Marc Angers - Un violon dans la tête (2021)

Red curly hair, sometimes unshaven, casual leather jacket, black cap, scarf, t-shirt, jeans and XXL bracelets – this young man could easily pass for a true Irishman, a folkie with a tendency for rock or a busker in Dublin with Celtic roots … He is everything but! Marc Angers is Canadian and lives in Québec, the French-speaking part of the otherwise Anglophone Canada. The actual place he lives in is Boucherville, a suburb of Montreal.

Marc – a rather shy low-key type of guy in his private life – rocks the stage as if there was no tomorrow. Every show is now or never. That’s his attitude. It may sound like a cliché but it is a fact: music is his life. The violin, his main instrument, becomes a part of his body when he is playing. It’s like an extension of his arms or hands. Marc Angers who studied journalism and worked for a newspaper for two years is a full-blooded musician. It’s not a question of whether he “can”, he has the urge to play, to sing, write songs, to rock the house, and with his violin to unleash catchy solos and high pitch glissandos. He has the urge to mesmerise his listeners with poetic fantasies, with stories about being free and crazy or about love and life itself. Although suffering from stage fright (like many great artists do) as soon as he hits the stage Marc embarks on a musical journey together with his audience. Classical music is the foundation of his excursion. It is what he grew up with. “I started playing violin when I was four years old. My parents noticed that I was singing all the time and that I had music in my blood. And since violins come in all sizes including suitable ones for kids, my mother bought me a violin.” While many kids don’t manage to get past the difficult beginners phase Marc not only showed great talent, but also stamina and extraordinary passion for this hard to handle instrument. “At the beginning it is tedious. It takes a lot of patience.” And even though Marc like many kids at his age was a good hockey and football player, the violin remained his first love. “At some point I had to give up sports because the danger of breaking my fingers or my hand was just too great.” Instead of ball games Marc focused on music from both the Baroque and Romantic period which is still recognisable in his music style today. “The best way to learn an instrument – and I’m very determined about this – is by doing it the classical method. From the age of four until I was eighteen my repertoire contained only classical music: Johann Sebastian Bach, Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy, Antonio Vivaldi, Fritz Kreisler… At eighteen I discovered the very provocative Canadian musician Ashley MacIsaac who much to the discomfort of “genre bureaucrats” mixed the traditional folk style with classic, rock, hip-hop and other elements. “It really turned me on so much that I went to buy an electric violin and got into contemporary rock music.”

However, it didn’t stop Marc from going back to University, this time to get a degree in music. Composing, sound formation, technique – Marc went to the master class of renowned professor Claude Richard and graduated with a ‘degree in violin interpretation’. Alongside his studies he created his own musical style by mixing classical traditional music with Scottish-Irish folk elements and modern rock sounds. He is particularly keen on Coldplay, Muse, U2 – British rock acts which in the broadest sense of the word use Romantic sound structure. He detects “tendencies of a basic classical background sound” in their music. These tendencies become apparent in Marc’s music, too. The mixture of melodic know-how, colourful sounds combined with the logistics his solos are built upon shows that he learnt his trade as a classical music student. His basic recipe is a combination of the vengeance of rock, the playfulness of traditional Scottish-Irish folk, spiced with the melancholy of a chanson. The final result prompts some listeners to dream, others to dance, and all of them to admire the performance of this exceptional talent. And that’s not all: contrary to some of his peers Marc also has a great voice. Just how strong and powerful his voice in fact is can be heard on his forthcoming album due for release in the fall of 2013.

Back to the chronological order: Marc, aged 18 discovers pop music. Like many teenagers he dreams about becoming a rock star. He wants to sing, but doesn’t have the guts to do it. However, he dares to audition for Québec’s favourite casting show “Star Académie”. He faces the challenge, gets in, and in 2005 he makes it into the final. Although favoured by many well established colleagues he doesn’t win – luckily. Just like in other countries, had he won this would have meant tight contracts combined with questionable production specifications. Instead, after the contest he gets hired for the musicals “Fiddler On The Roof” and “La Chasse-Galérie”. He appreciates the chance to gain experience in performing live and to add further facets to his show. In 2008 his debut album “L’Enfant Roi” (only French lyrics) is released. The response in his native territory as well as in France is rather positive, but it’s not the big hit just yet. The international launch is still to come – in 2013.

In 2011 Marc had his first taste of what it’s like to perform in front of big crowds outside his familiar French-speaking environment. Thanks to the initiative of a German concert promoter Marc was invited to perform two shows as support act for the legendary rock band Deep Purple. “It was a dream, big venues, highly appreciative audiences. Perhaps people thought we were part of Deep Purple because they normally don’t have a support act. The reaction was brilliant even though I don’t speak a word of German. They danced, they cheered – it was simply fantastic.”

Having acquired a taste for this Marc and his producer Peter Ranallo hit the studio to work on new demos – in a maverick yet internationally orientated way. Together with Ranallo who also comes from a classical background they went into retreat and reviewed everything: the song structures, the solos, the vocals, the performance. The outcome as mentioned earlier is a playful reflection of French influences paired with the no-nonsense language of rock music, a combination of danceable yet classical sounds, Baroque meets modern times, folk goes pop. With its catchy hook line the snazzy bi-lingual “All We Are” definitely has true pop quality. This is followed by a true treat – the adaptation of the 1976 East Of Eden classic “Jig A Jig”. Here Marc is able to show his amazing technical brilliance as well as his wit. “For Her” proves just how versatile the voice of this slim-built artist indeed is. Thanks to his impressive falsetto voice Marc Angers emphasises each verse and chorus. Sonorous piano plunks, a melody lead by the violin, rim shot beats invigorating it all … the swift “Joyride” with its high pitch glissandos provides roller-coaster feeling. “Part Of Me” on the other hand is more of a slow motion track which with an anthem-like character promotes the idea of sparklers or lighters coming into action.

What is all this trying to tell us? Dare-devil fiddler captures the world of rock? Precisely! Marc Angers definitely is a name to remember for those interested in great and exciting rock music.