English transcript of the episode Edouard Tremblay-Grenier : François Roberge

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Please note : This is an English translation of an automated (yet perfected) AI transcript. It is provided for informational purposes only. While we did our best to capture the vibe, automated tools can sometimes twist spoken words—especially with our local Quebec slang! For official or accurate reference, please consult the original audio episode.

Chapter 1 : Introduction

Hugo Lachance: We are here on April 14, 2026, broadcasting from the Salle des tortues in Montreal. Today, my guest is Édouard Tremblay-Grenier, who is here to introduce himself either as the CEO of the lingerie boutiques La Vie en Rose, the general construction contractor, or maybe even the CAQ Member of the National Assembly for Chambly. We shall see! One thing is for sure, he is here to present his album François Roberge on L'Album Podcast. Before introducing my guest properly, I want to thank our new subscribers. Things are going well! Come join us on social media: Instagram, Facebook, and especially YouTube. We are getting close to 1,500 subscribers, so come check us out. Just click, it’s really cool. It’s a quick gesture that doesn’t take any time and it really means a lot. You know, it’s the sinews of war. So, come join us. Go follow my guest's social media accounts too. I also want to acknowledge the comments on the episode. Let's start with the wonderful Salle des tortues. I want to thank Véronique Lambert for hosting us in her studios. The Salle des tortues is a fully equipped green screen studio with cameras, sound, mics, everything you need. The lighting is brand-new. If you have a music video, corporate videos, or if you want to put on comedy shows—Marc Labrèche even came here to shoot for the Bye Bye. It's pretty mind-blowing! Look up the Salle des tortues on the internet and on Facebook; Véronique will welcome you. You can even record podcasts here, just like mine. I also want to thank Hopera, which has been sponsoring L'Album Podcast for a good while now. If you go to the Saguenay, it’s a restaurant-bar on Saint-Dominique Street. There is also Hopera La Chop, which is a facility located in the industrial park of Jonquière. There is a little pub inside where you can see plenty of memorabilia from local bands like Horloge Simard, Mononc' Serge, and WD-40. Even the fermenters are named. You can visit and, above all, sample their excellent products. For real, it’s really good. Thanks to Vlad and his team for sponsoring this fabulous podcast. If you like my work, you can donate to the podcast if you feel like it, a one-time donation or a monthly donation via PayPal. The link is in the description, and if you are on audio, go check out my website at www.lalbumpodcast.ca.

Édouard Tremblay-Grenier: That’s a lot of material! Yes, you did that well.

Hugo Lachance: Thanks, Édouard. Welcome to L'Album Podcast.

Édouard Tremblay-Grenier: Thanks for having me.

Hugo Lachance: I’m really glad you’re here. Did you like my intro? I thought it was great, for real.

Édouard Tremblay-Grenier: I loved all of it! I can't wait to debunk everything. I really hope it turns out to be the president of La Vie en Rose. The worst part is that I found out about it after all the contracts were signed, so I couldn't change it. But anyway, I'm sticking to my idea.

Hugo Lachance: Did you get a box of underwear or what?

Édouard Tremblay-Grenier: No, not even! I got absolutely nothing, honestly. François Roberge, we dare you to send me a box of underwear—but not the one from my album, the other one!

Hugo Lachance: Oh yeah, him! Send him a box of underwear, please. Look, I always ask my guests the same six questions. Let's start at the beginning. Édouard Tremblay-Grenier, where did you grow up?

Édouard Tremblay-Grenier: A Montreal boy. An Hochelaga boy. Born and raised in Hochelaga.

Hugo Lachance: Oh yeah, cool! And your childhood album, what's the furthest back you can remember?

Édouard Tremblay-Grenier: The first one I listened to where I told myself "OK, this..."—for real, I remember that all of The Beatles' albums always rocked my childhood. But the album where I realized I loved music was probably the one by Les Trois Accords. I went "Wow, OK, this is cool." I remember going to the launch when I was a little brat. Something had clicked for me; I probably fell asleep after three tracks, but I had completely lost my mind over it.

Hugo Lachance: That's great! And your teenage album, the one that marked you besides Les Trois Accords?

Édouard Tremblay-Grenier: As a teenager, I only listened to Green Day. American Idiot and 21st Century Breakdown. That's what I listened to on repeat. Now, I listen to a lot more French-language music, which I listened to way less back then.

Hugo Lachance: What was playing in your parents' ride or at home?

Édouard Tremblay-Grenier: It was very broad! Anything from the Beastie Boys and Jean Leloup to Malajube. It spans wide! Gillian Welch too. My mother passed on the love for Gillian Welch to me, I still listen to her today. It's so good.

Hugo Lachance: By the way, that first album, I think it’s already been 30 years. What was your first instrument?

Édouard Tremblay-Grenier: The piano. I never really learned how to play the piano properly, but I remember playing the Inspector Gadget theme song on the piano when I was 6 years old. In elementary school, I started playing the violin, and now I play the guitar.

Hugo Lachance: Awesome! At what point did you realize that music was going to be fundamental for you?

Édouard Tremblay-Grenier: It feels like it has always been there, it was always present because of both my parents. My father does comedy, but there is always a guitar nearby, and for my mother, there were guitars constantly. I’ve always been surrounded by music, I’ve always made music.

