Montréal, 20 juin 2015 - L’artiste Emrical est fier de lancer «Comme un océan», un clip mettant en relief les réflexions d’un enfant en quête de nourriture affective paternelle.
Membre du très respecté collectif montréalais Kalmunity Vibe Collective, le lauréat de deux prestigieux prix reçus lors de son passage au festival de la chanson de Petite Vallée: Le prix Pauline Julien et le prix du Charisme, propose une oeuvre épurée et authentique.
Celui qui lançait en 2014, «Cheval de Trois», un album unplugged où le guitariste, Éric Simard y offre le support principal, a produit et réalisé deux autres vidéoclips parus plus tôt cette année, «Idiot utile» (29 avril 2015) et «Dim» (16 mai 2015).
Dans l’album «Cheval de Trois», l’auteur-compositeur-interprète propose une oeuvre curieuse abordant l’itinérance, la solidarité transnationale, la recherche de racines et l’altruisme dans une charte artistique imbibée de trois valeurs, soit la foi, l’espérance et la charité. D’où le titre, Cheval de Trois.
Listen to an interview with Montreal artist Emrical speaking about a recently released album Cheval de Trois, that deals with themes around social struggles within Québec society and beyond. In this interview we discuss the message of the album project, rooted in the anti-racist struggle against the now failed PQ so-called 'charter of values'.
Also this interview addresses Emrical's reflections on the relationships between artists and social activism, as well as some hopes for this most recent record.
Montréal, 20 mai 2014 - L’artiste Emrical est fier de lancer «Cheval de Trois», un album minimaliste de douze chansons produit de manière indépendante. Le dévoilement se fera le 27 mai 2014 aux Bobards dans une formule 6 à 8.
Membre du très respecté collectif montréalais Kalmunity Vibe Collective, le lauréat de deux prestigieux prix reçus lors de son passage au festival de la chanson de Petite Vallée: Le prix Pauline Julien et le prix du Charisme, propose une oeuvre épurée et honnête.
«Il est temps qu’on cesse de faire semblant. Pourquoi faire comme si on avait du «gros cob» (moyen financier), s’endetter et pas pouvoir faire de gig épuré parce que les moyens de performance sont en décalage avec ce qui est sur l’album? Voilà quelques années que j’expérimente une approche plus organique en spectacles et je veux qu’un plus large public puisse se procurer mes chansons sous la forme que je les propose actuellement.»
Celui qui lançait en 2012, «Combien de morts»,un clip dédié aux victimes de brutalité policière et en 2010, «Mon rêve», une chanson mettant en scène les vertiges de la détresse psychologique, revient avec un album atypique. Le guitariste, Éric Simard offre le support principal et unique à la plupart des oeuvres tandis que trois chansons reposent sur les accords de piano de Vincent Stephen-Ong, aussi membre de Kalmunity.
«On nous fait croire qu’il faut des moyens exogènes pour faire de l’art. Peut-être? Même avec la démocratisation de la diffusion de la musique, il y a une élite autant locale qu’internationale qui dicte aux masses ce qui mérite d’être écouté. Ma musique tente d’infléchir les racines de cette tendance.»
L’auteur-compositeur-interprète propose une oeuvre curieuse abordant l’itinérance, la solidarité transnationale, la recherche de racines et l’altruisme dans une charte artistique imbibée de trois valeurs, soit la foi, l’espérance et la charité.
Montreal, May 20th, 2014 –Emrical is proud to announce the launch of Cheval de Trois, a minimalist album of 12 songs. The release will take place on May 27, 2014 at Bobards from 6 to 8 p.m.
Emrical is a member of the respected Montreal group Kalmunity Vibe Collective and a recipient of the prestigious Pauline-Julien and Charisme awards during his appearance at the Festival en Chanson de Petite-Vallée. This new album has a more pared-down and sincere vibe.
“It’s time to stop pretending. Why pretend like you’ve got tons of money, get in debt, then not be able to get do smaller gigs because there’s a gap between the show and the album? I’ve been trying out a more organic approach at my shows for a few years now and I want more people to be able to get a hold of my songs the way I sing them now.”
