After 12 years of silence, La Bottine Souriante wanted to reconnect with its fans. Make room for the festive album Domino! Published Friday.
“We wanted to offer something new, show who we are today and get back on stage,” says violinist and music director David Boulanger.
The 13th album by the cult traditional music group founded in Lanaudière in 1976 is far from being rehashed.
“You will recognize La Bottine Souriante in a show, but you will have the impression that we have taken a step forward. We don’t stand still.”
Open your horizons
This breath of fresh air certainly has a little to do with the two new musicians who have joined the collective: Mathieu Gagné (double bass, electric bass) and Olivier Salazar (piano, keyboards). La Bottine Souriante has also seen more than twenty musicians since its beginnings.
“Mathieu and Olivier were integrated into the creative process of the album. “The boys felt free and, above all, understood that we were not throwing the ax on everything that had happened before,” says David Boulanger.
True to form, the group revisits Domino! Pieces from the traditional repertoire: Les Jolies Québécoises, Tralala, Vous Jeunes Gens… “The genesis of the album goes back to the song Le Bal chez Jos Brûlé by Tex Lecor,” he adds. One of the singers, Éric Beaudry, had been talking to us about it for a long time. All the ideas flowed from this song.
The album is not limited to the Quebec repertoire, but also contains compositions by the Italian Riccardo Tesi (Santiago), the Swede Erik Rydvall (Le petit Emil) and the Irish Sharon Shannon (Benji’s Rollicks), arranged by La Bottine Smiling.
“In this process of reconnecting with others, we said to ourselves that it would be fun to open a dialogue with artists from elsewhere who we respect very much and who are in places where there are fans of La Bootie!” All of them were thrilled to have taken part.”
Party time!
With the talent of all these wonderful people, Domino! becomes a “very groovy, dancing album in different tempos.” A small stone. It’s a bit cliché to say that, but what can I say… We’re not complaining, we’re celebrating!” says David Boulanger, laughing.
Eric Carriere
A few days before the album is presented to its fans on stage, there is excitement among the members of La Bottine Souriante – David Boulanger, Jean-François Gagnon-Branchaud, Éric Beaudry, Louis-Simon Lemieux, Jean Fréchette, André Verreault, Jocelyn Lapointe, Robert “Bob” Ellis, Sandy Silva, Mathieu Gagné and Olivier Salazar – who plan to present a complete show between songs from the new album and great classics.
“Everyone is angry,” shouts David Boulanger. It is the realization of a project that we have had in mind for several years. And finally we come to dessert! It’s going to be a big party, it’s going to ring in the Christmas season!”
– The Domino Album! by La Bottine Souriante is available since November 17th.
– The launch will take place on December 1st at Club Soda. You can find all dates here.