Hugo Lachance: Let's continue with your introduction. Édouard Tremblay-Grenier is a Quebec musician, composer, and actor. From childhood, he developed his musical ear and composed his first song at 13. His talent was noticed when one of his songs was included in Philippe Lesage's film Genèse. Can you sing it for us?

Édouard Tremblay-Grenier: Yes, it's "Entre toi et moi." It's the first track I ever wrote. Philippe Lesage picked it for his film and my mother put it on her album Cassiopée. You can listen to it; I lisp a lot in the song, but that's me right there.

Hugo Lachance: I looked at your filmography. Checking out your acting background, we notice that you played a character named Félix in three major projects: in the film Les Démons in 2015, in the film Genèse in 2018, and in the series La Faille in 2019.

Édouard Tremblay-Grenier: That's true. La Faille, I don't know why it comes up so often in my bios, because I think I have a single line in it! I remember having fun on set, but I was just there. For the two Félix characters in Genèse and Les Démons, there is a possibility it’s the same character because Philippe Lesage directed both movies. I think he did it on purpose. The character might not have been named that for Genèse, but since I got the part, he said: "We're gonna call him Félix again."

Hugo Lachance: After being Félix—which means "happy" in Latin—for a good part of your teenage years on screen, is the François Roberge project a way for you to take back possession of your own name?

Édouard Tremblay-Grenier: You could say that, yes. That's a good point!

Hugo Lachance: As a passionate multi-instrumentalist, you collaborate with various artists from the emerging scene. What do you play besides the guitar?

Édouard Tremblay-Grenier: To be honest, the term "multi-instrumentalist" is more for laying it on thick than anything else! I play the guitar, and when I do demos, I play the bass and I can get by on drums. But those are all things I leave to the people around me.

Hugo Lachance: In 2024, you joined the House Band for the Saint-Jean show on the Plains of Abraham. Is that the show where you were playing with your mother and it started pouring rain?

Édouard Tremblay-Grenier: We woke up and it was already raining. We were supposed to do a dress rehearsal that day and we didn't do it. Instead of doing a 2-hour show, we cut thirty minutes to do 1h30. Ten minutes before going on stage, an artist came over to say he didn't want to do a specific track anymore, so we switched the whole pacing ten minutes before the show. It was wild! It’s the best show memory of my life. My mother didn't love it as much because she fell and really hurt herself. But I completely lost my mind. I was living my rockstar life, one of my first big shows under heavy rain, doing solos in front of 20,000 people.

Hugo Lachance: That's your biggest show to beat!

Édouard Tremblay-Grenier: Yes, by far! At that moment, I was starting to become a huge fan of Quebec culture.

Hugo Lachance: Do you identify with this new generation of young people who connect deeply with Quebec, like Lou-Adriane Cassidy or Thierry Larose?

Édouard Tremblay-Grenier: 100%. I fell in love with something I strangely knew very little about. I listened to Les Trois Accords and Malajube when I was young, but that was it. It didn't evolve for a long time. I just listened to French music thinking that what was being made in Quebec wasn't good. Then, I happened to catch Robert Charlebois' show at the Francos. It took a slap to the face! I turn around and there are 40,000 people singing the lyrics with Quebec flags. I walked out of there deeply moved. The show right after was Philippe Brach as a surprise gig. It hit me like a ton of bricks again. I thought to myself: "How do Robert Charlebois and Philippe Brach live in the same ecosystem?"

Édouard Tremblay-Grenier: I didn't get it. I even thought Les Colocs was a small band because my mother was in it! That was my level. So I got curious and started discovering names I thought were less impressive before. Now, with friends, we play a game: we drink a beer every time we put on a Quebec track, and we end up the night completely wasted!

Hugo Lachance: Did you immediately look into what's being made currently or the older stuff?

Édouard Tremblay-Grenier: Both! Originally, it was Louis-Jean Cormier and Avec pas d'casque. I dove back into Malajube, which is my favorite band of all time; I have two Malajube tattoos. Since Louis-Jean Cormier liked Gilles Vigneault, I went to listen to Gilles Vigneault and I lost my mind. Then it took me a bit more time to get into Charlebois.

Hugo Lachance: You started writing at 13. Were you composing more English tracks as a teenager?

Édouard Tremblay-Grenier: At 13, I composed in French, but they were tracks I didn't like. I had a switch where I started composing in English, I found a direction I liked better. But after seeing Charlebois and Philippe Brach, I told myself: "What am I doing? I have to compose in French, in Québécois, in joual. I want to be part of this culture." Since then, I only compose in French.

Hugo Lachance: Have you always been solo or did you have bands?

Édouard Tremblay-Grenier: Always solo. Sometimes a friend comes to strum with me, but it’s solo most of the time. It's a bit of a dream to have a band, but I've never taken the step of saying "OK, let's start a band together." One day, I'd really love that.

Hugo Lachance: But when you do shows now, you have a band?

Édouard Tremblay-Grenier: Yes! I'm with my brother, with Zak Boileau, and with Vincent Huard. The three of them are insane, I'm really well surrounded. Victor is also capable of beautifully delivering Pierre Fortin's drum parts. When we were recording the album, Pierre said that some parts could be complicated even if they looked simple, but Victor can do it without sweating. Shoutout to Vic! He actually has a project with Vincent that is insane and he might record a solo thing soon.

