Producer Claude Larivée took on a major challenge when he decided to put together a show from the albums that David Bowie recorded during his Berlin period, during the second half of the 1970s.
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Reproducing the intricate arrangements of Low, Heroes and Lodger songs on stage down to the smallest detail is quite a contract, he noted.
“There aren’t a lot of Bowie tribute shows going around right now, internationally, because it’s very difficult music to play. Not just anyone can play that, ”raises Mr. Larivée, with whom Le Journal spoke before the premiere of Heroes/Bowie/Berlin 1976-80 in Quebec City, Friday, at the Grand Théâtre.
To achieve this, he believes he has brought together eight of the best musicians in Quebec, including guitarists Daniel Lacoste, who is also the musical director of Robert Charlebois, and Jocelyn Tellier, as well as keyboardist Vincent Réhel.
“The sound engineer even reproduced the effects found on the albums. If the sound of a keyboard transfers from right to left on the album, we will hear the same thing in performance. »
On vocals, because he wanted to avoid a male soloist stirring up comparisons with the Thin White Duke, Claude Larivée opted for a left-field approach: entrusting the vocal parts to three female voices.
This is how Gabriella, Loryn Taggart and former Big Brother Celebrities participant Éléonore Lagacé, who takes over from Élisabeth Gauthier-Pelletier after the Montreal premiere in April, will parade at the microphone.
“Why three singers instead of one? Bowie’s range was very extensive, from bass to treble. Within the same song, he could often change characters and vocal registers. Three singers, that allows us to make costume changes, to do solos, duets, trios, ”says Claude Larivée, according to whom the three singers complement each other well.
where he is a god
After Quebec, Heroes/Bowie/Berlin 1976-80 will make stops in Joliette, Trois-Rivières, Ottawa and Montreal before flying to Europe in November.
For the moment, dates are planned in France, Belgium and Switzerland. Germany, in Berlin of course, and the Netherlands are also in the crosshairs.
It will be an important test, believes Claude Larivée.
“I can’t wait to cross over to Europe because he’s a god there. »
