Traditional Quebec music has carved out a prominent place for itself on TikTok over the past year. The extract of Joël Legendre singing Coming back from Saint Helena on the show Canadian eveningas well as a multitude of dance and “trad” music videos, accumulating millions of views.
The viral extract of approximately 1 minute showing Joël Legendre who performs the song to answer has crossed the borders of Quebec, creating a buzz as far as Asia, the director and actor said in an interview.
“I would never have thought that this world of songs to answer could come back and could fascinate. I received emails and letters from lots of people around the world because of this song. It’s still beyond me, but I still find it extraordinary,” explains Joël Legendre, who claims to have become a “star” with his children when the extract went viral.
Photo Agence QMI, JOEL LEMAY
Exceptional enthusiasm for a school in Longueuil
“There is more and more traditional content coming out. I think that people really have a great curiosity,” notes the artistic director at the traditional dance school Les Mutins de Longueuil, Olivier Paré, who manages the TikTok account followed by nearly 165,000 subscribers.
“It suffers from a problem of visibility for traditional dance,” explains Olivier, very happy to be able to share his passion for traditional dances and music on the platform. Some of the Mutins’ videos have more than 7 million views.
Maude Larin-Kieran/QMI Agency
Techno and “trad” music
On the web, “trad” music is reinvented in different musical forms. Young creators are reinventing popular traditional songs by mixing them with techno music tunes. A way to keep traditional music alive, according to the general director of the Conseil québécois du patrimoine vivant (CQPV), Antoine Gauthier.
«There are many beautiful things being done, which are going in several directions. Things with a little more techno flavor, a little more flavor grunge».
The “trad” in vogue
“Trad” music has been gaining ground in Quebec for ten years, according to the CQPV.
«We are able to compare ten years later. There are more jam sessions all over Quebec. There are dance vigils, clearly, in many more regions than ten years ago,” explains the general director.
Musicians or dancers also manage to find contracts in the field thanks to Tik Tok. Jérémie Pleau, 28 years old, has been sharing his passion for the accordion for a little over a year.
“I had several opportunities this year thanks to Tik Tok,” explains the man from Saint-Basile, near Quebec City, who has more than 16,000 subscribers on his Tik Tok account.
Although he is happy with the enthusiasm for his instrument, he is surprised and delighted by this enthusiasm for traditional music
“Really. I was surprised. The world shared this. The world was very interested in that. People asked me questions. We think it’s slowly being lost, but no! There’s a really good generation coming,” he says.
