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Instrumental lapse
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Recorded raw, live off the floor, self-produced and unregulated in a makeshift studio in Knowlton (Eastern Townships), Torngat’s new record has a propulsive force that pushes past their previous jazz-inflected chamber music recordings. Jointly composed by Pietro Amato, Julien Poissant and Mathieu Charbonneau (who also figure in likeminded local bands Bell Orchestre, the Luyas, Ferriswheel and Junetool), the seven songs on La Petite Nicole teem with gritty texture, their moody manipulations of synths, piano, guitar and drums suggesting styles as leftfield as dub and krautrock. The Mirror reached Charbonneau in scenic Cornwall, Ontario—where he was conducting keyboard workshops for high school kids—to discuss performing and penmanship. Mirror: I’m curious about the concept behind the new record, a day in a little girl’s life. What was the inspiration? Mathieu Charbonneau: The title came from lyrics that Julien wrote, just for fun. He sang them to us once in the studio and we all had the idea to call one song “La Petite Nicole”—it’s got a nice ring to it, it’s got a nice picture to it—and as we were working on the record, we decided on La Petite Nicole as a title. With instrumental songs, it’s kinda hard to find a title that makes sense. You don’t really wanna give a super straight picture to people, so that when they hear a song, they associate it with something specific. So we structured the titles as a day for this little girl. She’s got some good times in her day, she’s got some bad times, she’s got dream time. M: Who is it based on? MC: Let’s just say that I think it’s based on someone that he knows, it’s influenced by his daily life, but we don’t know a little girl named Nicole. It could be anyone. M: You’ve done a fair amount of touring since we last spoke. MC: For an instrumental band, we’ve toured a lot, but we could do more. The goal for each record is to expand, to play more shows and play new places. M: You’ve played a variety of venues to a variety of audiences. What’s your ideal live situation? MC: Having a crowd where only half of them know the band. We like to see people surprised, like, “What the hell’s going on? Where’s the singer?” and then see them get into it. The venue doesn’t really matter but it’s been best when people are there for the music, not just ’cause somebody told them to go. A quiet venue is always good, where people are listening and not talking super loudly, but not too quiet—we like people standing up and engaged. M: I gather your show has changed significantly over the years. MC: It’s constantly evolving. We used to be a quartet and we used to be more of a jazz improv band. Then we toned it down, with [the La Rouge EP]. You Could Be is also a quiet album, but that’s when we started playing loud. This new record is basically the result of being a bit more rock ’n’ roll on stage. People would listen to You Could Be and see the show and go, “Whoa, I thought you were a quiet little band.” WITH TIMBER TIMBRE AT LA SALA |
