Ludovick Bourgeois
2
Album · French Pop · 2020
In 2017, Montreal singer Ludovick Bourgeois was propelled into the spotlight after being crowned the winner of the fifth season of La Voix. Touring, composing and releasing a debut album, doing press—the intensity of the next couple years left little room to take a deep breath, never mind plotting his next move. “2 is more of a reflection of who I am than my previous album, because I gave myself more time to find myself and create,” he tells Apple Music. That came in the form of a couple months spent in the western US with co-writer and producer Fred St-Gelais. "I needed to distance myself from any distractions in order to be able to truly compose,” he says. "Being surrounded by the beauty of the desert and soaking up the sun was also valuable in helping me think about what I felt like expressing and how I wanted to go about it.” Here he tells us more about the process while walking us through each of the album’s tracks.
Bonsoir Solitude “Usually, Fred and I write the melody first and the lyrics come after, but with this song, it was the opposite. Nelson Minville sent us over the text, and it blew us away at a first reading. It basically talks about how solitude exists in every aspect of our lives, be it positive or negative, and that’s the way it will always be. We also wanted to offset these rather serious reflections by giving the music a gentler rhythm.”
Sans repos “This is one of my favourite tracks on the album. Although we were supposed to stick to just 10 songs, after writing this one in less than 30 minutes at the very end of the process, we quickly realised that we couldn’t put it aside. I talk about the quest for love and the right person, but one that is unattainable. As for the music, it’s inspired by stuff by bands like Panic! At the Disco, with a very fast tempo.”
Figé dans le temps “This song was an amazing gift! While we were travelling in California, I received an email from my manager offering me this tune by Jeffrey Piton and Kingdom Street, artists I wasn’t familiar with at the time. After just one listen, I knew I was totally hooked. It talks about an encounter, and how the first image we have of a person is so significant, and remains frozen in time.”
L’écho “With this song, I wanted to emphasise just how lucky we are to be alive and that every new day that dawns opens up infinite possibilities. For the lyrics, I often look for depth and delve into my inner consciousness, but because I want to have fun playing my songs onstage, the melodies are usually upbeat. I can’t wait to perform this one live and see the crowd sing along to the chorus.”
Que sera ma vie “When we arrived in the desert late one night, Fred and I had no intention of working. For a laugh, I started to play ‘Despacito’ on the guitar. One thing led to another, I changed a chord, then another, and another, and we ended up with this totally different melody. We realised that by pure chance, we’d just written this song, which I’m really proud of.”
Ce jour là “For me, this track written with Nelson Minville is the ultimate love song. It’s about meeting your soulmate, that moment when everything is so beautiful and perfect. It’s light-hearted, bright and positive. And even though in terms of the music, we kept things simple, I think the melody could be a huge winner and become a real earworm.”
Je le ferai (feat. Marc Dupré) “I think this is the song that best describes who I am. Marc Dupré offered me the melody and he ended up singing it with me, because the story is just as much about him as it is about me. It’s about a fighter who, despite the obstacles, never gives up and works even harder to achieve his goals.”
Le dernier signal “Because rock music was my thing, I like songs with really heavy guitars and drums like this one. Fred and I composed it with guitarist Martin Bachand. The lyrics recount what it’s like being a musician and how we are sometimes drawn into overwhelming and dizzying situations, but how they also keep us alive.”
Un autre moi “I had the music for this one on my phone for almost a year before I decided to have Fred listen to it. He fine-tuned it, making the melody more powerful. Then Nelson Minville added the lyrics, which are somewhat along the same lines as traditional country music in terms of the narrative. It’s the story of someone who meets their soulmate and who, in a way, is reborn.”
Le saut de l’ange “This track written by Ingrid St-Pierre is the follow-up to ‘Sur ton épaule’, a song about caring for an ailing parent that featured on my debut album. This one here talks about the loss and absence of that person. We decided to go with very luminous music because we didn’t want it to be a sad song, but more a tribute to my father. I wanted to make his star shine even brighter.”
