Antoine Corriveau: if I had a tank …

In 2018, at the age of 33, Antoine Corriveau obtained his driving license for the first time. After buying a car, the songwriter traveled to Natashquan for a writing residency. There followed a reflection on the territory which inspired him for his new “ road album “, Dandelion.

For his fourth album, Antoine Corriveau wanted freedom. A feeling perhaps provided by the car he had just bought, the musician wanted to go in different directions.

“I have traveled a lot for music and for fun, he said. I started to write in small notebooks, instead of the usual laptop [ordinateur portable]. I have written in many different places and contexts. It gave something more mixed. “

It’s by listening to the album again Odelay of Beck that it clicked. “I really liked the side free-for-all that there was on that disc. It’s a side that I also find on some Beastie Boys records. I wanted to allow myself that, a record where an almost punk song can rub shoulders with a ballad. “

Rock energy

It is also to add tone to his concerts that Antoine Corriveau said to himself that he could do some more rock songs. “I wanted to finish my shows tired [rires] ! I really like that energy, faster, more rock songs. You can’t be contemplative on stage when you do them. “

The genesis of Dandelion began during a trip to Natashquan two years ago. There, for a week, Antoine Corriveau rubbed shoulders with various artists (musicians, poets, photographers).

“There’s not a lot of stuff I wrote there that ends up on the record. But that’s where it all started. I started to compose music which ended up making songs. “

Bad grass

When asked what the meaning of the album title is, the songwriter replies that a dandelion first refers to childhood memories. “It’s the first flower we pick and make bouquets with. “

While working on the album, Antoine also had thoughts on racism in Quebec. “On the genocide – I am not afraid to say it – of the First Nations on our territory,” he said. On the disappearances of indigenous women and the way in which we refuse that. “

“Someone told me: the dandelion, you see it a bit like a weed. And that’s how we treat First Nations. It was an excessively violent image that hurt me. But it allowed me to find this title which was judicious for my record. “

Virtual while waiting

In the spring, with the arrival of the pandemic, Antoine Corriveau wondered what the life of his new album would be like.

“I found it very difficult. But today, I confess to you that I made peace with that. I feel like it’s almost like all of this has become the “new normal”. “

For the first time, his disc will be released simultaneously in France, Belgium and Switzerland. However, its passage in Europe will have to wait. “I’m going to let the record live its life as it can, and so much the better if we end up having the opportunity to make shows He said wisely.

By then, he will at least be able to perform his new plays on Tuesday, in a virtual launch. “We had to put on a show at reduced capacity, with virtual tickets as well. Ultimately, it will only be virtual. We’re gonna play the whole album. “

► Antoine Corriveau’s new album, Dandelion, is already on sale. The launch concert will take place on Tuesday at 8 p.m. Tickets are on sale at lepointdevente.com.