2023-07-30 22:30:45
Five years ago, when Alex Nevsky welcomed his daughter, Claire, he didn’t know that his love for her was going to engulf him like a groundswell. Not only has fatherhood enhanced him, but it invites him to savor every moment. His new album, Even the impossible blooms, is inspired by this love that transports him, transforms him and elevates him.
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Alex, what is the genesis of this instrumental album?
It’s a dream I’ve had for a long time. I had made a wish list when I was at the National School of Song in 2006, and I had written: “Make an instrumental album.” Since my debut, I wanted to do it, but I just didn’t have enough talent on the piano. When I started at the National School, I didn’t even know how to play this instrument… I got into it in 2006. I composed a lot of beginnings of songs that I never took the time to finish , because the career of popular songs was going really well.
By force of circumstance, is that where you invested all your energy?
Yes, but before the pandemic, following the release of wild path, I went into the studio to record a first version of an instrumental disc which was not released. During the pandemic, like everyone else, I had a long break. My reconnection with nature pushed me to revisit the pieces I had started. I spent so much time outside that when I returned from a walk in the woods or in the garden, I had a lot of inspiration. I felt that I was touching what I had dreamed of for a long time. The album appeared with the need for the music to be associated with nature, because it was nature that inspired me. The wonder, for me, was learning to name things: flowers, trees, birds. Instrumental music is one of contemplation. When you listen to it, you want to dream your life even more.
The title of your album, Even the impossible bloomsis filled with hope and recalls the flower that pierces the concrete…
It speaks of my head, of my heart. Sometimes you don’t see a lot of light, you don’t feel a lot of positive. This album is a gift that I made to myself following the turmoil. It was a way of telling myself that I trusted myself enough to throw myself into the void. Trusting yourself is also a way of saying “I love you”, of not being afraid of what others will say, of being in tune with our deepest dreams. Despite fears, doubts, what people might say, I gave myself this gift. The title came when I allowed myself to believe it. Even if it’s not a success, this music uplifts me, makes me happy, gives me faith in my creative power.
Photo: Julien Faugere / TVA Pu
It marks a great evolution for you.
Two years ago, this path seemed impossible to me. I was thinking of stopping the music. I was thinking of stopping everything. Finally, the music is stronger than the doubts. It’s a great gift. It was the poet Rumi who said, and it was taken up by Cohen later: “There is a flaw in everything, and it is through this that the light enters.”
You would have composed the first piece following the birth of your daughter. Claire was your great inspiration?
Yes, the room Poem climbed a few days following birth. Claire was miniature. I hadn’t composed for a while. I was dry. Then this melody appeared. The text that I mightn’t write, I was playing it. It’s my favorite of all the ones I’ve written. She was born from a breath, from an overflow of love, even if we feel a touch of melancholy. It’s full of mixed feelings. It is connected to the beauty of birth. It’s a lot of emotions. At the beginning, we don’t sleep at all, everything is upside down. It’s a Polaroid of that moment, when a new human lives in our house.
Photo: Julien Faugere / TVA Publications
So this album testifies to the sweetness and the beauty that there is in your life?
Absolutely. It’s a record that was created in my repeated contact with nature, with love. The goal was to share sweetness. When I saw the potential for healing and beauty, I was able to offer it to people followingwards. I left room for what is important to me. Even though there is more free time, the time seems fuller to me. It’s not just a diary with spots, but a life that wants to be lived in the presence. Every day I tell Claire how lucky I am to have her in my life. Every day, I feel this emotion.
How lucky for a child to feel so loved!
I received so much love, so I think it’s easy to give.
Would your life as a father have led you to pose differently?
Absolutely. Becoming a father puts everything into perspective, it calls everything into question. For the first time, I am aware that the days go by and never come back. I have an obligation to realize that what was magnificent today is gone, even if it will still be magnificent tomorrow. You have to seize the moment.
Photo : Valerie Blum / Echos Ve
You offer him an ideal childhood, in nature, and above all, you offer him time.
Yes, we are very relaxed, Van and I. We take the time. We are very slow living. Often, on weekends, we offer Claire to do different things and she tells us that she rather wants to stay quiet at home… We walk in the woods, she picks up rocks, which she breaks to turn it into dust. She makes potions from flowers, leaves, bark that she pots. For some, this life is not at all suitable, but it is the one we love. For us, it is extremely nutritious.
Has the return to public life marked a break in rhythm
In April, I granted 80 interviews, I did TV shows. The wall of fire has been broken. It was necessary. I am deeply at peace with all of this. It was beautiful and difficult, because it required a lot of energy from me. I realized followingwards how much this interiority had taken a hit. I begin to fill my little bucket with breaths, with presence. But it’s so beautiful! With each person I meet, I have beautiful exchanges. People are sweet, we are in the present. It’s where I am and it’s also where the people who approach me are. Life is Sweet. I’m really happy to come back.
As you will be on stage this fall, do you feel ready for this busy period?
Yes, because it will be on a human scale. It will be an intimate show in small venues, as I plan to indulge more. I never really gave myself up on stage. For this show, I want to be more real. Layers have to be removed. I want to come to be vulnerable on stage. That will be my challenge for this tour. I don’t just want to play around, because it’s in the histrionics that I often take refuge when I’m stressed. It’s working, but I need a big, deeper human connection, and it starts with me.
Simon Clark/QMI Agency
Alex Nevsky presents his instrumental album Even the impossible flowers. You can listen to the first extract, Poem, on YouTube. The singer-songwriter will be performing in the fall. Find out more at alexnevsky.ca.
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