Theme of the month: Quebec
As a tribute to the city where I have lived for the past two years, but now have left.

Contrevent - "Youkali" (1989) 

Some albums in the collection have a higher value than others, usually this is not about the musical quality of the record. Maybe it’s some kind of rarity, it might be a record you've been looking for a long time, you may have received it as a gift from someone special or the music might be associated with some special event - that adventurous summer 20 years ago or the winter your first child was born. It’s an emotional value you give the record, something that often is more important than the music itself.

This is such a record. It has been in my collection just over a month, and just like when you look at your one month old baby the same feelings of warmth, joy and pride arise. "I can’t believe I have this album in my collection ...."

I have the past two years live in the city of Quebec, Canada. These years were very special, they were a departure from my regular gridded life and instead I got to spend time in a new country with a new language and new, friendly people. In addition, I took a break from my job and spent two years at home with our youngest daughter who was ten months old when we arrived in Quebec. Two special years that brought me closer to both my daughter and my older son, but also resulted in exciting new friends.

One of these new friends was the neighbour I had in the apartment above the first year. His name was Marc Vallée and he was a musician. A very friendly man who it was always nice to talk to. Usually we met in the street when he took a bike ride or when we both were going somewhere on foot. As a musician, he had a lot of exciting knowledge and thoughts about music and different bands, and often we discussed these topics.

A few days before I returned to Sweden he invited me to his apartment and we went through his very interesting vinyl collection. I must admit that his collection in both quality and quantity beats my own and it was a whole bunch of records that I jealously noted should be a part of my own. As a farewell gift, he gave me two records of which Youkali was one. This gift made me very happy and warm inside and without even listening to its contents it had immediately a very special place in my collection. And my dear friends, the record was sealed and still is. This may be my most important economical investment so far.

Why did Marc give me a sealed copy of Youkali with a band called Contrevent? Why did he own such a record? The answer, dear readers, is that he owned several, Marc was the founder of Contrevent and the principal creator of the band’s music.

Marc created Contrevent while he was studying music at the Université Laval in Quebec, the other members were fellow students to him. The first album was released in 1985 and the third and final in 1993. It’s always difficult to define music but Contrevents music is defined in different internet sites with words like fusion, jazz and progressive. Marc himself thinks the music leans more towards jazz-fusion than progressive.
Youkali was the band's second album and the music is very unique since the band had a rather unusual crew with cello, guitar, drums, vibes and bass. This gives a very special sound with interesting touches of musical spices. The instruments used might remind you of Gentle Giant but the music is generally a little more accessible than GG's creations. However, the musicians in Contrevent (just like in GG) are very talented and virtuosos on their respective instruments. The album is mostly instrumental, a female vocalist can be heard but the song Trapézoïd.

The record has a fairly timeless sound and could probably have been recorded today. When I listen to it, I get the feeling that it was great fun for the musicians to create the music. Although Marc has written most of the songs a lot of room is left for the other musicians. We hear both vibraphone and cello solos, in addition to Marc's guitar. I would even say that the guitar in no way dominates the sound, but that the responsibility is nicely divided between the different individuals in the band.

Some of you might wonder how I could have listened to a still sealed record. The answer is that Marc was kind enough to also give me an (unopened) CD of Youkali. This one I have opened and let my stereo do its work on it. The vinyl can remain unopened and thus continue its existence in mint condition.

A detail in this is that the song order on the vinyl is different than on the CD. Marc explains that someone at the record company thought, when it was time to release the album on CD, that a changed song order would get the record to sell better. This man had the idea that the record would "grow" - it would start to calm and slowly increase in tempo. In other words, the more fast-paced songs were saved to the end of the CD.

Initially, I mentioned that a record can hold various emotional factors, Youkali has many of these. It was given as a gift from a friend in Quebec and is a reminiscent of these special years. It is also something of a rarity because it’s almost impossible to obtain. Furthermore, the content is really good which increases the value further. In conclusion, this is a record I’m very happy and proud to own. It can be hard to come by but if someone succeeds I say congratulations. I highly recommend Youkali to all.

Marc Vallee has his own website:
http://marcvallee.ca/marc_vallee/welcome.html

The section on his website about Contrevent:
http://marcvallee.ca/marc_vallee/Contrevent_english.html

I did an interview with Marc, which was published on the blog UniversumNoll.com:
http://www.universumnoll.com/2011/05/marc-vallee-svarar-pa-9-fragor.html

Tracklist:

1. Mallorca (7:43)

2. Mémoires de perles (6:59)

3. Youkali (5:03)

4. Café noir (3:11)

Side B

1. Une main qui se pose (3:42)

2. Anti-statique (3:23)

3. Le Bois de la Cambre (3:25)

4. Trapézoïde (7:39)

Line-up / Musicians

Marc Vallée / guitars, synth, piano
François Beausoleil / Vibes, Kat, Perc
Russell Gagnon / cello
Gerard Paradis / bass, contrabass
Charles Paradis / drums