And another guestpost by David!
What a pleasant surprise…..a few weeks ago, posting on Grenadine, watching her Marion video, another suggested video was for the work of another Quebec native, Klo Pelgag‘s “Comme des Rames”. Beautiful song, playful smile at the end. Where to begin? Klô Pelgag (an unlikely contraction of her mellifluous born-name Chloe Pelletier-Gagnon) works hard to make art, crafting songs in an effort she describes as creating “landscapes for the blind”.
She has help from her brother, Matthieu (colorful and intricate arrangements), and also from a gang of talented and pretty friends (meaning the young ladies, of course). Perhaps the closest thing I can recall to Klô’s debut album from last year, “L’alchimie des monstres”, blending theater and music, is the work of Amelie-Les-Crayons (amiably described as a “nut”, and said to be very fun to see in concert). While Klô’s music touches dark areas, it never loses its sense of fun – one article draws a comparison to Maurice Sendak. Her voice, at times, reminds me of another Chloe, Chloe Lacasse (who’s second album is due out in a few weeks), and La fièvre des fleurs with its playful hop in range reminded me a bit of Ingrid St-Pierre. Klô’s received a fair amount of positive press – here’s a nice article that provides a bit of background.
Klô and her merry band are now in Europe touring, complete with Madmoizelle video, and their CD has now been released in France. (If you happen to go see them, Klô encourages you to come dressed wild.) “Comme des Rames” and “La fievre des fleurs” are something special, but I enjoy it all. Some of the songs stretched a bit too far for my ear to follow initially, rewarding at second listen, part of the fun as Klô with her friends takes us down an unsuspected path.