Julien Manaud: Save Me From Myself
Fluent piano and a resonant voice make this ballad a choice cut.
By Kerry Doole
Julien Manaud - Save Me From Myself (Lisbon Lux Records): Julien Manaud has made a mark on the Quebec scene in many different roles, as a composer, musician, producer, manager and record label head. He has announced that a new EP, Adaptation Vol. 2, will be released on Jan. 15, preceded by this first single, the opening cut on the EP.
It is a sparse but compelling piano ballad, one showcasing the fluent playing of pianist Alexis Dumais and Manaud's rich and resonant voice. It is accompanied by a beautifully-filmed video, directed by Adrian Villagomez. In a label press release, Manaud explains that "Adrian Villagomez has a very clean and sober style, which I really appreciate. He knows how to capture moments while being very discreet. We regularly work with him for live recordings."
Adaptation Vol. 2 follows the 2019 release of Adaptation Vol. 1, and again showcases Manaud performing covers of Lisbon Lux’s own catalogue of tracks from varied artists. Lisbon Lux is the label Manaud created in 2013 to market an album he produced, Voyage Love, by Le Couleur. That band has achieved major success, and the label's roster now also includes Das Mörtal, Paupière, Bronswick, Kid Francescoli, and HWYS.
Manaud says of his record: “When my daughter was born, it was very difficult for her to fall asleep, and I had to relearn how to sing classical children's songs, but I got tired of traditional nursery rhymes very quickly. So, I started singing songs from the artists I work with to her.
One night I started to play the piano to accompany my singing on these songs and I felt the urge to record them with a better pianist. I introduced the project to Alexis Dumais, who a few weeks, later presented some incredible arrangements to me. It was while listening to his proposal that I felt that we could make this record. I had to discipline myself a lot to keep this project only piano and vocals, without any other arrangements. The advantage of the piano/voice duo is that it is timeless, without any mark of time.”
Links
Publicity: Indoor Recess, Six Media
Management: Alice Menut, Lisbon Lux Records
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