Tire le coyote added rock to his poetry in Dynastysixth album over which Leonard Cohen’s shadow hangs, and in which he explores new avenues. Because freedom is happiness.
Posted at 3:14 a.m.
Updated at 8:30 a.m.
His previous album, In the first round of the obviouswas released in February 2022. But in recent years, Benoit Pinette also launched a collection of poetry in 2021, an album of covers of Quebec classics with Jeannot Bournival the same year, an instrumental album with his project Demain Déluge in 2023 , and another recorded publicly in 2024.
That’s a lot of versions of himself in a short time! He nods, and clarifies. “We categorize artists a lot: I’m seen as the melancholic folk singer… So I like to see if I’m capable of doing something else. But every time I stray from that version of me, I need to come back to it. »
And then the projects feed off each other. Layers of arrangements Dynasty, for example, are inspired by his explorations with his instrumental project. While his more rock side comes from his desire to move away from the soft and enveloping sound ofIn the first round of the obvious.
In short, Pull the Coyote doesn’t like to repeat itself much, and wanted to shake things up a bit. ” Yes ! I come from folk, but I’m also a teenager of the 1990s. I listened to a lot of grunge and rock. So I wanted to be less in a bubble, to open the valves. »
This is his translation-adaptation of the song Avalancheby Leonard Cohen, who set the tone for the album. “I love this exercise, getting into the head of an author. Cohen, you never know if he’s talking about his spiritual master, religion, a woman… or all of that at the same time! » The challenge was to find a balance between “something that is quite vague, and giving enough clues for people to connect with it”.
As a result, the shadow of the master hovers over the entire album. “I read his poetry while I wrote. » The song Baldy also refers to this place where Cohen took refuge for his meditation retreats in California. Tire the coyote visited it last year, and came back very moved.
“I felt like I was closer to him because that’s where I think he was looking for answers. And it shows up in my writing too. The characters are searching for something. Of happiness, of freedom, of love. »
« Stuck between the walls / From a full-on era / We should share our voices / And knit harmony “, sings Pull the coyote in All dresseda powerful song with flavors of progressive rock. We have the impression that this sentence sums up the album. The “power of the whole” could indeed be the theme, he answers.
PHOTO MARTIN CHAMBERLAND, THE PRESS
Pull the coyote into the shelves of Le Vacarme, rue Saint-Hubert
Suzy, my agent, told me the other day that it was a love album. There is love of the territory, the idea of being aware of others, love in the sense of communion. We need that right now, I think, huh?
Shoot the coyote
Especially him, who tends to see more of the dark side of things. Death and finality are still there implicitly, as in the song Freedom (is following the plan). “I have this need to dig into emotions, in my visceral fears. And I have a lot! When I write about it, it frees me from fate. »
Excerpt from Freedom (it’s about following the plan)
Re-choose your profession
Two things strike you while listening Dynasty. First the texts, more impressionistic, and written in a more sustained language which moves away from the vernacular. “I still have the desire to be represented in poetry and metaphor, but I feel less of the need to punch at all costs,” confirms Tire le coyote. Then the voice, which still wanders in the heights… but a little less than before. In the first song, Avalanchehe even sings with a deep voice which, we admit, made us jump. He laughs. “The idea was not to shock, but yes, there was a little desire to surprise! »
In the following songs he takes up this particular voice which characterizes him, but, he confirms, “one or a semitone lower”. “On my previous albums, I went to the limit of my abilities. I wanted to drop in on this one, just going down a bit. But I kept my color. »
He admits, he has long had the impression that going “to the extreme” of his voice was a guarantee of intensity. “When we are young, we need to show that we exist! » Today, the 43-year-old singer has more confidence in his ability to interpret emotions.
“And I take care of myself too. I don’t think you can keep that voice for a lifetime. So I told myself I would start right away. »
PHOTO MARTIN CHAMBERLAND, THE PRESS
Pull the coyote into the shelves of Le Vacarme, rue Saint-Hubert
For Benoit Pinette, each album is an opportunity to “re-choose” his profession. “I love this engine that is creation. But it’s dizzying every time, to ask yourself: will the people still be there? »
The answer is yes: Dynasty is one of the awaited back-to-school albums… to his great surprise. “I know that nothing is taken for granted. I am aware of the privilege of being able to do this, in Quebec, in French. »The secret is to do things as honestly as possible, says the singer, who aspires more to duration than to success.
“I don’t find happiness in always wanting more. Tsé, the artists I like are rarely the biggest stars. These are artists who do their thing and who don’t run after anything. » His objective is therefore to continue to explore, not to repeat himself, and to always expand his freedom.
“Freedom is happiness. Downright. »
Folk
Dynasty
Shoot the coyote
The Tribe
Available this Friday October 4
