Iconoclastic Montreal composer and pianist Chilly Gonzales has just released the album French Kiss, a tribute to the French language and culture where all styles are permitted. Discussion with an artist who knows no boundaries.
Published at 1:02 am. Updated at 8:00 a.m.
The apartment
In Paris we reach Chilly Gonzales via video conference – the camera is closed because there is a heat wave that day, he is walking from a meeting and he is “shirtless and sweaty”. So has he returned to live in France? “It’s a little more complicated. We artists live in several cities at the same time and nowhere. “I find myself in that category at the moment, sometimes a bit between Cologne, Paris and London,” explains Jason Charles Beck, who got the idea for this album while waiting for a piano to be delivered to the window of his apartment on the Île Saint-Louis. “It inspired my first chorus in French. I said to myself: But what should I play on this piano? This is how this melody was created with the accompanying words: Piano in Paris. »
Language
Chilly Gonzales thought he would do just one piece in French, but “quickly it turned into two, three and four and finally an album.” Born, raised and studied pianist in Montreal, he came to music thanks to the French language, which he is using for the first time , back to songwriting. “French has always been part of my life, but I had never dared to express myself artistically. I don’t know why, maybe I was intimidated. I am in too much awe of this relationship that French speakers have with their language. And strangely enough, it was through the French language that I came back into contact with the idea of writing lyrics. I hadn’t written lyrics since Solo Piano 2 about twelve years ago. » What does French allow him to say that he cannot say in English? “There is a side to letting go of control. In English I can find 25 ways to say the same thing. In French I get straight to the point because I have no choice, and strangely enough it’s a liberation. »
Popular music
Chilly Gonzales has long championed the benefits of popular music, whether for relaxation or entertainment. In this sense he pays homage here to the French pianist Richard Clayderman – Ballade pour Adeline, remember? –, his “musical father”, who accompanies him in the piece Richard et moi. “He is the most famous living pianist in the world. He still has a very active career in Asia, the Middle East and South America. In Europe his music is snubbed, but that’s a matter of taste, and taste is subjective! He helped popularize instrumental music to reach a wider audience, and that is objectively a great achievement. » Richard Clayderman, who according to Chilly Gonzales is one of the forerunners of the current neoclassical wave, was a great inspiration that allowed him to “see the piano differently”. “He showed me that I could be a star at the piano, which I am, so I thank him! »
The influences
ANKA PHOTO PROVIDED BY GENTLE THREAT
Chilly Gonzalez
There’s everything from French Kiss, Fauré and Michel Berger, disco and Ondes Martenot, rap and experimental music, we even come across Aznavour, who has transformed into a hip-hop figure. What is the common thread in all of this? ” As I am. I think you can hear my compositional aesthetic in every piece. In my piano albums there was the same complexity of styles, but here I allow myself to produce an album with many instruments, it stands out more. » Likewise The collaborations are varied, from Arielle Dombasle to Bonnie Banane to Juliette Armanet – a choice that corresponds to his vision of a “very inclusive” French culture that ranges “from Baudelaire to Bangalter”, with a penchant for the underrated and for artists , who have fun. “I chose every cover, every collaborator and every name, whether they are very well known or not, based on what they share, which is the privilege of pleasing the public. It’s still the flag , which I have long held in high esteem when I describe myself as an entertainer rather than an artist. »
Montreal
Chilly Gonzales is excited because his new tour will allow him to spend a lot of time in Montreal. His last concerts here took place in January 2020, just before the pandemic, the concerts planned for 2022 were postponed. “It was sad, but there were obvious reasons. I really want it there, and coming back with French Kiss is even better! » He will play three nights at the Rialto in October and believes his new pieces should be well understood by his “favorite audience”. “My view of French culture is that I am both inside and outside, but in what sense am I outside? Ultimately we head towards Quebec. This small distance, I can’t wait to see how it can resonate. And did you even notice the little references to Quebec in the song “Wonderfoule”? When I say “disgusting” in a positive sense, it screams fun… I tried to make Quebecers recognize themselves in these pieces. »
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French kiss
Chilly Gonzalez
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