Héros “Even though this song deals with the subject of breakups, I wanted the overall tone to be positive and instil hope. While the verses describe the moment when a person suffers a loss, the refrains focus on the idea of a fresh start, a rebirth. It’s the only ballad on the album because I always picture myself performing live, and onstage I like things to be fast-paced.”
Bonsoir Solitude “Usually, Fred and I write the melody first and the lyrics come after, but with this song, it was the opposite. Nelson Minville sent us over the text, and it blew us away at a first reading. It basically talks about how solitude exists in every aspect of our lives, be it positive or negative, and that’s the way it will always be. We also wanted to offset these rather serious reflections by giving the music a gentler rhythm.”
Sans repos “This is one of my favourite tracks on the album. Although we were supposed to stick to just 10 songs, after writing this one in less than 30 minutes at the very end of the process, we quickly realised that we couldn’t put it aside. I talk about the quest for love and the right person, but one that is unattainable. As for the music, it’s inspired by stuff by bands like Panic! At the Disco, with a very fast tempo.”
Figé dans le temps “This song was an amazing gift! While we were travelling in California, I received an email from my manager offering me this tune by Jeffrey Piton and Kingdom Street, artists I wasn’t familiar with at the time. After just one listen, I knew I was totally hooked. It talks about an encounter, and how the first image we have of a person is so significant, and remains frozen in time.”
L’écho “With this song, I wanted to emphasise just how lucky we are to be alive and that every new day that dawns opens up infinite possibilities. For the lyrics, I often look for depth and delve into my inner consciousness, but because I want to have fun playing my songs onstage, the melodies are usually upbeat. I can’t wait to perform this one live and see the crowd sing along to the chorus.”
Que sera ma vie “When we arrived in the desert late one night, Fred and I had no intention of working. For a laugh, I started to play ‘Despacito’ on the guitar. One thing led to another, I changed a chord, then another, and another, and we ended up with this totally different melody. We realised that by pure chance, we’d just written this song, which I’m really proud of.”
Ce jour là “For me, this track written with Nelson Minville is the ultimate love song. It’s about meeting your soulmate, that moment when everything is so beautiful and perfect. It’s light-hearted, bright and positive. And even though in terms of the music, we kept things simple, I think the melody could be a huge winner and become a real earworm.”
Je le ferai (feat. Marc Dupré) “I think this is the song that best describes who I am. Marc Dupré offered me the melody and he ended up singing it with me, because the story is just as much about him as it is about me. It’s about a fighter who, despite the obstacles, never gives up and works even harder to achieve his goals.”
Le dernier signal “Because rock music was my thing, I like songs with really heavy guitars and drums like this one. Fred and I composed it with guitarist Martin Bachand. The lyrics recount what it’s like being a musician and how we are sometimes drawn into overwhelming and dizzying situations, but how they also keep us alive.”
Un autre moi “I had the music for this one on my phone for almost a year before I decided to have Fred listen to it. He fine-tuned it, making the melody more powerful. Then Nelson Minville added the lyrics, which are somewhat along the same lines as traditional country music in terms of the narrative. It’s the story of someone who meets their soulmate and who, in a way, is reborn.”
Le saut de l’ange “This track written by Ingrid St-Pierre is the follow-up to ‘Sur ton épaule’, a song about caring for an ailing parent that featured on my debut album. This one here talks about the loss and absence of that person. We decided to go with very luminous music because we didn’t want it to be a sad song, but more a tribute to my father. I wanted to make his star shine even brighter.”
Héros “Even though this song deals with the subject of breakups, I wanted the overall tone to be positive and instil hope. While the verses describe the moment when a person suffers a loss, the refrains focus on the idea of a fresh start, a rebirth. It’s the only ballad on the album because I always picture myself performing live, and onstage I like things to be fast-paced.”