Things didn’t go well for Beyries when she started working Fire in the lilacs, 5 years ago. The creative sessions with his friend Maxime Le Flaguais, who wrote the lyrics for the album, gave him a place to think. The result? A first album in French will be released in 2024 under the Audiogram label. Interview.
“I separated 5 years ago. It was the release of my first album Landing… I learned this profession, which happened pretty quickly. I traveled and met a lot of people. When an effort has a certain resonance, it can become overwhelming… you enter a new dimension. I was in there a lot trying to figure out what was going on. Let’s see what I wanted next. It was a busy time,” admits the 44-year-old artist, who unveiled some songs from Du feu dans les lilas at URSA mtl on Monday evening.
This abundance found relief, among other things, in the French song creation sessions that took place parallel to the creation of his second album in English Encounter (2020). “We can talk about anything with Maxime. He gets to the point very directly. There is no taboo, no rigidity. We wrote and composed for hours, starting over, remixing… We came out of the sessions sometimes saying to ourselves: “Phew, that’s not easy! “Couldn’t we write simple songs?” (laughs) … ),” says Beyries.
In her voice we feel all the friendship that she has with her friend Maxime Le Flaguais, with whom she had already created the piece “I’ll be a hundred years old”. “I was actually friends with his older brother when I was a teenager. I met Maxime when he was 11 or 12 years old. When I was sick, we stopped seeing each other. We came together in a space that few people understood. We became great friends. » Remember that it was his battle with cancer that led Beyries to write his first songs.
Why release this album in French now? “We were finally ready. This album is a big step in my career. Doing a more comprehensive project that offers more support in French is a big change. The more I sang in French, the more joy I had. Performing pieces in French can be truly extraordinary if you have good lyrics. We feel a greater intimacy in the songs. Maxime has a way of writing that really speaks to me. He’s a guy who’s read a lot of philosophy and history… It’s universal writing. The songs are not very personal. We wanted to create timeless pieces that people will still hear in 10-20 years…”
Maxime Le Flaguais’ acting background also allowed Beyries to work on his interpretation. “He brought more discipline and rigor to the flow of my voice, e.g. B. where I should place my tonic accents, etc. We wanted to work hand in hand. From line to line he asked me what I thought. We changed the tune sometimes. We were there to deliver the text.”
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For Beyries, Joseph Marchand was the right director to highlight these texts. “He is a musician I admire. I wanted an album that was sober, elegant, nuanced and delicate… » How can you describe the sound of this upcoming album? “It’s kind of like a classic French song for discerning listeners. It’s a very introspective album that should be listened to when you’re in a certain zone, not with friends while cooking! (Laughs…) In my opinion, every listen brings new elements. »
An approach that is in line with the song Du temps, the first excerpt from Du feu dans les lilas, on which we also hear Albin de la Simone (piano), Robbie Kuster (drums) and François Lafontaine (synthesizer).
“I want this album to encourage you to slow down. It’s a lot of fun to slow down. Slow down to feel better and more comfortable with yourself. You have to listen in order to receive. I want people there to create their own universe. I am a person who tends to be fast, and slowing down is a revelation for me. Take your time, clean. Just like when this album was made. These years of creation were important for us. I’m really happy to have spent this time with Maxime. »
A few months before the release of this new album in French, Beyries makes no secret of his ambitions to break through in Europe. “We have a team in France that we have been working with for several months. The goal would be to do shows there and build an audience. »
Beyries’ album Du feu dans les lilas will be available in 2024 under the Audiogram label. For full details click here.