Chapter 2: The Album: François Roberge

Hugo Lachance: Let's move on to your album François Roberge. The press release says you explore your loves, your imaginary adventures, the quest for happiness, but also a loved one's memory loss. What is the context of this album?

Édouard Tremblay-Grenier: Honestly, there isn't much of one! I describe my songwriting as a "brain vomit." I sit down, it takes me less than an hour, I compose a track and I don't touch it again afterwards. That's why the album goes in several directions; I don't try to make it sound like my previous track, it's just a reflection of how I felt at that moment.

Hugo Lachance: On the album, there are musicians and you managed to create a soundscape. How did you achieve that with your musicians?

Édouard Tremblay-Grenier: There were three of us: me, Pierre Fortin, and Jean-Sébastien Chouinard. We produced and played a bit of everything. Alex McMahon and François La Fontaine also came to play keyboards for some songs. It's our energy together that gave it that vibe; we were fooling around and jamming together. I didn't really send my songs to Pierre in advance. I'd show up at the studio and say "I have this track," and we built it track by track. My demos are very basic, just guide vocals and guitar, even though I can sometimes spend 6 hours on GarageBand doing arrangements. But for the album, we built everything organically from that.

Hugo Lachance: If you had to put labels on your album, what would they be?

Édouard Tremblay-Grenier: I have a definition of grunge which is: "I do what I want and I don't care about others' reactions." For me, it's that, even if I know I don't musically make grunge! It comes out with pop accents. It's certain there is a part of the "lac sound" that Fred Fortin, Olivier Langevin, and Pierre Fortin developed. I'm very close to them and I'm a fan of Fred Fortin, he's probably my most-listened-to artist of the last five years.

Hugo Lachance: What would be your reference albums for François Roberge?

Édouard Tremblay-Grenier: Malajube's Labyrinthe came up a lot. Pierre Fortin said it feels like there is always a killer hiding somewhere in that album, and that's the vibe we wanted. Otherwise, there is the vibe of Avec pas d'casque; I'm a huge fan of Stéphane Lafleur's poetry and his arrangements. There is also Louis-Jean Cormier for some things.

Hugo Lachance: What’s the writing context? How far back does the oldest track go?

Édouard Tremblay-Grenier: The oldest one dates from the summer before we started recording. It doesn't date back that far. The process is organic. There are days where I compose four tracks and none of them are good! Making an album wasn't even planned at first. I was just looking for a place to record one track. We checked out a studio with my manager but it was too expensive. At the same time, my mother found out that Jean-Sébastien Chouinard was free. We went there, and my mother said: "I want you to produce too." Jean-Sébastien brought Pierre Fortin in because they often work together. Ultimately, instead of one track, we decided to make a 6-song EP. Then, the Saint-Jean show happened, and when we came back, we told ourselves we'd make a full album. Everything went down like walking down a fluffy staircase.

Chapter 3: Track by Track (Part 1)

Hugo Lachance: We now tackle the chapter of acting versus singing. You've been an actor for 16 years already. A lot of people wonder if you want to dedicate yourself solely to music now. I imagine you'd like to blend both as much as possible. Are there bridges to build between the two? It's maybe a question you hear often, a bit cliché, but does your background as an actor help you get into a certain state for certain songs?

Édouard Tremblay-Grenier: I don't know. Personally, I know there are a lot of actor-musicians for whom that's the case, but for me, no. It feels like I put them into two categories that are so different. For me, acting is something where I am not myself; I use my emotions, but it's not me. Music is just me. My album is the closest someone can get to my soul; it's completely the opposite.

Hugo Lachance: Is it something you think you'll work on later, for example creating characters for a concept?

Édouard Tremblay-Grenier: I would love that so much! I wrote about five or six songs with a specific theme, like a little story. I don't know if it will see the light of day, but I talked to friends who thought it was cool and suggested filming something. Maybe one day a short film will pop up with an EP, you never know.

Hugo Lachance: I really wish that for you. It's cool that you made your album and that you already have ideas for the second one.

Édouard Tremblay-Grenier: Yeah, I already have about 40 songs ready in my head. It keeps going, it keeps going.

Hugo Lachance: We're gonna move to the segment about parents. Mara, your mom, I hosted her here on the podcast; she was listening to the episode by the way. I was really glad to have her for an interview. We had already collaborated a few times, but I was nervous to host her, just like when I was at Claude Rajot's. We talked about a lot of things and I kept a short clip where she talked about her "beautiful boys," Édouard and Victor. She mentioned an album was coming up, that she was producing under the Spectra label, and that your first single was coming out on the 11th, which was the day before her own album. She told me afterwards she was very proud to know it was good. So your mother is your producer?

Édouard Tremblay-Grenier: Yeah, she's the one producing the album. I'm really lucky. I'm not gonna lie, it definitely helps to have the parents I have in this industry. I'm very proud of my songs, but I admit I probably would have never been able to work with Pierre Fortin and Jean-Sébastien Chouinard if it weren't for my mother.

Hugo Lachance: What is her involvement? She financed the album, but does she have an involvement in your creative process or do you consult her for advice?

Édouard Tremblay-Grenier: Yes, totally. Every time I compose a song, there are three people I send it to: my mother, my father, and my girlfriend. If all three like it, I put it in the folder for a second album. But she never comes over my shoulder to listen to what I'm doing. The only other involvement she had was that she walked into the studio while we were recording the song "Fan de toi." Pierre asked her if she wanted to play bass, so she played bass for that track, but otherwise she didn't say anything about the album. She wants to lend a hand, but she wants to give me my space. I didn't want her to produce the album either, so that we wouldn't have that dynamic.

