Mercure En Mai

Daniel Bélanger returns with Mercure en mai, an album celebrating human bonding and unexpected joys. It’s a cold February morning, during yet another pandemic wave. Daniel Bélanger is wandering the streets of Mile-Ex. After stopping by a spot where he’s a regular and ordering a latte to-go, he recognizes somebody among a group of people gathered around a public bench. Greetings, introductions, small talk — Daniel Bélanger isn’t aware of it yet, but he’s making real friends, with whom he will get through the next few weeks of lockdown, over warm cups of joe. The song Soleil levant was born from this meeting, “between a café and a good chat,” while “reinventing the world, one end at the time.” In fact, you could say that each of the 10 tracks that make up Mercure en mai come from such happenstance. From thoughtful words to sudden surprises, to these “little Californias” that exist inside of us. The music is alternately sparse and lush, with looping motifs and secret passageways. It’s an impromptu portrait, capturing the things that are unplanned, unreasonable.A small band, namely Guillaume Doiron (bass) and Robbie Kuster (drums), stopped by Daniel’s studio before Pierre Girard mixed this hypnotic Mercure en mai, which provides us with the breath of fresh air we all needed.