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Oct. 10 - Oct. 17, 2004 |
Her Here And Now
Quebecois singer Jorane releases her first English album
By Kerry Doole
To the cynic, it may seem that Montreal-based cellist and vocalist Jorane is following a commercial motive in releasing her first English-language album, The You And The Now. Her earlier albums have earned her a growing fan base in Europe and Canada, but the U.S. market is notoriously reluctant to embrace artists who sing in other languages.
In a recent interview with Tandem, however, Jorane passionately and convincingly insists that the move has been made for artistic reasons. In fact, more significant than the fact that her songs are now in English is that she is writing and recording conventional songs for the first time.
"Yes, it is new for me," she acknowledges. "Before, I wouldn't say I was singing songs." Rather, Jorane used her powerful and atmospheric voice as another instrument, a creator of sound rather than linear and intelligible lyrics. She virtually invented her own singing-in-tongues style language, and combined that with haunting cello on such earlier albums as her 1999 Juno-nominated debut, Vent Fou, and 16mm.
"With 16mm, it was more exploring a world inside myself, and maybe that is why there were no words. When you go that deep inside yourself, perhaps there are no words to express that. The You And The Now is more a reflection of the world around me. Now, it is more open, maybe because I am ready in my life for that."
Initial reactions to her new approach have been very positive. "It came out first in France, in early September, and it has received a really good reaction," Jorane explains. "People say, 'how can you take all those big compliments?' Well, when you have worked as hard as we have on something that is your passion, yes, that makes you happy."
She has indeed worked hard, as this is Jorane's sixth recording in five years. That figure includes a live album and an original soundtrack for a Quebecois film, Claude Fournier's Je n'aime que toi.
The You And The Now is her most collaborative project to date. Acclaimed world music producer Michael Brook (Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Youssou N'Dour) was at the console, and Jorane co-wrote songs with Lisa Germano, Shira Myrow, and talented Toronto singer/songwriter Simon Wilcox. "Simon and I have been friends for a few years and we went on a writing trip together to a cabin in the woods for a week," says Jorane. "You have to be comfortable with who you write with."
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