Five Questions With… Milk & Bone
Montreal pop-synth duo Milk & Bone, comprised of Laurence Lafond-Beaulne and Camille Poliquin, recently released their sophomore album, Deception Bay, on Feb.
By Jason Schneider
Montreal pop-synth duo Milk & Bone, comprised of Laurence Lafond-Beaulne and Camille Poliquin, recently released their sophomore album, Deception Bay, on Feb. 2 via Bonsound Recordings, and its dreamlike soundscapes have been captivating a lot of ears. The album debuted at number two in Quebec and likewise hit the number two spot on the national iTunes chart, while topping Earshot’s National Top 50 campus radio chart for two consecutive weeks.
Produced with Gabriel Gagnon, and mixed by Gagnon and Howie Beck (Feist, Charlotte Day Wilson, River Tiber), Deception Bay features numerous collaborations including Grammy-winning pianist Chilly Gonzales, and 2018 JUNO nominated electronic music producer CRi. Its success is proof of the pair’s growing presence on the national scene following their 2015 debut album Little Mourning, which was long-listed for the Polaris Prize.
That collection explored all the facets of love and relationships, and while love is a central theme on Deception Bay, Lafond-Beaulne and Poliquin's new songs illustrate that they are now in control. Proof of that is in the new single, “Nevermore,” which describes freeing oneself from a toxic relationship. Those ideas are driven home further in the song’s haunting video directed by Christine Grosjean and Marie-Soleil Denault that features hypnotic quadrascopic images.
Milk & Bone kicked off an extensive international tour in Toronto on March 1 that finds them hitting many major U.S. cities along with 11 shows in England, Germany, Sweden, Norway, Switzerland and France. Find out more at milknbone.com
What makes Deception Bay stand apart from your debut?
Laurence: We feel like it’s a more evolved version of our creative selves. We took a lot of risks with this one and made sure we followed our instincts. The confidence we gained by touring with the first record made that possible for us.
What songs on the new record do you feel best capture your current musical vision?
Camille: It’s hard to pick only one song. We think the album as a whole represents where and how we were at the moment we made it. We’re musically and personally evolving all the time, so that musical vision always changes.
The new video for “Nevermore” is quite visually striking. How did the concept originate, and how challenging was it to make?
Laurence: For this video, we wanted to work with a team of people who are close to us and who know the essence of the project. We met with our longtime visual collaborator Soleil Denault and just talked about all the things we pictured for “Nevermore” and what the song meant to us. She brought her close friend director Christine Grosjean into the project, and we just knew it was going to go smoothly. We shot over two days, and the video was ready less than two weeks later. Honestly, it was one of the best video experiences we’ve ever had.
You’ll be hitting a lot of places in North America and Europe over the next two months. What are your best travelling tips?
Camille: Stay hydrated, have good sleeping conditions, eat fresh foods, stay in touch with home, and above all, enjoy the ride!
If you could fix anything about the music business, what would it be?
Laurence: I’d suggest providing a better public understanding of how the business works and how we can take steps to help the music industry thrive—especially the young and fragile and independent.