Hugo Lachance: It's a connection that was bound to be noticed, but I'm glad to hear you love what she does.

Édouard Tremblay-Grenier: I love it! I'm lucky, I'm a fan of what both my parents do, I love it. I know it's not the case for all children of artists, but I am truly a fan of their work.

Hugo Lachance: We continue with a message from your father, Daniel Grenier: "Hello Édouard, it's papa here. A quick message to tell you how much I love you and that you are an exceptional human. You have a lot of talent and I love you big like... I won't tell you, but it ends with 'verse' like in universe. Until next time, we'll talk soon. Bye."

Édouard Tremblay-Grenier: It's special! I love it, but it's special. It reminds me of a time I went to an interview for a job at a video game store. On my CV, I had written: "merchandise seller for Mara Tremblay" and "merchandise seller for Daniel Grenier." The boss, all proud, tells me: "Hey, did you know those two used to be a couple?" I replied: "Yes, I'm their son." He was completely deflated, he thought he was teaching me something.

Hugo Lachance: An article by Raphaël Gendron-Martin in the Journal de Montréal mentions that absurdity runs in your veins because of your father. Was the title of the album, François Roberge, a way to claim that heritage while offering intimate music?

Édouard Tremblay-Grenier: 100%, that's exactly it. I was brainstorming with my father on how the album could start. I wanted it to begin a bit like an Offspring album, with a voice saying "It's time to relax." I wanted a fake 1960s movie trailer. Finally, my father said: "Let's call it François Roberge." François Roberge is one of his childhood friends who works in a hospital. My father thought it would be wild if the album bore his name and if he did the intro. François was down to do anything. My father had even done a sketch for a Pierre-Yves Desmarais gala a few years ago where he made people believe François Roberge was named Pierre-Yves Desmarais. It was just him walking in, saying hi, and leaving. It was pretty funny.

Hugo Lachance: Let's look at the album credits. The title is François Roberge, released by Spectra and produced by Mara Tremblay. Produced by Pierre Fortin and Jean-Sébastien Chouinard. On instruments, we find you on guitar and vocals. Pierre Fortin is on bass, drums, guitar, percussion, and synth. He is a true multi-instrumentalist.

Édouard Tremblay-Grenier: He is so good! He's my idol. I would buy a vinyl with just his drum tracks. I love listening to him, especially his hi-hat play; it sounds so good on my mother's album and on mine too.

Hugo Lachance: There is also Alex McMahon (keyboard, percussion, drums), Jean-Sébastien Chouinard (guitars, bass), François La Fontaine (keyboard), Laura Burkette (vocals), and Mara Tremblay (bass). It was recorded at Croco and Tone Bender studios. Mixing by Jean-Sébastien Chouinard and mastering at Tone Bender studio. It took about a year, from April to April, because we did it during Pierre and JS's free time, and they are very busy. The album has 15 tracks. What's the concept behind the cover?

Édouard Tremblay-Grenier: I did the drawing myself. I was hospitalized for a week and had nothing to do. My father brought me a notebook and a pencil. I drew that and he suggested it should be the cover. I liked the black and white, it's a nod to Malajube's album Trompe-l'œil. I find that white and black stands out well in a playlist. It's a sort of pig mask. I kept the same aesthetic for the promo photos with my friend Éléonore Delvaux-Beaudoin. We used animal masks to create a bizarre and anonymous universe. I wanted people not to really know who these people are, why it's named François Roberge; I liked that it wasn't clear.

Hugo Lachance: Let's move on to the "One song after another" segment. We start with the intro, "Ici François Roberge."

François Roberge (audio clip): "Hello, this is François Roberge. You are about to listen to Édouard Tremblay-Grenier's first album named François Roberge. That's me. Enjoy the music."

Édouard Tremblay-Grenier: He didn't believe at first that I would use his name. When I sent him a screenshot of the Spectra contract, he couldn't believe it. He finds it weird to hear his name on the radio. We recorded that at my father's chalet with a small mic. I also did video tutorials with him on how to drink water or open a door, it was awesome.

Hugo Lachance: We continue with "Ari."

Édouard Tremblay-Grenier (sung audio clip): "Ari goes out in a park, she walks alone after the glory. When people wait for her after the storm, they want to see, she pretends to know them like every night..."

Hugo Lachance: I hear some Louise Forestier in your high notes!

Édouard Tremblay-Grenier: That's me in my high notes! I am Louise Forestier! I wrote that song in 15 minutes coming home after meeting a girl named Ari who did theater and wasn't doing well. It had made me sad. My mother cried listening to it. It's a reflection on the beauty of the character versus real life. It's important to me that the songs make sense one after the other, that the album is a complete work, not just a succession of singles.

Hugo Lachance: We end this first block with "Ne me fais pas mal." In my opinion, it's the most beautiful melody on the album.

Édouard Tremblay-Grenier: Thanks! Originally, it was supposed to be a tone higher, but Pierre suggested lowering it so I'd be able to sing it live. We worked a lot on the bassline together, I wanted it to groove. It's my favorite for the baseline, Pierre created it with my indications so it would be really catchy.

