We're proud to present top Québécois folk band, De Temps Antan, this Sunday, Dec 12, at the Seattle Folk Festival. Each of the three virtuosos in the band are leading a new generation of traditional musicians in Québec to embrace their roots. And though their new CD has an amazingly powerful, polished sound, De Temps Antan draw their inspiration not from the concert halls they regularly play, but from the all-night parties and song sessions where they learned their music in their first place.

Since Hearth Music is presenting De Temps Antan, we figured this would be a good chance to talk with Éric Beaudry, the guitarist/bouzouki player and vocalist. And while his soft-spoken nature means that he rarely takes center stage, even when fronting Québécois mega-band La Bottine Souriante, Eric is a power player behind the scenes in Québec. His fieldwork has brought to light amazing song and tune traditions in his hometown of St. Côme, and his recording of newly "discovered" fiddler Edouard Richard was a seminal example of bringing music from the field to the concert stage. We've been fans of Eric's subtle singing style since he was in the group Ni Sarpe Ni Branche, and wanted to ask him more about what French-Canadian folk music meant to him. His first language is French, but we chickened out and interviewed him in English, so you have to imagine a thick Québécois accent while reading.

Hearth Music: What does folk music mean to you? Do you feel a responsibility to keep your music traditional, or do you feel like you are free to move beyond tradition?

Eric Beaudry: Folk music for me, it's a life style. I've been a professional musician for over 20 years now, and my career as a musician-teacher-producer and music collector has always been about Québec folk music. When I started to play folk music I had strong feelings about the preservation of my native family and village repertoire. I created many projects with friends. At the time, we needed a lot of traditional songs and tunes for each of my different bands. That was my job, to be near to the old timers singers and musicians around me to feed all of my recording CD projects.

Even if I respect so much the spirit and the purist approach of my source, I've always felt free to arrange those tunes like I want to hear it. I like to mix folk music with other music styles like jazz, rock and blues. I think you can do what you want over the tradition, but you should respect the original melody and the lyrics from the original version.

HM: How do you make music at home? Do you make a lot of music with your family? Your brother, Simon, is in Le Vent du Nord, so you must play with him from time to time, and I know you released a "Beaudry Brothers" CD. Do you attend a lot of music parties?

EB: Unfortunately, we don't have lot of time now to play music with the family. Me and Simon are all the time on the road with our bands, so when we have a break at home we prefer to organize a dinner around the table with mom's food, good wine and talking a lot about...music. But, for us, every Christmas Eve is always the perfect time to play music with all the family and some very good friends.

Eric & Simon Beaudry: Le Petit Soldat

 

HM: Growing up, was music a social event for you? Did people sing and play at house parties, or veillées?

EB: I had and still have the chance to participate at a bunch of singing events or parties in Saint-Côme, my native village. The biggest singing party was always for New Year's Day at Marion's family house. Over seventy people passed by this place to sing all night until the next day for dinner. After this feast we have a lot of reason to apply many good resolutions for the new year, until the next party...
 

HM: What is it like making music with De Temps Antan? It seems like you are all very good friends. How long have you been friends? Where did you first meet?

EB: It's boring...No, i'm joking. This project is one of my best music projects ever. I know Andre a long time, since he was playing in a duet with his brother Regent. I met Pierre-Luc a few years before I joined «La Bottine Souriante».
I proposed him to replace Yves Lambert, the ex-leader of «La Bottine Souriante». Pierre-Luc was already a good leader with «Les langues fourchues» his first band. We played together over six years with La Bottine.

Our first gig as De Temps Anta was from two guys who organized a concert series and they asked each of us alone and said "We would like to have the three young members of «La Bottine» for a special concert." And they said to me, "We already asked André and Pierre-Luc and they said yes". So, I said, if André and Pierre-Luc agree it's ok for me too. They said the same thing to Pierre-Luc and André and they fixed the gig without letting us know about this funny ploy. Now you can see a big picture of «De Temps Antan» on the wall of this concert hall. And when the other bands ask them why this picture is bigger, they reply "It's because we created that band". And it's true.
 

De Temps Antan: Pétipétan

 

HM: Tell me about the new album, how was it recorded? Was there a producer? How has it been received in Quebec and the US?

EB: For this new recording, we worked with Éloi Painchaud. He's one of the best young producers in Quebec for many styles of music. He's also from Les-îles-de-la-Madeleine, and he grew up in a strong traditional music community. For the recording sessions, we were all  in the same room to catch the live spirit of the band. Eloi brought to us a lot of very good ideas about music arrangements for our tunes. He respected at the same time the personality of each musician. We are very happy about his job. We are very lucky to had the chance to work with him for ten days at his studio in Morin Height, in the beautiful Laurentien region in Québec. At this time, we begin to have a bunch of good critiques around the world about this CD and we are very proud of that.

HM: On the new De Temps Antan album, where do the tunes and songs come from?

EB: Many instrumental pieces come from our own compositions. Pierre-Luc and I bring a bunch of traditional songs. Andre was very inspired and he brought many fiddle compositions. And the rest are some traditional fiddle tunes from Saint-Côme's archives, two tunes and one song comes from the French [Acadian] part of Nova-Scotia. And one reel comes from the fiddler Edouard Richard from Gaspésie.

HM: How do you transfer your love of a tune into your accompaniment? Do you learn the tune first with fingerpicking, or do you just learn it by ear?

EB: Sometimes the best accompaniment is just the groove of the melody alone with the feet. When I'm working to put a chords progression over the tune, I try to learn the melody by singing it like a «turlutte» [French-Canadian mouth music]. It's easier to follow the melodic phrases when you have the tune in your head. For me a good accompaniment could be complex or very basic. I feel free about that with the trio because I don't need to follow a bass line or piano part.

De Temps Antan: La turlutte du rotoculteur

HM: Have you noticed that Quebecois music has become more and more popular in the US? Why do you think that is?
 

EB: The audience like «La joie de vivre» of Québec music. With the feet [les pieds or la podorythmie], we have a unique groove that's different from other Celtic music. Also, the explosion of many good bands in Quebec helps us to have a better visibility on the world music scene.


Catch Éric Beaudry, Pierre-Luc Dupuis, and André Brunet as De Temps Antan at the 2010 Seattle Folk Festival, Sunday, Dec 12 at Town Hall Seattle.  www.seattlefolkfestival.com