Cordé Serré

Celtic communities have helped to shape Québec's heritage and, whether of Breton, Cornish, Scottish, Welsh, Irish or Mannian origin, most Québécois of European descent share a Celtic connection. A shared passion for traditional music from Québec and the countries that forged it brought François Matte (Irish flute, tin whistle, bodhrán, vocals) and Jean-Sébastien Gasnier (guitar, mandola, vocals) to form Écorce in 2017, drawing on 20 years of experience on the local music scene to take part as a duo in that year's Festival Celtique de Québec. Since that debut, they’ve performed separately and together at festivals and workshops around Québec, developing an impressive repertoire of original songs and adaptations of unknown gems.

Their first album Cordé Serré, produced by the duo and self-released, marks a new lease of life for the project, adding some well-known guests from the traditional music industry, including pianist Rachel Aucoin, vocalist Gabrielle Bouthillier and violinist Louis-Simon Lemieux, to help craft a sprightly, humorous and invigorating album of tunes from the richly-textured tradition tant celtique que québécoise (both Celtic and Quebec), alongside four tracks written by the multi-instrumentalist duo.