Chapter 4: Papier sablé

Hugo Lachance: "Alone in a room, I scream very loud. You don't even recognize yourself where I was wrong. In the light, I wear coldness. Who is it that slips between me and myself?"

Édouard Tremblay-Grenier: Oh! So "Papier sablé." "The demons slowly draw near. I feel their breath press against my neck. Let's flee them softly without reproach. If we run, they will catch us. In the sweetness of the mist, I begin to love myself again. If I hold my sigh, I keep myself from rotting."

Hugo Lachance: Yeah, heavy lyrics! Super light. Super light, that text. It's sure that said the way I did, it sounds intense.

Édouard Tremblay-Grenier: Yes. No, but even when I was recording it, actually. Yes, it's true that it's deep. But I don't hide in that text. In none of my texts, actually; it's so close. I wasn't feeling well that day.

Hugo Lachance: Yeah, but absolutely. And the song is a beautiful outlet too.

Édouard Tremblay-Grenier: Oh, truly. But for me, it has always been like that. When I was more of a teenager, I really wasn't feeling well. That's when I composed the most. It was my way of externalizing, of trying to get better, and it worked today. Today I do that and I have phases. I know my second album will probably be darker than this one. I have tracks that are still more intense. I can't wait to see how it turns out, but this is my most "Malajube" track too, I think.

Hugo Lachance: Well yes, that's what I was getting to, but I was gonna say Louis-Jean Cormier too at the same time. It's a sound that belongs to us as Quebecers.

Édouard Tremblay-Grenier: Yeah, that's where you bathed, you grew up.

Hugo Lachance: Super beautiful track, the arrangements are good.

Édouard Tremblay-Grenier: Thanks. We had a blast on that too, we really had fun. It's the only track I've written in my life in two sessions: the morning and the afternoon. It's the only, only song where I went back to it and redid two or three chords.

Hugo Lachance: Oh ok, that's great.

Édouard Tremblay-Grenier: And it was Spectra who wanted to release it as a single. It's like the second single that came out. I'm happy with that track. It wasn't necessarily my first choice, but the more time passes, the more I learn to love it.

Hugo Lachance: Personally I think it's a very good album. First album, and I can't wait to hear your second. I don't want to put pressure on you.

Édouard Tremblay-Grenier: I can't wait to hear my second one too, really! But I can't wait to see how it will progress because it shows on this one that you are playing your influences.

Hugo Lachance: And it's as if you were exorcising that. It's super well done. I can't wait to see what direction it's gonna take.

Édouard Tremblay-Grenier: Me too, I can't wait. It feels like every time I relistened to François Roberge, I didn't too much know where I was heading. I'm really happy, I love the direction it's taking. Right now, I'm composing tracks again. For the demos I've made so far, there isn't one I recorded truly on GarageBand or on Logic. It's all guide vocals that I record. I told myself we are really gonna dissect them, I want us to strip them down, I want us to work on them as a crew. I can't wait to see, exactly. Earlier we were saying that we bring a demo and we build, but now I really want us to tell ourselves: "What do we do with this track? Is there potential? Do we move to the next one?"

Hugo Lachance: Ah, now your approach is gonna change.

Édouard Tremblay-Grenier: Yeah, I really want to change. I want to explore. The studio world is something that passionately interests me a lot. Now that I understand a bit more how it worked with a first album, I want to try things. I don't know what it's gonna give for the second album.

Hugo Lachance: But I have exactly the same feeling as with the last album by Take Glasses.

Édouard Tremblay-Grenier: OK, I don't know them.

Hugo Lachance: Oh, they are an excellent band! It's not their first album, they like transitioned from punk rock to something a bit more grunge. It feels like it's the album where they exorcise their influences a bit. I can't wait to see the next one. That's how it is. We're gonna continue with "Emmène-moi."

Chapter 5: Emmène-moi

Hugo Lachance: Chapter 5: "Emmène-moi." "Take me where you want. No matter where you go, I'll go there. Take me. Take me." I draw your attention to the melody because it reminds me of a WD-40 track, of "Diesel." Yeah, it's the same melody.

Édouard Tremblay-Grenier: Pierre is the one who came up with that.

Hugo Lachance: Oh yeah, OK.

Édouard Tremblay-Grenier: "Take me where you want, no matter where you go, I will go down there, to the far end of Gaspésie or even in Abitibi. Let's get out of the city, of our routine that weighs a bit heavy. You want to see the country, landscapes, and me your body. No matter where you go, I will go down there. Life behaves better when I am in your arms. No matter where you go, I will go down there. Because that's where I feel best when I am with you."

Hugo Lachance: Yeah, that day, I was doing well! Compared to "Papier sablé."

Édouard Tremblay-Grenier: I wish that for you!

Hugo Lachance: Yeah. No, but that track, it's my podcast track. It's my track of the album. Before, I used to sing it lower too. I was maybe messing around a bit too much. We really remodeled it to make it a bit more of a road song, just a voice and a guitar. It was among the two tracks I liked the least the week before the album came out. The more I perform it live, the more I love it, the more fun I have. Now I have fun doing all the tracks, but before I was like: "this one and 'Fan de toi,' I can't do them anymore."

Hugo Lachance: It's good to have conversations with people who are gonna pull a track upwards too.

Édouard Tremblay-Grenier: I listened to Pierre, JS, and my mother who said: "no, it's good on the album." You have to give them a chance sometimes. I'm really happy to have given in because I adore them and I find it's a beautiful moment in the pacing of the album.

