A festive group dedicated to toddlers for nearly 30 years, Les Petites Tounes has just released an eighth career album, Always do like the grown-ups. The newspaper spoke with the musician Claude Samson on the creation of the album, the collaboration of Émile Bilodeau, the dreams of Europe and the future of the Petites Tounes.
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Can we say that your new album is one of pandemic?
” Indeed ! We were able to work during the pandemic, but we lacked a bit of inspiration. Our manager had the idea of “locking us up” with Martin, the drummer. It was during confinement and during curfew. We decided to do three sleeps and four days there. We just worked, undisturbed by anything else. We were aiming to make four or five original pieces, from scratch. We made 11!
“Immediately following these four days, we went to bassist Éric, who lives in Sainte-Anne-des-Lacs. We did another isolation of five sleeps and six days. We did almost live sound recordings. It’s just the voice that we added later. There is a live side in this album that we did not find in the others.
“The album was pandemic because of that. But it’s not inspired by the pandemic, on the contrary. We tried to avoid the subject as much as possible. »
Émile Bilodeau participates in the song Jeannot Chicoine. How did he come to the project?
“At first, when we were talking regarding the album, we thought that maybe we should do something special for the 25th anniversary [du groupe]. We had the idea of doing a few songs with guests. Émile was one of those people we had invited. He became the character of Jeannot Chicoine, a little boy who tells everyone that he runs the fastest in the world, but today, he doesn’t feel like it! This character stuck with him. »
The target audience for Les Petites Tounes is children aged three to eight. Do you also wink at adults in the songs?
” All the time ! [rires] There is a second degree in certain songs. We make more musical winks than in the lyrics. Sometimes we’re going to have an AC/DC guitar riff. We want to have fun doing that. »
What makes Les Petites Tounes exist for nearly 30 years?
“Perseverance is clear. We renew ourselves. We try not to repeat ourselves. Carlos and I worked in CPE for a long time. This is where the project took shape. Eric has worked with children too. And Martin still works in daycare. We seek inspiration where it is. »
The group seems to have several listeners in Europe, if we look at your Spotify account. When was your last visit there?
“We went there in 2005, if I’m not mistaken. It has been a long time ! It’s a bit complicated. We don’t necessarily have the same budget as Les Cowboys Fringants. [rires] We would like to go back because the last time was at a blues festival in Mantes-la-Jolie. And it had really worked. People called us “Les Petites Tunes”, it sounded more American. »
What is the future of Les Petites Tounes? Do you see yourself doing this for many more years?
“We’re taking it one album at a time now. We try to stay healthy, but you never know. We are still getting old. I am in my sixties. The other guys are in their 50s. It will perhaps depend on the reaction of people to this album. It keeps me alive, it keeps me fit. »
- The new album of Les Petites Tounes, Should always do like the big ones, is available. Launch shows will take place in Montreal (January 28, Maison de la culture Maisonneuve) and Quebec City (January 29, Théâtre Petit Champlain). lespetitestounes.ca.
