After releasing three albums under her real name, Ariane Brunet decided to break with the past and start a new project: L’Isle. “I feel like I’m closer to myself now than I’ve ever been,” says the 32-year-old artist, who has worked with Heartstreets, Random Recipe and Qualité Motel in recent years.
Ariane Brunet was already thinking about pseudonyms for her musical projects while she was still at school. But when she signed to her first record label at the age of 19 and released her first album, Le pied dans ma bulle, she was strongly advised to do so under her real name.
“I was told it was better to release the folk music I made under my name, it was more authentic,” she recalls. It was so quick and I accepted. It’s very good and I don’t deny at all the work I published with Ariane Brunet. »
Even today there are more than 40,000 monthly listeners who listen to the tracks of his first three albums on Spotify. “The project lives on. »
But in 2018 Ariane wanted to break with the past and adopt a new name for the future. “I needed a new identity,” she says. Hence the name L’Isle.
“I’m from the West Island of Montreal, which is probably the English-speaking part of Quebec,” she says. I was raised by Knights of Law 101, specifically by my father. He almost fought to be served in French. »
“So I thought of L’Isle because I grew up on the island of Montreal and I still live there. “L’Isle” is written in old French. It was written that way 150 years ago. […] There’s something ultra-poetic and uplifting about it. The name itself is beautiful. »
Several employees
L’Isle quickly collaborated with several artists on songs that were released on different platforms from time to time. In 2020, Ariane Brunet even thought of being able to release her first album with this project. Then came the pandemic.
“I finally had time to modify the album. I went back into the studio and did some more mixes. I’ve created with many different people. I really liked Beyoncé [rires]. We see that more often in Silicon Valley, connecting with a heterogeneous mass of composers. »
Steeven Chouinard, Samito, Félix Petit, Philippe Brault, Étienne Dupuis-Cloutier, Jonathan Dauphinais and François-Simon Déziel shared production duties in the studio with Ariane.
She decided to name her album Soif because it’s “a damn beautiful word” first and foremost. And also because there is the word “self” in Soif. “I feel like I’m more myself today,” she says. Even if it’s a bit absurd because I have a different name than mine. »
Like a Virgin
The album will be released on the Bravo musique label, conducted by Béatrice Martin (Coeur de Pirate). “For me, it’s just the best possible combination,” says Ariane. I’m very lucky because when Béatrice found out I didn’t have a team anymore, she wrote to me the same day. She told me that she really liked what I was doing and that she wanted us to work together. I was super touched. »
From the beginning of the L’Isle project, Ariane Brunet has done a cover of Like a Virgin by Madonna. The song ended up in the Margot Robbie-produced series Dollface. “I often say that thanks to this cover there are people who don’t know French and who listen to me. Singapore, Sydney, Melbourne, these are still the cities that listen to L’Isle the most because of Like a Virgin. »
Is this why Ariane Brunet wants to play abroad with L’Isle?
“It’s always fun to travel with his music. “But I think the most important thing is to connect with your audience here in Quebec,” she replies. We have to build here before we export. You shouldn’t go abroad for nothing. That’s pennies, energy. I think the music I make is exportable. You just have to be prepared for opportunities. »
► L’Isles Album, Thirsty, is currently available. For info: facebook.com/ariane.brunet.