Chapter 6: Le vent

Hugo Lachance: Chapter 6: "Le vent." "What does it do to me to see you smile everywhere, even in my most weary moments? Drink my words that I pull out for you from this verse that I write from scratch with the looks you leave me. Give yourself happiness. It's so sweet, it's so crazy. I could talk to you about it for hours. This little bit of the unknown that leaves..." Obviously, we only listen to the beginning, but it evolves. It has a beautiful room in there.

Édouard Tremblay-Grenier: Yeah, it's truly Laura Burkette's voice. It's one of the two tracks where she sings. It's the text I'm most proud of out of the whole album. I'm really happy. If I were to redo it, I'd probably remove the "dies." My brother says it's luminous, so we need them. In shows, usually, I do it all alone. I completely remodeled it and I find it hits much harder, I have more fun playing it. The crowd gets into it. It surprised me, for real. I had a show last week, I didn't think I'd sell tickets, there were a lot of people and everyone sang everything. I don't understand what's happening.

Hugo Lachance: It blows my mind to see the people who come to see me. Ah, I so much loved that track, I could see you singing it. I don't understand, it blows my mind.

Édouard Tremblay-Grenier: Yeah, it completely blows my mind. Thanks, it makes me fly. But I admit that with "Le vent," doing it all alone and hearing the crowd, it's a win.

Hugo Lachance: Imagine if Paul Piché had removed his traditional lilts!

Édouard Tremblay-Grenier: That's a very good point. Since it lacks lilts, we need some for the next album, that's what I'm missing. A bit of trad, integrating trad.

Hugo Lachance: Yeah, a bit of trad. I hosted Malaimé Soleil, actually the episode isn't out yet. But when yours is out, it will be. Those guys have trad influences too. It's really hot the way they integrate them.

Édouard Tremblay-Grenier: What a good album! Listen to that. We salute them, Malaimé Soleil. We continue with, precisely, "Fan de toi."

Chapter 7: Fan de toi

Hugo Lachance: Chapter 7: "Fan de toi." "Finally, I am a fan of you. I want to see you win prizes and the trophies carried in your name. Only the greatest can have them. How to do it? I am a fan of you." Well, "Fan de toi," it's bizarre in that sense.

Édouard Tremblay-Grenier: Yeah, the bass is a bit louder. It's bizarre, huh?

Hugo Lachance: Who is playing that? Is it perhaps the producer?

Édouard Tremblay-Grenier: Yes! She called the guy there. She said: "turn up the bass." It was the opposite of Metallica's ...And Justice for All album.

Hugo Lachance: I wasn't sure you were gonna have the reference!

Édouard Tremblay-Grenier: Well, it's because they recorded the album but the drummer said to lower the bass to the minimum. The engineer went: "OK, no bass on the album."

Hugo Lachance: It took me some time, but the joke was good! So it's your mother playing the bass.

Édouard Tremblay-Grenier: Yes, it's my mother.

Hugo Lachance: I just want to read the text which I quite like: "How to do it? I am a fan of you. I want to see you win prizes and the trophies will bear your name. Only the greatest can have them. A room filled with me applauding you. When you move forward to collect the honor, everything you evoke turns into gold. I wake up but you are not with me. I would like to live this moment one day when you are gonna want to see me again." I find it very beautiful, and very funny.

Édouard Tremblay-Grenier: Yeah, well it's such a toxic love! To be a fan of someone to that point... "I am a fan of you, I want you to win, say my name." It's so toxic. But it makes beautiful tracks in the end. Even if, like I was saying earlier, I didn't like it before the album came out, I'm happy. I like that it's a mantra, that there isn't really a chorus. I like it well, my little radio-friendly track of the album.

Chapter 8: On r’gardera pas le temps

Hugo Lachance: Chapter 8: "On r’gardera pas le temps." "If I don't need to lie to myself, it's because I saw you fall asleep. Red hoodie on your back. I've never seen anything so beautiful and time confirmed to me that what I wanted most is you. Your huge lips for too long." Ah yeah, a big solo! Go, go.

Édouard Tremblay-Grenier: When I hear that for the first time, I wonder who plays like that. It's so cliché, the solo, but it works completely.

Hugo Lachance: Ah, it's my "Beatles" track!

Édouard Tremblay-Grenier: My little descent. The solo is Jean-Sébastien Chouinard. I'm not capable of making beautiful solos like that. Almost all the solos on the album are JS. Every time he sent me something, I said: "well yes, it's perfect, I love it." But that is the oldest track I wrote. It dates from the summer before I composed the album. I have an attachment towards that one since it's the first.

Hugo Lachance: I love that. We pushed the lyrics. "If I don't need to lie to myself, it's because I saw you sleep." I like it when you recited poems in my headphones like that.

Édouard Tremblay-Grenier: Stop it! "If I don't need to lie to myself, it's because I saw you fall asleep. Red hoodie on your back. Never seen anything so beautiful and time confirmed to me that what I wanted most is you."

Hugo Lachance: Cool. Simplicity works. We go with "Je rêve."

Chapter 9: Je rêve

Hugo Lachance: Chapter 9: "Je rêve." "I dream of believing in the mirage, I dream of putting out the storm that distances us, grandma. I dream that you see my children. I dream that we have enough time, that you see them grow up, that you see them smile. Your name escapes you, your laughter catches up to me..."

