Pierre-Hervé Goulet was 10 years old when he wrote his first song. It was about a little horse galloping on the Beach of Friendship. “I started writing before I was interested in reading, it was an impulse to express myself. »
The themes may have become deeper, but more than two decades later, the singer-songwriter from Beauceron hasn’t lost that drive to express himself and create.
“Dopamine”, the fourth album he presents to the world, once again underlines his love for writing. In a folk-pop musical variant that is as simple as it is catchy, Pierre-Hervé Goulet uses an agile pen that he puts at the service of his artistic driving force: the creation of songs.
“On the album before [le plus pop Le jeu des lumières]While I was there I was more in search of identity and had a taste to reconnect with the creation of the first songs. Making songs just because it makes me happy, because it creates dopamine, you know, pleasure.”
A creative guy
Even though he’s not the acclaimed star we see walking on red carpets or hearing on the radio every day, Pierre-Hervé Goulet manages to make enough money to live solely from music.
“When am I happiest? When I create. The core of my love for music and words is creation. » Photo Stevens LeBlanc/Le Journal de Québec
This is certainly due to his extensive creativity. When he started in 2017, he offered home delivery of his album, an approach that allowed him to sell several hundred and gain followers in several Quebec cities.
Since then he has taught in schools, was part of the short-lived boy band Les Maryann and started a YouTube channel where he teaches the ABCs of songwriting.
“The joy of teaching,” he says, “is a way to flesh out the basics in my head and feel like I’m sharing something because people have shared it with me.” A creative process is collective and if this movement stagnates, it stops. That’s why I add coal to the fire when it comes to new business. I know there will be a spark for other things at the other end.”
French lover
In the interview, Pierre-Hervé Goulet confirms what jumps out at you when you listen to his songs. He is a lover of the French language. “I don’t do dedicated songs, but French is the subject that is closest to my heart,” says the man who has been compared to both Georges Brassens and Daniel Bélanger.
“For me, a language is identity,” says the man who would never have considered making music in English.
“When I was eight years old I listened to Plume Latraverse and Robert Charlebois. At the beginning of my youth it was Les Cowboys Fringants, then Brassens and French songs were added. I was listening to that while, if you only listen to music in English, you’re probably programming something.”
- Dopaminenew album by Pierre-Hervé Goulet, now on sale.