Wings for Louise

Wings for Louise – Five Questions With

Wings for Louise
Photo Credit: Lucie Bergé

Wings for Louise presents new album FAUNA

Wings for Louise, alias of Montreal-based pianist and composer Charly Martin, unveils a second opus entitled FAUNA via Danish label ExoPAC Recordings. A neo-classical record that delicately unfolds through eight brilliantly crafted instrumental tracks.

Nearly three years after releasing the debut album Transcanadien (2020) which explored the northern landscapes of Canada, Wings for Louise takes the roads of the North again and proposes a musical journey through the animal and plant species of the boreal forests with FAUNA. Inspired by the immensity and infinite diversity of nature, Charly Martin manages to translate the sounds and ambiances from the northern forests and plains into cinematic and meditative music.

The use of certain codes proper to classical music, mixed with dusty analog synthesizers, supported by strings with textured sounds (arranged by cellist Gabriel Vincent), gives the music all the necessary tools to evolve into emotional moments and striking crescendos. However, the piano remains at the heart of the atmosphere created by Wings for Louise, a dreamlike soundtrack echoing the beauty and melancholy of the living.

Like many artists, the music of Wings for Louise is the result of several musical inspirations, feelings, and experiences. Greatly inspired by the classical music of Chopin and Satie, by the neo-classical wave that has swept over Quebec these past years (thanks to artists like Jean-Michel Blais and Alexandra Stréliski), but also by the post-rock of Sigur Rós and Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Charly refers to FAUNA as a “post-classical” album.

“Former drummer in the post-rock group We all need a plan, my music is strongly inspired by this musical genre. The use of analog and modular synthesizers aims to support traditional instruments, like the piano and the strings, by providing a musical texture. These synthesizers also build a bridge to connect with the immense universe of electronic music in which I had the chance to evolve with my project Echo 6 during my first years in Montreal”, underlines the artist.

Listen to FAUNA below and learn more about Wings for Louise via our Five Questions With segment.

Care to introduce yourself to our readers?

My name is Charly Martin, I have been composing instrumental music under the pseudonym Wings for Louise since 2019. Blending influences from metal to folk music with a focus on classical, ambient, and electronic genres to create a sort of “post-classical” background.

The name Wings for Louise is taken from the song “Wings for Marie” by metal band Tool, and the name Louise is a francophone first name but it’s also a reference to the French band “Louise Attaque” who literally blew my mind when I was a kid listening to a male singer performing with a typically female name. …Yes, this was very original in 1997.

Originally from France, I have lived in Montréal since 2013.

Tell us a bit about your most recent release.

My recent record FAUNA is my second full-length album. I worked on it for the past two years. I wanted to change my approach for this second album so I learned music theory and film scoring in order to stick to my very humble intention of creating my own soundtrack to the beauty of Life and Nature.

Nature and Life include Humans. So I also decided to collaborate with talented ones to help me in my creative process. Gabriel Vincent is a really impressive and promising cellist. He is the magician who has co-arranged the strings parts of the album with me.

Where do you tend to pull inspiration from when writing?

Just like my debut album Transcanadien, FAUNA is a record inspired by nature and the environment. This one is focusing on animal and vegetal species. I usually think about music ideas while I’m outside, in the woods, or on the road. When I’m in the studio and it’s time to work on these ideas, I tend to build my tracks following these mental images and remembering our very humble human condition facing the immensity of Nature. This is why my music usually goes from very subtle and low-profile pianos to full-string crescendos with large atmospheres and big distorted synthesizers.

Do you have any upcoming shows you’d like to tell us about?

Not at this time, but I’m working on the production of a show for this winter or the next year.

What’s your goal for 2023?

Doing my first V-9 on boulder climbing.

Connect with Wings for Louise:
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