Édouard Tremblay-Grenier: Yeah, it's beautiful all the same. We can guess what's happening. It's the only track where I cried while writing, when I wrote the last sentence: "your name escapes you, your laughter catches up to me." That's it, huh. It's my grandmother who is progressing more and more. We are lucky she is still here and she still recognizes us, but sometimes she forgets names. We salute her anyway. Marie is a fantastic person who raised pretty much alone my father and my uncle.

Hugo Lachance: Ah yeah, huh? OK. Fantastic.

Édouard Tremblay-Grenier: Yeah, it makes it so that my father is the way he is today. She is awesome, truly fantastic. I wish her the best. She is really happy too, she loves it. We often go out to eat together, we go to Ben & Florentine. We go eat potatoes. My father filmed her when she listened to this song for the first time. It's a beautiful memory, touching, because she cries and finds it emotional. Personally I cry too. It always does something to me, even when I perform it live.

Hugo Lachance: Yes, it shows there is an emotional involvement.

Édouard Tremblay-Grenier: That day, I wrote three tracks that are on the album: "Je rêve," "Plus de juin," and another one. "Je rêve" was the last one, I wasn't sure anymore. My father told me: "Édouard, you are a damn fool if you don't put that on your album." I agreed with him. It's well placed too. I wanted to do like my mother in "Tu m'intimides," who has a track for her mother right in the middle. I wanted to put something very touching in the middle to better tell the rest of the album through the track placement.

Hugo Lachance: When you make your vinyl, it's gonna be a pivot too.

Édouard Tremblay-Grenier: That's where it's gonna be the pivot, pretty much. I'd like that. I applied for a grant.

Hugo Lachance: Ah yeah, OK. We continue with "Souvenir d'Ari." We go back there.

Chapter 10: Souvenir (Ari)

Hugo Lachance: Chapter 10: "Souvenir (Ari)." It's as simple as that. Question for you, a technical question: did you put your guitar in the microwave before playing this track? It sounds a bit like that!

Édouard Tremblay-Grenier: [Laughter] We were at Pierre Girard's studio, and I just wanted to make a sort of memory precisely after "Je rêve." Personally I am crazy about those interludes in life. I truly trip hard on Galaxie, they have albums like Le Goût du sang and they have interludes on all their albums, they are insane. They go in really interesting directions. For me, it was paramount to put interludes in my album.

Édouard Tremblay-Grenier: That one like went through all by itself. I told myself that since "Ari" was probably gonna be the first or second track, I wanted to bring it back right after my grandmother's track who is losing her memory. It’s like a blurry memory, but there are no more lyrics. We wonder what's happening, then we fall next into a track that has a bit more direction in its structure.

Hugo Lachance: The premise is good: the slightly blurry memory of the first track. You have to think about that. We're gonna play with "Pluie de juin."

Chapter 11: Pluie de juin

Hugo Lachance: Chapter 11: "Pluie de juin." (Music) "The joint that evaporates, my heart doesn't do the same thing. I see you again far from me smiling at me, holding me against you."

Édouard Tremblay-Grenier: This is good! It's my favorite one to play. It blows my mind.

Hugo Lachance: I like your voice a lot on that. It's a beautiful avenue.

Édouard Tremblay-Grenier: Thanks! I love that track a lot. It's the second one I composed that day, after "Plus de juin" and "Je rêve." I was just in a mode where I had bought myself a new guitar and it had to come out. I had never composed like that before. Something is happening that doesn't displease me at all. It's what I was talking to you about earlier: Pierre Fortin's drumming on that is insane, it's his signature. It brings it back a bit to the Tu m'intimides album.

Hugo Lachance: It's my favorite track on the album!

Édouard Tremblay-Grenier: Ah ok, thanks! I love it a lot too. I'm often asked what track I love playing most live, and it's that one 100%.

Hugo Lachance: That was among my questions! Excuse me, I beat you to it. It’s a beautiful track and a beautiful gateway for the album. We continue with "Jarretière."

Chapter 12: Jarretière

Hugo Lachance: Chapter 12: "Jarretière." (Music) So that is another interlude.

Édouard Tremblay-Grenier: Yes, it's another interlude that wasn't planned at first. It's truly Alex McMahon who went on a trip while we were making "Le Chat du Roi." He was on drums, his drums sounded truly like an old rap beat from the Beastie Boys. We told ourselves it was inevitable, that we had to include it.

Édouard Tremblay-Grenier: I called it "Jarretière," I've never explained it but I'm gonna do it because we are here for that. In "Le Chat du Roi," there is the theme of the king that comes back all the time. I talk about Edward III of the name. I did research and Edward III is the king who founded the oldest order of knighthood still active today: the Order of the Garter (l'Ordre de la Jarretière). I found that "L’Ordre de la Jarretière" was a bit long, so I just called it "Jarretière."

Hugo Lachance: There are connections in everything! It shows that there is a slight shift in terms of lyrics. The album almost seems divided: there are the six tracks that were supposed to be on the EP, then after the Saint-Jean show, there was a break and the lyrics became better.

Édouard Tremblay-Grenier: I understand your point. I practiced a lot actually, so I'm happier with the continuation. We move on to "Le Chat du Roi."

