetic imagery also abounds during "Le retour du Curé." The song's simple folk melody is effortlessly enchanting, the floating refrain is utterly angelic while the lyrics seductive undercurrent is heightened by the subtle multi-tracking of Marianne's vocals; "...Viens que je te dise pourquoi il fait chaud chez moi, Et soleil ardent depuis que tu es là..." / "...Come let me tell you why it's hot at home, And the sun fierce since you are here..." Which just leaves one question unanswered. Who is the returning priest?
However, the EP closes with probably my favourite track. "Violeta" is a song inspired by the Chilean composer, songwriter and folklorist Violeta Parra, and artist who was inspired by the traditional folk music of the indigenous population and gave their music a voice. The song is a homage to beliefs of this Chilean artist - a crackly archived documentary in Violeta's native Spanish fades to Marianne's tell-tale strumming and the most plaintive of double bass - exploring the chasm that exists today between the indigenous and non-indigenous population of her native Québec. The lyrics paints a vast canvas, one as expansive as the river that shaped once unspoilt lands and where the indigenous people learned to live in harmony with nature - before settlers arrived to cut and scar the landscape. There's an analogy to man's rape of the natural resources - "...What is left of us is kindling, of smoke signals and the powder..." The use of violin - in a jaunty celtic reel - hints at the arrival of the settlers from the East and the subsequent exploitation of the land... Violeta Parra's "Arriba quemando el sol" - and whose opening verse Marianne closes "Violeta" - reflected on the impact of the mines on the landscape but not just on the indigenous population but also the conditions faced by the miners - many themselves natives - as they toiled under the burning sky. Through her lyrics Marianne explores themes of in our time-poor society we all risk losing those connection with our roots; "...Je suis ceux qui oublient après avoir trop bu, Je suis le lendemain et je ne me souviens plus..." / "...I am those who forget after having drunk too much, I am the next day and I do not remember anymore..."
"Lumière" confirms the talent that shone throughout "Le balcon" - one that leaves me astonished that this EP doesn't seem to have been reviewed by the notoriously fervent Québec press. I wrote recently of the haunting vocals and poetic lyricism of Maude Audet and while Marianne's voice perhaps doesn't convey as a wide an emotional range, there's a magnetic quality to her soothing tones, it's no exaggeration to suggest that Marianne Bel's story-telling deserves to be mentioned in the same breath...
Marianne Bel (Website)
"Lumière" (Bandcamp)
So I was very pleasantly surprised when - without any fanfare - Marianne released her new mini album, "Lumière" earlier this autumn and one which again highlights the poetic lyricism and soothing compositional skills of this enchanting artiste...
Whereas "Le Balcon" revealed an artist who happily skirted several musical genres - jazz, country, folklorico, simmering ballads or toe-tapping pop songs - "Lumière" follows a gentler country-folk chemin with just a hint of those Latin influences so apparent on her earlier album. It's a collection of songs - stories - that are strongly influenced by Marianne's affinity with both nature and her cultural - folklorique - roots...
The album opens with "Notre chant d'amour" - an achingly beautiful love song that is as delicate as the 'soft wind in the midday sun' and which offers the first opportunity to once again allow yourself to be enveloped in Marianne's warm, soothing vocals and the gentle strumming of the acoustic guitar. The song speaks of those telepathic bonds that binds lovers together; of two who are at one; "...La mer a le sel, le bleu a le ciel et la rivière coule en son lit..." / "The sea has the salt, blue has the sky and the river flows into its bed..." The song is inspired by Trova - one of the great roots of Cuban music, rich in poetic texts and traditionally accompanied by the guitar - championed by artists such as Silvio Rodríguez and Pablo Milanés. With "Notre chant d'amour" Marianne captures the essence of Trova; "...Notre chant d’amour est plus long que le temps qu’il faut pour parler d’avenir, Plus long que l’écho qui remplit le silence sans le détruire..." / "...Our love song is longer than the time it takes to talk about the future, Longer than the echo that fills the silence yet without destroying it..." The song's Latin influences leave an overwhelming impression of inner peace and tranquility.
