Montreal singer/songwriter Paul Cargnello is one of those rare musicians who’s okay with being stuck at home and not touring. He’s also okay with creating an album that is a true solo project, from start to finish.
“Considering I own a studio, it’s an easy thing to do,” Cargnello muses.
His new French-language album, Peut-être, is one such venture. Recorded and mixed during the COVID-19 lockdown, the album is all Cargnello. Almost all Cargnello. On one song, he brought in the talents of bass player James Challenger and drummer RockLee. Cargnello collaborated with Francois Deschamps on the lyrical translations. The album was mastered by Ryan Morey.
“I’m honing my craft in the studio with this album. It’s a weird album in that I was left to my own devises. No influences. No record label. No nothing. Just me. This is what came out,” he comments.
Branded as a psychedelic funk pop album, Peut-être is deeply personal and touches on hope and nihilism, and everything in-between.
The first singles – “L’amour est pour les courageux,” and “Mai” – reflect on the risks of love and the promises of change and renewal.
The one English-language song on Peut-être, titled “Jealousy,” warns of the perils of holding on such tendencies.
When the album was finally completed, Cargnello started shopping it around. He had no label and his booking agent had quit the industry. He signed with local label Slam Disques / Hell for Breakfast.
“I’m happy to see I’ve still got it,” Cargnello muses.
“I didn’t think I would get another label. I’ve been solo for a long time. This label understands me, that I want to carve my own identity in the industry. The label team is young and so open minded. They are teaching this old dog new tricks,” he continues.
Cargnello has spent all his adult years – and some teen years too – honing his musical skills. He was first introduced to the Montreal indie music scene as the front man of the political punk reggae band The Vendettas. He went solo in 2002, and five years later did what few English artists have dared to do. He released Brûler le Jour, an all-French language album. A single from the album, Une rose noire, topped the commercial charts in Quebec.By 2012, Cargnello had a dozen songs in the top 40 charts in the province.
Cargnello opened Upper China Studios in 2016 and soon began lending his producing skills to other artists. He has created musical scores for television and documentary films and collaborates with his brother, Chris Cargnello, as the duo Skinny Bros.
Peut-être is Cargnello’s 16th solo album. Album number 17 – an English-language album – is slated for release later this year.
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