Peines Perdues

The charm of François-Félix Roy's debut solo recording lies in its subtle approach to traditional and traditionally-based Québécois music. Roy, an up-and-coming multi-instrumentalist and singer who's studied with the likes of guitarists Éric Beaudry (De Temps Antan, La Bottine Souriante) and Yann Falquet (Genticorum) has chosen repertoire mostly pulled from public archives. The music is also united by fresh arrangements, deft fingerstyle guitar work and, instrumentals excepted, an understated vocal approach. Love's course rarely runs smooth in these songs. ‘Ma Délire’, for example, is about a man who has loved and lost yet still obsesses over tender moments with the woman who dumped him. ‘Le Sergent’ tells the cautionary tale of a young Québécois who enlists to fight in the American War of Independence, (spoiler: it doesn’t end well). And ‘Valse-clog Suédoise’, a waltz written by Roy himself, is one of a few lilting instrumentals. In 2022 he won Festival Trad Montréal's Aldor Emerging Artist Award and if this recording is anything to go by he will only continue to impress.