French Canadian chanteuse, Maryse Letarte, originally released her celebration of the winter solstice, “Des Pas Dans La Neige” (Artic Records), in 2008. Within the province of Quebec alone, it quickly sold more than 25,000 copies and earned her the coveted nomination for The Best Pop Record of the Year by the ADISQ (Association of Quebec Music Producers). Not bad for a girl from the suburbs who not only loves Rock & Roll, but also the philosophy of Camus, Nietzsche and Sartre.
Now, fast forward to the present. This beautiful collection of vocal and instrumental tracks has not only been licensed in Asia and Europe, but for the first time has been made available (via Allegro Distribution) in the USA. It’s beautifully packaged with a black and white picture on the cover of the artist in a Christmas tree like pose against a simple white background and adorned in gold stars. Minimalism at it’s best!
Mademoiselle Letarte’s full length record offers up a selection of five songs seductively sung in French, one that’s bilingual (her featured radio single “Boom Boom” which is sung in French and English), and four instrumental tracks. The musical genres contained there within range from pop to jazz to world music to easy listening. Both her performance and the production are tastefully balanced throughout the entire CD.
Stand out tracks include the aforementioned Christmas tune, “Boom Boom” featuring the thought provoking line, “Just French kiss me under the gui”, (well, it was thought provoking for me since gui means mistletoe in English I had more mildly erotic visions than that of just sugar plums dancing in my head, LOL!!!!). Then there’s the exquisite “Anges De Neige” (literally translated: “Snow Angels”) that’s coquettishly crooned in French. My personal pick of these precious puppies was the instrumental piece, “L’automobiliste Et Le Blizzard”, (or “The Automobile Driver and the Blizzard”) which deftly captures that white knuckle sensation of driving a car during an icy snow storm.
All in all the entire album invokes the auditory equivalent of snow flakes on your eyelashes, cups of hot apple cider in front of the fireplace while roasting chestnuts, and of course, Christmas. Maryse Letarte’s “Des Pas Dans La Neige” is a great little release that I can see enjoying year after year during that time of year when the days have grown shorter or maybe as a thoughtful gift for that someone special in your life. I know for sure it’ll have you singing Maryse Christmas and a happy New Year to one and all this holiday!
www.maryseletarte.com
