Pascale LeBlanc shares her album, Entre l’érable et le cocotier
Composer, singer, and songwriter Pascale LeBlanc settled in Montreal after growing up in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Her songs blend French, Creole, Quebec folk guitar, and West Indian percussions. After her debut album Mes différences, the talented multi-instrumentalist storyteller self-produced the 2011 EP Sur la Route du Flamboyant and launched a second entitled Kinbé La in 2014.
In 2020, she had to postpone the release of Entre l’érable et le cocotier and created a virtual show allowing her to present her new songs during the lockdown. The show entitled “MétisSagesse” earned a nomination at the Grands Prix Desjardins de Culture Lanaudière in 2021. Supported by the Canada Council for the Arts and recorded at Opus Studios, the album was created in collaboration with Jacques Roy (Dominique Fils-Aimé, Garou), Daniel Bellegarde (Robert Charlebois, Bïa), and Jean Romane Edmond aka Diol Kidi.
The opus was arranged, produced, and directed by Pascale LeBlanc and tackles the current theme of women in the music industry. It also embodies LeBlanc’s complex cultural identity. She deals with her childhood memories in Haiti and her current life in Quebec. At the intersection of Quebecois chanson and traditional Creole musique, Pascale LeBlanc’s compositions feature a disarming originality where cultures only recognize one race – the human race.
Listen to Entre l’érable et le cocotier below and learn more about Pascale LeBlanc via our Five Questions With segment.
Care to introduce yourself to our readers?
My name is Pascale LeBlanc, a singer-songwriter and independent musician who sings in French and Creole.
Tell us a bit about your most recent release.
On October 26, I will release an album entitled Entre l’érable et le cocotier (between the maple and the coconut tree), which I recorded at the renowned Studios Opus with the support of the Canada Council for the Arts. This album is a work that deepens the subject of mixed cultural identity. I arranged and produced all 13 songs on the album.
Where do you tend to pull inspiration from when writing?
I was born in Montreal but spent my entire childhood in my mother’s homeland, Haiti, before coming back at the age of 11 years old in Quebec to live with my father. That migratory path is quite singular because it made me experience an immersion in each of my two families, cultures, and countries. That gave me an excellent knowledge of the two cultures from the inside. My mixed cultural identity is my main inspiration. The essence of my artistic approach is to demonstrate how natural and powerful the blend of cultures is. It is totally natural for me to blend French and Creole when I sing. I also mix different musical characteristics of my two countries. For example, in the song-title «Entre l’érable et le cocotier», I mix elements of Quebec trad music (spoons, podorythm, etc.) with creole and Caribbean percussions. My songs are very sweet and sunshiny, but I also talk about immigration and other serious topics. My very personal music genre is, by itself, a kind of “statement.” It proves that cultural mixing is something that works. Music is the most universal and powerful language, so for me, it is the best tool to improve intercultural relations and potentially reduce prejudice and discrimination.
Do you have any upcoming shows or festivals you’d like to tell us about?
I will be very busy with shows in 2023. You have to follow me on Facebook or Instagram to stay tuned.
What’s your goal for 2022?
My main goal for 2022 is to launch my album, which will happen on October 26. I am working on promoting it not only in Quebec but also in the rest of Canada and internationally. My wish is to play those songs in front of all kinds of different people in many countries.