After 3 years of waiting, Ariane Mahrÿke Lemire—Albertan bilingual singer-songwriter, played on national radio, winner of the Calgary Folk Festival’s Eye Candy video competition, three time WCMA nominee, and winner of the WCMA’s Outstanding French Recording in 2008—now releases her third album. Perfect for a chilly autumn day or a cold winter’s night, this introspective and “sans pudeurs” album is her first full-length release. Featuring great musicians (Mike Lent, 10 Second Epic’s Daniel Carrier, Lyle Molzan, Jason Kodie, and Black Mastiff’s Allan Harding) the album was co-produced with Cam Boyce and includes one French track produced and scored by the notoriously prolific Eamon McGrath.
Listening to the album evokes the image of Lemire in a coffee shop, where she sits across from you and gently entreats, commiserates, and elucidates on life and love while her band wittily confer in the language of folk and jazz. The music may be given flesh by eminent Edmontonian musicians but the soul is clearly Lemire’s: her music is thoughtful in its playfulness and jovial in its sincerity. You can hear her laughter in the deepest of blues. An album reminiscent of early Leonard Cohen and of a stripped down Madeleine Peyroux, it explores the intimacies of relationships, the details of every day life, heart breaking, and heart mending.
If nature, time and patience are the three great physicians, they are not only the healers of people, but also bring strength and vibrancy to music. Lemire waits with bated breath to show you something born of love, healing, and most of all, patient perseverance.