March 8, 2021

In the midst of a winter where few new records are launched, Paul Kunigis arrives with a bouquet of songs, perfect to take us on a trip, musicaly since we cannot travel in reality. Entitled Yallah, meaning "forward", this new album, the sixth in his career, oscillates between realism, melancholy and optimism. Klezmer, swing, jazz, chanson and pop come together, the pieces carried by the warm and reassuring voice of the singer-songwriter.

Far from having been idle in recent years,in 2014 Paul Kunigis published the book "Migrating Voices", in collaboration with Véronique Marcotte. An actor in his spare time, in 2016 he played a main role in the film « Night Song », directe by Raphaël Nadjari, alongside Luc Picard and Geraldine Pailhas. In 2019, Paul Kunigis put together the"Friendly Cooking Workshops" for adults, teens and children, while continuing to offer the Wapiti songbook projectin schools across Quebec, Europe and the Middle East.

Describing the journey that led him to produce this new opus as "a wandering in the desert coupled with an identity crisis", the poet-cook navigates between Hebrew, Polish, French and English. He is interested in the fate of women and men in search of a better world, be it fighting a dictatorship ("Maidan tahrir") or seeking asylum on the other side of the Mediterranean ("Lampedusa" ). "Ostatni list" gives voice to a soldier who writes what he believes to be his last letter before the next day's battle while "No Name" takes a look at the reality of surrogate mothers.

Paul Kunigis reflects on time, the time we run after ("Biegam") or the time we spend waiting ("Czekam"). In the intimate sphere, he scrutinizes the meanders of love, whether it is transient ("Letnia miłos"), nascent ("Canal St. Martin") or changing ("Jak wówczas", performed in a duet with Juulie Rousseau) . The touching "Ya khochu" explores the same State of mind. And whatever Life offers us, Paul Kunigis reminds us in the title song, A sweet Ballad, that we must move forward.

Paul Kunigis teams up with François Lalonde (drums, percussions, glockenspiel, guitars, vocals, bass), also co-director and co-arranger, Yves Desrosiers (guitars, banjo, lap steel), Simon Dolan (double bass and bass), Caroline Meunier (accordion) , Marie-Soleil Bélanger (violin), Gabriel Paquin-Buki (clarinet), Blaise Margail (trombone), Jacques Kuba Séguin (trumpet), Christine Tassan (guitar), Nathalie Cora (kora) and Julie Rousseau (voice). Agnès Gruda co-signs the texts for four titles.

THE SONGS (CA-QDR-21)

1. YALLA (3:20) 
2. BIEGAM (3:36)
3. MAIDAN TAHRIR (3:33)
4. LAMPEDUSA (4:25)
5. CZEKAM (4:24)
6. LETNIA MIŁOS (3:20)
7. CANAL ST. MARTIN (3:37)
8. SANS NOM (2:32)
9. JAK WÓWCZAS (3:33)
10. OSTATNI LIST (3:57)
11. Я ХОЧУ (YA KHOCHU) (5:06)

THE MUSICIANS

PAUL KUNIGIS: PIANO / VOICE
FRANÇOIS LALONDE: DRUMS / PERCUSSIONS / GLOCKENSPIELD / GUITARS TRACK 4 / VOICE TRACK 4 / BASS TRACK 3
YVES DESROSIERS: GUITARS / BANJO / LAP STEEL
SIMON DOLAN: DOUBLE BASS / BASS
CAROLINE MEUNIER: ACCORDION
MARIE-SOLEIL BÉLANGER: VIOLIN
GABRIEL PAQUIN-BUKI: CLARINET
BLAISE MARGAIL: TROMBONE 2, 5 , 9, 10
JACQUES KUBA SÉGUIN: TRUMPET (TRACK 8)
CHRISTINE TASSAN: GUITAR (TRACK 8)
NATHALIE CORA: KHORA (TRACKS 3,4)
JULIE ROUSSEAU: VOICES (TRACKS 4, 9, 10)
WORDS / LYRICS: PAUL KUNIGIS EXCEPT TRACKS 3,4,7,8 WORDS: AGNÈS GRUDA
MUSIC / MUSIC: PAUL KUNIGIS
ARRANGEMENTS: FRANÇOIS LALONDE / PAUL KUNIGIS
ARRANGEMENTS CHORDES TRACK 6: MARIE-SOLEIL BÉLANGER
DIRECTION: FRANÇOIS LALONDE / PAUL KUNIGIS

RECORDED IN MONTREAL AT THE STUDIO: CHEZ FRANK
SOUND ENGINEER : FRANÇOIS LALONDE
SOUND TAKING: FRANÇOIS LALONDE
TAKING OF HIS TAIL PIANO: BENOÎT FONTAINE
MIXING: FRANÇOIS LALONDE
MASTERING: GUY HÉBERT KARISMA
MASTERING PRODUCED BY PAUL KUNIGIS ( www.paulkunigis.com )

GRAPHIC DESIGN, ARTWORKS, WEBSITES AND PACKAGING: DIEGO PICCINI DA TODI (www.diegopiccinidatodi.com) / Art and Earth tm Networks and Technology (www.artandearth.net)
PRESS RELATIONS: COMMUNICATIONS LISE RAYMOND ([email protected])
SHOW AGENCY: Agence RubisVaria (www.rubisvaria.com) - ([email protected])

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS: A big thank you to the Polish Consul in Montreal, the Honorable Mr. Dariusz Wisniewski for the use of the Consulate to record with his magnificent piano. A big thank you to all the musicians and collaborators in this project. Your generosity and enthusiasm touched me very much! And thank you to all of you. By your actions, you contribute to cultural diversity and to artists' ability to make a living from their art.

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED / FEBRUARY 2021

Information

Communications Lise Raymond
+ 1 514 699-5320 • [email protected]

Press Review

April 6, 2021
UniqueFM
March 26, 2021
LeDevoir.com
March 15, 2021
LaPresse.ca
March 11, 2021
KinocultureMontreal.com

Lyrics

Album Yallah
See