Chapter 13: Le Chat du Roi

Hugo Lachance: Chapter 13: "Le Chat du Roi." (Music) "In the gray area, I look for the neighbor's cat to bring back to the king, to prove that I am not a saint. I am therefore the king's cat. Oh yeah! Tomorrow I will be before this old fool named Edward III of the name, second torment. I will shake his hand before he squeezes my neck." Tell me about this song.

Édouard Tremblay-Grenier: It came so completely out of nowhere! I had my new guitar, I wanted to compose, I looked to the left and in my window, there was a cat. It composed the story of someone stealing a cat. The part you put in, it's my slightly wolf-like side; I change a bit and I name my name because it's funky. There is also the fact of naming myself and saying that I am going to the post without truly being me. It's the idea of being your own worst enemy, but having the final decision over yourself. There is depth in the absurd.

Chapter 14: Villa Maria

Hugo Lachance: Chapter 14: "Villa Maria." (Music) "Villa Maria in a boat, I think we look beautiful flying over Montreal. Next to the birds and the stadium in torches, it feels good to be special even if everything decides to flee. Bags on our backs, while I sleep on the right side, the sun rises again. Orange Villa Maria." A beautiful song about Montreal.

Édouard Tremblay-Grenier: That stems from a text that Laura Burkette wrote. She's the one who does poetry. In fact, all the lyrics of the chorus come from a poem by Laura. I decided to take it and compose verses around it. I told her to come sing with me. I love Montreal a lot, even if it's sometimes a love-hate relationship. I was trying to put the beautiful sides of the city into a track.

Hugo Lachance: I totally understand. Is there a little secret on the album that we should know about? A little hidden track?

Édouard Tremblay-Grenier: I love hidden tracks a lot, like the ones by Malajube. It was important for me to have one. The hidden track is the next one.

Chapter 15: St-Amable

Hugo Lachance: Chapter 15: "St-Amable." (Music) "We already do it so well, our hands jostle, my heart is yours. So well, after an hour and a quarter of the show..." Can we fast-forward it? It's a super good track. "St-Amable," that's where I wanted to get.

Édouard Tremblay-Grenier: It's my favorite track on the album. It's the thing I'm most proud of. We had a huge trip, the three of us together. It’s the last one I composed and the last one we recorded. I had just finished a shoot and I had fallen in love with the first assistant camera, the one who does the focus. That’s why I say: "focus on my soul, you already do it so well."

Édouard Tremblay-Grenier: I only had the beginning, I sent it to Pierre and he told me to come record the next day. We kept that vocal track, we didn't retouch it. We did one bar too many at the end, so we kept it going as a jam for 4 minutes. Jean-Sébastien Chouinard sent us tracks of incredible solos afterwards. I completely flip over that track.

Chapter 16: The Hidden "Track"

Hugo Lachance: Chapter 16: The hidden "track." "I sincerely hope that you enjoyed this album entitled François Roberge. That's me. But this album could also have been entitled Laurence, Lucie, Nathan Roy, Bérénice Martel, Théophile Conception, Daniel Lacroix, Cali Tremblay, Avril Jensen, Gabriel Cloutier, Marie Lavoie, Ellie Boucher, Lua Bergeron, Steve..." It’s the melody of "Ari" coming back at the end but with another instrument. We had completely forgotten about it.

Édouard Tremblay-Grenier: It was truly important for me to do a little hidden thing. I don't care if the track has fewer listens because of that, I'm proud of it. The names are mostly friends or invented names, with a few references and nicknames.

Hugo Lachance: We've gone through the whole album! Very good. Had it been a long time since you listened to your album?

Édouard Tremblay-Grenier: Quite a while! The week before it came out, I listened to it every day. I love my music and I'm not ashamed to say it. But now, I fell into other things, like the last album by Marie Céleste. It's truly good, a mix of Malajube and Harmonium, it's insane.

Chapter 17: SEGMENT: Lightning Round

Hugo Lachance: Chapter 17: SEGMENT: Lightning Round. Your top 3 from the album?

Édouard Tremblay-Grenier: Number 1: "St-Amable," then "Pluie de juin," and "Le Chat du Roi."

Hugo Lachance: Personally I really liked "Ari" and "Pluie de juin." If you had a gateway track to suggest to someone, what would it be?

Édouard Tremblay-Grenier: I would say "Ari" because it was the first single, or "Ne me fais pas mal."

Hugo Lachance: What makes you happy about this album?

Édouard Tremblay-Grenier: The fact that I did it! It has been so long that I've been composing tracks that stay in folders. I'm proud of the result and I feel like doing this all my life.

Hugo Lachance: The track you like the least?

Édouard Tremblay-Grenier: I would say "Villa Maria," not because I don't like it, but because it's the only one I didn't compose entirely, it’s just a guide vocal. I would have liked to put more arrangements into it.

Hugo Lachance: What's coming up next for you?

Édouard Tremblay-Grenier: I have a few shows coming up. People need to check my social media. I also have a series coming out, Avant qu'on m'oublie, which is premiering in Cannes.

Chapter 18: Conclusion

Hugo Lachance: Chapter 18: Conclusion. Édouard Tremblay-Grenier, thank you very much! A great episode.

Édouard Tremblay-Grenier: Thank you! I had a lot of fun.

Hugo Lachance: Thanks to the listeners, thanks to Véro for the Salle des tortues, and thanks to Hopera. We'll see each other for the next episode!