Fire & Smoke makes a triumphant return with their EP, Constance
The duo Fire & Smoke is excited to release their highly anticipated EP, Constance. This eagerly awaited project marks their comeback after a hiatus following their last album Maiden Voyage in 2011.
True to their polished and captivating folk-roots aesthetic, the EP features three songs in French and three in English, reflecting the duo’s cultural and artistic roots in Western Canada’s francophone community. Members Claire Morrison and Daniel Péloquin-Hopfner showcase their seamless chemistry and storytelling prowess on Constance. The EP’s title reflects the enduring nature of their partnership and the joy of reigniting their musical journey.
On Constance, the unmistakable chemistry between Morrison and Péloquin-Hopfner shines, embodying their storytelling spirit and authentic studio approach. From the sweet and intimate “Perfection éphémère” to the environmentalist neo-mythological “Lady Frost,” and the maximalist “Rolling Green Mountain,” Fire & Smoke invites listeners on an emotionally rich and textured journey. The band released the French single “J’arrive pas à croire” last October.
For the production of Constance, Fire & Smoke enlisted notable figures from the French-Canadian and Montreal music scene, including Agathe Dupéré (Safia Nolin, Pataugeoire, Pomme, Thierry Larose), who co-wrote songs on the EP and Jérémie Essiambre (Élisapie, Kanen, La Faune) and Mario Lepage (Ponteix, Rayannah), who contributed to multiple compositions. Quinn Bachand (Rosier, Qristina & Quinn Bachand) mixed the EP. Constance promises to be a captivating musical journey, marking the triumphant return of Fire & Smoke.
Care to introduce yourself to our readers?
Fire & Smoke (Winnipeg/Montréal) is a bilingual folk-roots partnership uniting exciting harmonies, deft storytelling, and ever-evolving live instrumentation, with Claire Morrison on vocals, guitars, and flute and Daniel Péloquin-Hopfner on vocals, guitars, banjo, and mandolin. We were first active from 2010-2013, during which we were CBC Canada Live featured artists, Phonogramme Radio-Canada recipients, Chant’Ouest grand prize winners, and semi-finalists at the Festival International de la chanson de Granby. We also charted nationally at #5 of the Espace.mu Folk-Country chart for “Prends la maison” from our debut EP Maiden Voyage (independent, 2011).
After a long hiatus, we re-launched the project with a sold-out show as part Coup de coeur francophone 2021 in Winnipeg. Since then, we’ve taken the project to festivals from Manitoba across the Eastern provinces, including stops at the Winnipeg Folk Festival, Folk Music Ontario, Coup de coeur francophone in Montreal, and Lunenburg Folk Harbour Festival (NS).
Tell us a bit about your music and writing style.
We’re getting ready to release our sophomore EP “Constance”, on which we really stayed true to our roots – the music is uncluttered, leaving a lot of space for the vocal performances and the story of each song.
Imagine sitting at a campfire in the woods in late August, where stories and songs have been shared for countless millennia. The instrumentation is limited to what you could carry or find – we’re trying to tap into the timeless feeling of acoustic music while wielding language with precision and clarity worthy of recounting legends old and new.
Do you have any upcoming shows? For someone who has yet to see you live, how would you explain your live performance?
No details we can share yet, but we have a few festivals confirmed for this summer and more bookings coming down the pipe. Look out for dates in Manitoba and Saskatchewan in July-August, and a busier tour schedule into Fall 2024. 🙂
On stage, we deliver intricate arrangements within the limits of a duo – two voices, two instruments, two languages. Ranging from upbeat trad tunes and bluegrass-adjacent toe-tappers down to 70’s folk revival style ballads.
If you were asked to suggest only one of your songs for someone to hear, which would it be?
Claire: for me, it would be “Lady Frost” off the new EP – it’s one of the songs I’m proudest of and it ticks a lot of the boxes for things I love in folk music – intricate, interlocking playing, a kind of mythological feel, an underlying political message highlighting the beauty and importance of preserving all four seasons in the year (we love summer but we need winter, too). The song highlights a lot of what we care about, musically and personally.
Dan: I’d have to agree with Claire for ‘Lady Frost’… though if I could add that her vocal delivery on ‘Rolling Green Mountain’ is completely mesmerizing. We had a bit of extra fun on that track, adding some extra choir harmonies that take it into the borders of The Original Caste’s ‘One Tin Soldier’. It’s about Riding Mountain National Park in which I grew up, so it’s a special one for me.
Canadian Beats is all about Canadian music, so who are your current favourite Canadian bands/artists?
Claire: After playing some workshops with Mariel Buckley and her band at the Winnipeg Folk Fest last year, I have dug really deep into her album “Everywhere I Used to Be” – the song “Shooting at the Moon” is a total banger. I also really enjoyed Ada Lea’s last record “one hand on the steering wheel the other sewing a garden”.
I also wholeheartedly recommend Mariko’s debut record “Avoir su avant” for lovers of 90s pop, Michelle Branch, and Sheryl Crow – so many fun musical references in there, and you can hear me on the duet “Paroles d’enfants” that I also co-wrote with her.
Dan: I’m really looking forward to hearing Kaia Kater’s upcoming album – I’ve been a longtime fan, and the current single ‘Fedon’ is the kind of orchestrally supported banjo music that I’ve been craving.
Also, there’s a Ukrainian folk-punk band here in Winnipeg that I just joined called ZRADA, and the EP they released just prior to my onboarding called ‘The Old Ways’ is a swirling kaleidoscope of trad-thrash that is so deliciously creative, I think anyone with a sense of adventure needs this in their ears.
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