Paul Daraîche has found a way to honor his sister, who has discreetly disappeared during the pandemic: he has managed to revive the voice of the pioneer of Quebec country music and combine it on the album compilation with that of the members of the Daraîche to connect family Julie Daraîche: Land Dynasty.
Dani, Katia, Émilie and Dan Daraîche were immediately convinced by Paul Daraîche’s idea. The singer, who was in possession of the old cassettes of his sister’s songs, who died on April 26, 2022, decided to create an album of Julie Daraîche’s greatest hits … in virtual duets with his daughter, nieces, grandson and … himself self.
“A Better Trip”
“It’s a small tribute that wasn’t paid to her,” explains Paul Daraîche, who laments the unspoken disappearance of his famous sister during the pandemic. The latter suddenly went to sleep when she was about to celebrate her 84th birthday. She had taken the stage the day before she died, at the Jam Lanjeu Bar, Montreal’s oldest country institution.
“When we heard the final version of the album, the whole family cried. It is so good ! It’s like magic, like she was with us. It makes for a better performance for them,” the 75-year-old singer continues.
Paul Daraîche himself melted down the old soundtracks (in an oven, yes, that’s the process of reviving old cassettes) to bring the music left by his sister back to life. The country rocker explains that he had an intuition that anything would come in handy.
He isolated the singer’s voice, changing the tone and sometimes even slowing it down to match those of family members. The recording of these 12 songs took place in a month, last spring, under the supervision of the producer of Paul Daraîche since 2011, Mario Pelchat.
Paul Daraîche was spoiled for choice when it came to delving into his sister Julie’s sixty or so solo albums. He states that he could easily release several compilation volumes of his greatest hits.
Some decisions came naturally. For Katia, “who sings like an angel”, it was natural to offer L’oiseau blanc, while Anick had to take care of the more rocking melodies. Paul has retained dessert songs like “Aimer”, “Suffer”, “Pardon”, “Forget” and “Je vous aime, je vous adore”; The latter sends him straight back to his childhood together with Julie.
concert trio
At full capacity, Paul Daraîche will offer “Dans mes chansons: Tribute Show to Julie Daraîche” on September 14th at the Festival Western de St-Tite. For his 55th appearance at Saint-Tite, he will be joined by Isabelle Boulay, Guylaine Tanguay, Maxime Landry and Annie Blanchard, as well as members of the Daraîche clan.
Following this, the Daraîche family concert will tour the Casino de Montréal (September 28), the Théâtre du Capitole in Québec (October 14) and the Casino du Lac-Leamy (November 17). “It could easily turn into a tour,” laughs the singer, director and producer.
The Quebec country icon is also continuing Against Winds and Tides, the show series honoring her late great friend Renée Martel. He will also be part of the Christmas line-up, a song tradition this winter.
“I lost Renée and Julie four months apart. i miss her Renée and I talked to each other every day. She even wrote me one last song on her hospital bed. “I’ll keep it to myself for the time being,” reveals the interpreter, who is preparing a “poppier” album with great lyrics à la Aznavour for spring 2024.
The scrapbook Julie Daraîche: Land Dynasty is offered in the special edition of the magazine Selected Echoes dedicated to rural culture.