Edouard Landry - Diane and the Gentle Men - Semihelix
’Edouard Landrys songs are a mix of pop, rock, folk and catchy melodies.
The Sudbury, Ontario artist was nominated for the ‘Best Male Performer’ category at the Gala des prix Trille Or (2017), ‘Francophone Artist of the Year’ at the Country Music Association of Ontario Awards (2020).
His albums Pomme plastique II and L’escalade were nominated ‘Best Album by a Francophone Artist’ at the Northern Ontario Music and Film Awards (2017 and 2019).
Ed will be releasing his first full-length English-language album, Be Here Now, on June 4, 2021.
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“The World is a Goner” is the first single from the newest album coming from Diane and the Gentle Men. Written at home during a pandemic, she says “the song came about from looking for alternate ideas for creativity, while dancing around my house by myself in an effort to feel alive and well. We sometimes take for granted that when we are out and about on a daily basis, inspiration is endless.
Being forced to stay indoors for a longer period of time allowed me to venture down a rabbit hole of podcasts, You Tube documentaries, old radio programs and television programs of yesteryear. The song emerged when I was feeling content about being locked in and lonely, seeing the world through a window and being grateful I wasn’t sleeping on the street. Like the cover, the crooked dilapidated house not wanting to fall, I found Influence from old films like King Kong, Mad Max, American Graffiti and songs by Diana Ross and the Supremes, Otis Redding, and of course, The Kinks.
I got to work this song up with Derek Cruz (Jesse Malin band) for a live broadcast I was working on and then when things felt a little more safe, we went out to Atomic in Brooklyn with the other guys in Jesse Malin’s band and put down the song. My other players were unavailable at the time because of the pandemic (they have kids). I am grateful to Derek Cruz, James Cruz, Randy Cover Art Gillian Stoll Schrager and Rob Clores for their musicianship and of course for Malin and his never ending generosity not to mention Merle Chornuk and Geoff Sanoff for their genius.
Lastly, Don Dilego, producer, writer and friend at Velvet Elk Records who tirelessly puts out my records while delivering great tunes himself. I feel very lucky to be a part of a beautiful music community.” The video for the new single was filmed by Photographer/Artist Dina Regine in an afternoon in an apartment in NYC and edited by Dave Stekert, with whom Diane has often collaborated.
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“Recoil” by Austin, Texas based dreampop trio Semihelix, including Geannie Friedman-guitar and vocals, Kevin Martin- bass, and Valdemar Barrera-drums, was produced and mixed by Matt Gerhard (Spoon, Future Islands, !!!) at The Hen House in Austin, and mastered by Max Lorenzen (Shearwater, A.Sinclar, Spoon). Video artwork and production by Via Nuon.
The story behind the stop animation storyline involves the 1993 movie Ruby in Paradise where Ashley Judd in the movie leaves in her car to pursue a new life. It coincides greatly with the story behind the song "Recoil." The song has to do with resilience from going through a hard time and building yourself back up to heal and move on from the bad situation.
It’s also about finding close friends who have your back and how important it is to show the people close to us gratitude. After being bullied in her life in various situations, Geannie speaks about the importance of being your own best advocate, having other people’s backs and reaching out to close friends when things get hard.
In the lyrics “I am going down, I am coming around,” it’s about how time heals all wounds, and how we may feel down now but things will turn around and get better. In the lyrics “you are going down, you are coming around,” it’s about how we are not alone. We all struggle, and we all get through tough times. The knowing we’re not alone makes it a bit easier to reach out to a friend when feeling down, we are never a burden. We help each other out, that’s what real friends are there for. We recoil from a dark place with our own support for ourselves and the support of others.
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