myTELUS – 28 mai 2010

Par Carolyne Marengo

(bum) – The record industry has been eyeing the Internet for a long time as a way to counter major losses they’ve faced at the hands of illegal downloading. But individual artists have managed to gain a foothold in this medium too. The guys in Misteur Valaire know something about that. More than 45,000 copies of their second album, Friterday Night, were given away free online. Now that’s a great way to broaden their fan base. 



The quintet, originally from Sherbooke, Quebec, (about two hours east of Montreal), return to the spotlight with a third album: Golden Bombay. It’s a mixture of electro, pop and jazz that is simply irresistible. They created some memorable collaborations too by working with James Di Salvio and Liquid from Bran Van 3000, Gigi French (Giselle Weber from the Hot Springs) and Fanny Bloom from La Patère Rose.

Here’s an interview with Luis Clavis, the group’s percussionist. For those who were wondering, he shared how the band got its name. The guys “stole” the name Valaire from a good friend, classical pianist Carlos Ramirez. He was thinking of using Valaire himself and the guys didn’t want their buddy to lose his Mexican flavour. And so Misteur Valaire was born.

You mix up a few phrases in songs titles on your new album Golden Bombay. For example, the first track is called Brandon Marlow rather than Marlon Brando, and the third one is Ave Mucho instead of Besame Mucho or Ave Maria. Do you twist words around on purpose?
95% of our songs come from Drouin, the saxophonist, who is also dyslexic. It’s really his fault. His dyslexia helps create our song titles!



Where do you draw the inspiration to create your eclectic rhythms that blend electro, jazz and pop??Inspiration comes from what each of us listens to; the range of our musical tastes is extremely broad. We find ourselves at rehearsals and we blend together our five spheres of influence. We’ve played together a really long time. We

have a good idea of what each person will bring to the table. We know what each person contributes individually to the band. Inspiration can come from anywhere and depends on where we are in our lives and what is going on while we are making music. It’s always flowing. We were a jazz quintet in high school. We always listened to a lot of alternative music, too, passing through rock, hip hop, jazz, pop along the way. I think we have really been influenced by big groups like Beck and Radiohead, as well as old school and more rock bands. It is difficult to pinpoint because it comes from everywhere. 


Why did you become an electro pop band rather than stay a jazz quintet? 
We listened to jazz back then. Every member of the group except for me was a jazz student. It was very academic. Jazz is super interesting and has always been a big inspiration but we listened to other types of music too. We wanted to explore other music genres as well. We gradually picked up more and more electronic material and our sound veered toward electro, while being infused with all our other influences.

Why give a shout out to Celine Dion’s hometown in the song Sweet Charlemagne?
It was not an intentional nod to Celine, but that’s a funny thought (laughs). The song does pay tribute a bit, without even trying! Sweet Charlemagne is rather eclectic. It starts off sweet, child-like and transitions into a darker sound. Like the sound of our band, it is difficult to pin down.

Your collaboration with James Di Salvio and Liquid from Bran Van 3000 (on the awesome Ave Mucho), was it a musician’s dream come true?
I’ve wanted to collaborate with Bran Van for a long time. I have admired their work since I was a kid. When we were making Friterday Night, I think we wanted to get together but couldn’t find the time at that point. Later on, we ran into James a few times and he immediately agreed to work with us. We got down and groovy at a huge gig in Sherbrooke and realized that we fit well together. Like us, he thought that we should record right away to make sure we didn’t lose it.

Why did you do a song that pays tribute to Gordon Bombay, the Mighty Ducks trainer in the saga of the same name, 14 years after the release of the third film?
We watched the Mighty Ducks film while we were making this album. The first and last songs on the album are filled with hope and good values. This album was a bit of chicken soup for the soul. We made it to spread a little happiness. It is filled with positivity. Kind of like Gordon Bombay, the n’er-do-well lawyer who coaches a ragtag group of street kids and kicks them into shape to battle a star team!

Does the word “Golden” in the album title refer to the positive energy that went into making this album? Was it a happy time for you?
Friterday Night was a party album, and I think that we still make music along those lines. We did a bunch of shows to promote the last album and it was good to regroup and take the time to write. We came up with some positive songs that we wrote to make ourselves laugh… we were so tired of being on the road. We needed to create songs that weren’t too heavy to brighten up our lives! 

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Misteur Valaire’s third album, Golden Bombay, is available in music stores and online. Click www.misteurvalaire.ca to visit the quintet’s official website.