Transposing the intimacy of daily life into a creative project is a challenge that Julie Doiron and Dany Placard can boast of having fully met.
The duo invites us to an album, “Julie
Does this complicity persist when it comes time to listen to music? Sure.
You both had a lot of studio experience, but were your ways of working very different?
Danny: completely!
Julie (laughing): yes!
Dany: I took care of the sound recording. Julie, it was more that in terms of writing.
Julie: You still wrote a lot. It’s just more structured. Danny gets up in the morning, makes his coffee and starts working. I expect a little more for inspiration.
Is there an artist that you discovered thanks to the other and you are grateful to him?
Dany: Julie introduced me to Big Thief.
Julie: Me it would be more on the side of Quebec music.
Dany: We went to see a “show” by Philippe Brach. Julie didn’t know him…
Julie: I loved that!
Dany, did you know Eric’s Trip? And Julie, did you know Plywood ◊?
Dany: Yeah when I was a teenager. It had been maybe 20 years since I had listened to it. But I knew Julie more solo.
Julie: As I’m still discovering Quebec music, I didn’t know that much. Unfortunately.
What did your parents listen to when you were young?
Dany: We had Elvis vinyls. Then a lot of Quebec music like Les Classels.
Julie: Me, my mother was very fond of “fiddle” violin music. And she had Rod Stewart albums. She always put “Do Ya Think I’m Sexy?”…
Is there a “band” that really isn’t unanimous between you two?
Dany: I’m not a fan of Belle and Sebastian.
Julie: It’s a shame, because I really like it.
Dany: I have a bug. It’s related to memories.
An artist you both loved before you even met?
Julie: Neil Young. I love all his eras. It was necessary in his journey. I am not a purist. Also, we both love Bob Dylan…
Dany: Also the Stones, the Beatles, Pink Floyd.
You have traveled back and forth between Montreal and Memramcook a lot. What do you listen to on the road?
Dany: We really traveled a long way because of the shows. When we went on tour in Spain, we listened a lot to Apollo Ghost, a band from Vancouver. Also, Pavement.
Julie: When I go from Memramcook to Montreal, often it’s just silence. When I’m in just composition mode in general, I normally don’t put music in the tank. I don’t want to be influenced.
We often mentioned grunge or the 90s to talk about your album. What are your favorite albums in the genre?
Julie: “Goo” by Sonic Youth. It’s a perfect album. The name “Eric’s Trip” comes from a song by “Daydream Nation”. I loved “Daydream Nation, Evol”. The albums that have influenced me the most are Pavement and “Slanted
Dany: For me the real sound of Nirvana is “Bleach”. Afterwards, it became more produced.
Julie: At the time, there was also “Harvest Moon” by Neil Young. And also “Ragged Glory”.
Dany: Also, it’s not grunge, but there is “Full Moon Fever” (by Tom Petty) which came out at the same time. I was listening to it, but I couldn’t tell my buddies that I liked it. It didn’t pass. In Saguenay, it was very metal and grunge. I listened to Alice in Chains, Pearl Jam, Stone Temple Pilot because everyone listened to that.
Your favorite lyricists?
Julie: Leonard Cohen.
Danny: Neil Young. His images, his poetry. I don’t understand how he makes so many records and the lyrics work all the time. Bob Dylan too. In French, I really listened to a lot of Desjardins when I was young.
Your latest musical discovery?
Dany: The album of Nels Cline, the guitarist of Wilco. There is also José Miguel Contreras whom I did not know. He is a friend of Julie.
Julie: He plays in “By Divine Right” and he has released solo records. I toured with him a few years ago.
Dany: I didn’t know Ladyhawke… For you, there is Jean-Pierre Ferland all the same that I made you discover.
Julie: I also love Les Hay Babies!
Dany: When we did the FME for Julie’s first show
What’s coming up for you in the next few months?
Julie: We do a lot of concerts.
Dany: After that, we’re going to take a little break in September, then we’re going to go back to the theater. In November, I will go to the studio for Placard. And Julie will continue to write. We have already started recording some songs for his album.
Julie: And we already have two songs for the next Julie