Themes of Love also feature on "Mississippi." There's a notable chord progression half way through its introduction as if the song - like the mighty river itself - no longer meanders as it flows from it's source out into the Gulf of Mexico. The river seems to act as a metaphor for love - whatever course the river takes, the timeless ebb and flow of the waves on the shore - this love will endure and grow; "...Le long des côtes d’estran et de battures, l’amour est éternel, le temps qu’il dure..." / "...The coastal foreshore and tidal flats, love is eternal, the time that it lasts..."
"Les Pitounes" demonstrates Marianne's keen eye for detail - a song composed as a result of attending workshops hosted by the famed poet and singer-songwriter Gilles Vigneault - it addresses two of themes discussed; La Drave or 'driving' of felled logs down the great waterways of Québec to the mills and the fight by women in their strive for equality. The 'pitoune' of the song's title is both an (often) disparaging Québecois term for women as well as the name given to a felled log ready to be floated to the mill. As Marianne admits, the song is also inspired by the film "La Source des femmes" and a story that focuses on the women of a remote village who go on a sex strike to protest against having to fetch water from a distant well. Again there's a deceptive simplicity and clarity to the song; the accompanying acoustic guitar not only adds a lilting folk-tinged air but also immediately disarms. Meanwhile the voice of Nicolas Pellerin adds warmth and added depth to the chorus. However, it's the poetic nature of the lyrics and the vivid imagery of the story they convey that identifies Marianne as a truly exceptional lyricist. The song is - unsurprisingly - written through female eyes - a young girl who refuses to be constrained and conform to the norms of society; "...Moi je le sais depuis des lunes, je veux voyager comme le bois rond, Je ne veux pas attendre la fortune, je veux travailler avec les garçons..." / "...I know for many moons, I want to travel as the logs, I do not want to wait for fortune, I want to work with the boys..." And yes, the women of the village - perhaps ennobled by this young girl - present their menfolk an ultimatum...
However, the EP closes with probably my favourite track. "Violeta" is a song inspired by the Chilean composer, songwriter and folklorist Violeta Parra, and artist who was inspired by the traditional folk music of the indigenous population and gave their music a voice. The song is a homage to beliefs of this Chilean artist - a crackly archived documentary in Violeta's native Spanish fades to Marianne's tell-tale strumming and the most plaintive of double bass - exploring the chasm that exists today between the indigenous and non-indigenous population of her native Québec. The lyrics paints a vast canvas, one as expansive as the river that shaped once unspoilt lands and where the indigenous people learned to live in harmony with nature - before settlers arrived to cut and scar the landscape. There's an analogy to man's rape of the natural resources - "...What is left of us is kindling, of smoke signals and the powder..." The use of violin - in a jaunty celtic reel - hints at the arrival of the settlers from the East and the subsequent exploitation of the land... Violeta Parra's "Arriba quemando el sol" - and whose opening verse Marianne closes "Violeta" - reflected on the impact of the mines on the landscape but not just on the indigenous population but also the conditions faced by the miners - many themselves natives - as they toiled under the burning sky. Through her lyrics Marianne explores themes of in our time-poor society we all risk losing those connection with our roots; "...Je suis ceux qui oublient après avoir trop bu, Je suis le lendemain et je ne me souviens plus..." / "...I am those who forget after having drunk too much, I am the next day and I do not remember anymore..."
"Lumière" confirms the talent that shone throughout "Le balcon" - one that leaves me astonished that this EP doesn't seem to have been reviewed by the notoriously fervent Québec press. I wrote recently of the haunting vocals and poetic lyricism of Maude Audet and while Marianne's voice perhaps doesn't convey as a wide an emotional range, there's a magnetic quality to her soothing tones, it's no exaggeration to suggest that Marianne Bel's story-telling deserves to be mentioned in the same breath...
Marianne Bel (Website)
"Lumière" (Bandcamp)
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