Emrical’s 2010 release Mon rêve (My Dream) examined the anxiety of psychological distress, while his 2012 video Combien de morts (How Many Dead) was dedicated to victims of police brutality. Now’s he’s back with a different kind of album. Guitarist Éric Simard provides the album’s main and often only accompaniment, with Vincent Stephen-Ong, a fellow Kalmunity member, contributing piano stylings on three of the album’s songs.
“They want us to believe that it takes external backing to make art. Maybe? Despite the democratization of music distribution, there’s still a local and international elite that dictates to the people what is worth listening to. My music tries to change this tendency.”
The songwriter/composer/performer puts forth a unique album dealing with homelessness, transnational solidarity, the search for roots, and altruism in an artistic record steeped in the three values of faith, hope, and charity, which are also the source of its title, Cheval de Trois.
Read an interview with artist/activist Emrical, an important grassroots force in Montréal, actively exploring the intersections between art and social action. Emrical's work addresses issues relating to community-driven social justice, struggles against police brutality and community mobilizations to confront racism.
Artists speak up! is an online interview series from the Howl! arts collective in Montreal, featuring engaged artists who speak to the issues of our time and the challenges that our society collectively faces. This interview series will highlight important cultural voices in Montréal and beyond, breaking down the barriers between activism and artistic practice.
Howl! : Wondering what you feel is a pressing issue today in Montreal that people should be paying attention to, something not getting enough popular attention?
Emrical: I feel like we need to question the mainstream media with urgency. What role are they playing in keeping us docile, predictable and ignorant? We’re exposed to so much while knowing so little.
We have a hard time connecting the dots between the Villanueva case and mining companies in Honduras. Mainstream medias don't teach us how to do mental gymnastics. We copy paste news, opinions and trends. For example, mainstream media is responsible for the fact that too many Canadians have a hard time imagining the hand that Canada plays in displacing populations in Africa and Latin America for an economic agenda to which our Canadian privileges are tied.
What is stopping us from creating an alternate broadcasting entity that will unite our local and international struggles, instead of dividing us in another century-of-self ghettos?
Emrical : Gabriel Teodros said: “if you decolonized music ... took the industry out of it, took away the ego, and even the idea of a celebrity ... every city would have something like Kalmunity”
Kalmunity is a jewel. It is, however, being attacked daily by people that come with good intentions thinking that they can come fix things within it, while forgetting its ultimate purpose, and focus on the amazing context which Kalmunity has been able to swim into.
Are there a lot of venues where I can talk about Canadian mining companies, Trayvon Martin, the prison industrial complex with a full band supporting and fueling my inspiration?
Kalmunity allows artists and the public to have access to unscripted emotions. It strives to leave no room for minstrelsy. A black man has the space to be mad while performing a piece about a a lost love. He also has the right to smile, and is not trapped into a single emotion.
A Sikh rapper can come onstage and blend knowledge into the sound of a horn section, featuring the solo of a Cuban musician. A spoken word artist can tackle white male patriarchy, addressing gender and race without fear of being censored.
It’s a safe space for musicians who want their instrument’s voices to be heard. At its best, Kalmunity is ubuntu.
Howl! : Also recently you have been collaborating with Dakar-based artist Awadi, can you share with us your collaboration?
Emrical : We are working on a track that puts friendship and loyalty at the center of the human experience.
Howl! : Can you share a couple points as to how your experiences growing up in Saint-Michel in Montreal is reflected in your work as an artist?
Emrical : I spent a short amount of time in St-Michel, when I was a kid. I then moved to Laval with St-Michel on my mind. I can’t think of how it has impacted my music.
I’d say, my experience as a guy that grew up in the church, black churches, has been a gift and a curse at the same time. Besides the beautiful contradictions of faith, church has maybe awaken a yearning to speak for the oppressed masses while keeping me ignorant of unheard existential narratives.
Howl! : Over recent years you have been very vocal in denouncing police violence and impunity in Montreal, particularly speaking out on the case of Fredy Villanueva. Why do you feel that taking this public stand as an artist is important today in Montreal ?
Emrical : I feel like this is part of the artist’s duty. The moment you internalize the ritual of remaining silent about blatant injustices, without nurturing an obsession to give birth to an artistic display of indignation, is a sad one.
It took me 3 years to give birth to the video “Combien de morts”. It might not mean much to youtube views addicted folks now, but it will all make sense when the paradigms of artist relevancy mutate.
Thank you.
This interview conducted by Stefan Christoff for Howl!.
