'Everything is a frequency': Dominique Fils-Aimé on beginning her next album trilogy
The Juno-winning musician discusses her new record, Our Roots Run Deep, on The Block
Two years after Three Little Words — the final instalment of her first ambitious album trilogy — Juno-winning singer-songwriter Dominique Fils-Aimé has kicked off another trio of albums with her latest release, Our Roots Run Deep.
Weaving together jazz, soul and R&B, the Montreal artist explores themes of personal connection and nature on the project. Through her lyricism, she creates lush imagery about the environment on a number of tracks including "Love Will Grow Back" and "Feeling Like a Plant."
CBC Music's Andrea Warner described Our Roots Run Deep as Fils-Aimé's "most thrilling record yet" and noted her "evolution toward mastering her craft in just six short years."
The award-winning musician joined The Block's host Angeline Tetteh-Wayoe to share the story of her artistic roots, her creative process for the new album and her thoughts on formal music training.
So the song we just heard is called "Constructive Interference." And because I'm a nerd, I know that means something, and the definition is: "When two waves overlap in such a way that they combine to create a larger wave." And I always feel that with the music, it seems like this building that's happening, you know, it starts with this little seed ... it's always this little growing being. Is this constructive interference a great way to describe your process of making music?
It is, definitely, because everything's about waves. For me, I feel like everything is a frequency, whether it be thought, colours, everything you're saying really can be measured or seen. And the funny thing about constructive interference is that it ... can be either to make the wave bigger or it can be [destructive interference, which is] noise-cancelling. You'll make the exact opposite [wave] to cancel out something.
So there was this idea in my mind of if I'm creating frequencies to help the world be what I feel it could be, and enhance it, [I can also make waves] by also going against everything that I don't believe in.
You just support the opposite.
What I want to see grow, I'm going to feed it sunshine, love, support. I'm going to vote with my dollar, you know. So there's that notion added to the fact that meanwhile, I'm also contributing to a bigger wave. And music-wise, that's really how I feel when I create.
It's small frequencies first and then another one pops in my head. So I'm going to add [to] it and ... as long as I feel there's something to add, eventually there's lyrics that come out and then I think I'm done.
Sometimes [it sounds] like it's your voice layered on top of your voice, and I was talking to a guy that said that you had done a live programming event or something where you just sat there and created a track, sequenced a track, on the fly. Is that similar to the process of making music or are there a lot of people present, or is it just Dominique by herself?
The first part is definitely Dominique by herself with her guides and her ancestors. [It's also] my couch and the mic. So it's really this meditative process that I just love. It's a bubble that I created in my house that I stay in for hours, you know, often at night, because there's time at night. It feels like it's endless. I love it.
The abyss, the quiet, the darkness.
It is comforting, knowing the whole city's sleeping with you.
So you're a night owl then?
I am, but only when I create. Otherwise, I love the sun, I love waking up and getting every inch of sunshine on my face.
I said a sweet farewell to summer for the season [saying] "I'll put my face to your light again." But we were talking about your ancestors, talking about your parents. I was reading that they are fans of jazz music and you have a sibling who's also a pianist, but you didn't actually undergo any sort of schooling or training for music?
I didn't go to school for it, and I think that's part of what made me feel like an impostor at the very beginning.
So you didn't feel like you belonged because you didn't have that formal education?
Well, I was surrounded by people who had such a profound understanding of the math and the academic side of it. But by the time I reached the tune and the jazz aspect, I understood that jazz was really about the freedom of creating. It also reminded me that music was there before school. You know, art was always there before we decided to write about it and put it in books.
I also want to be part of the creation of something that maybe later on will end up or at least, you know, thrive in the direction of something new or unique that is really me, because that's what makes me unique. That's what makes me bring something that is authentic, is by accepting my influences and saying, "Well, this is what I have to bring to the table, [it's] this mix of different genres that I listen to and the people I've met." And doing that allowed me to feel more legitimate.
This interview has been edited for clarity and length. To hear the full interview, listen to The Block on CBC Music.