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| Harmonium |
| What an amazing band... |
| You know how it feels to discover something unique and delightful, original and enchanting that almost nobody else knows about? - Well, that's how I feel about Harmonium, the outstanding seventies group from Quebec. |
| It was about a year and a half ago, around my birthday, when I visited a French friend of mine who lives in Montreal. I bought a Tom Clancy book for him and he bought me the album 'CINQUIÈME SAISON'. That night we had a small get together and he played the album. I was the only one present who didn't speak French and the only thing I can remember was the part with the funny word 'Débouler, débouler...' (from the song 'Vert'). It took me a few weeks to go back and listen to that album, but then I simply fell in love. The songs were so beautiful. I think it was 'Dixie' that really got me. I couldn't understand much, but it sounded so special. 'Dis-moi c'est quoi ta toune'... tell me what is your tune that keeps coming back to my ears all the time... BEAUTIFUL! |
| I bought their first album and LOVED IT! (It's impossible not to, with songs such as 'Harmonium','Si Doucement' and my favorite 'Pour un instant' (The Yhi-Ha part is brilliant!). |
| In my last visit to Montreal I bought their third (and, as far as I know, their last) album - L'Heptade but I didn't have the chance to listen to it yet. |
| I asked that friend about the whereabouts of Serge Fiori, who was the leader of the band, and he told me that he's recording some ambiance music and was recently arrested for domestic violence (I have no clue if that's correct). I know he released a solo album, almost ten years after Harmonium's last album as a band. |
| There's not too much information about Harmonium on the web. I did come across, however, one site that is dedicated to them. The site tells the history of the band along with the lyrics, some guitar chords and even a discussion forum (needless to say it's all in French). |
| So if you happen to visit Montreal, do yourself a favor and purchase one of their albums. French is not a prerequisite and satisfaction guarantied. |
| A' bientot, |
| Alon (12/20/1999) |
| L'encre s'est mise à couler - Your Harmonium Emails |
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One of the nicest things about creating and maintaining this site is the occasional responses I receive from you. It's nice to know that there are some other Harmonium fans out there. Most are surprise to learn that there are anglophone fans to that legendary group. I guess it's a proof that their music transcends the limits of culture, language and time. Also: Feel free to write. I usually ask permission before publishing your emails on the site... |
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Beau Dommage I downloaded recently a few songs from another seventies Quebec band called Beau Dommage. I don’t know much about them, just that they have nice catchy songs with, somewhat, amusing lyrics. They also use lots of slang words which makes their texts a bit more difficult to translate using the online translators. But then you learn some Quebec slang (Salut ti-cul for example...) I don’t know if they were any competition to Harmonium at the time. They sound quite different and probably targeted different audiences. |
| No Domestic Violence After All.... |
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| A very interesting update (if you can call 3 year old news and 'update') I received from Andre Poirier about Serge Fiori: |
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Saw your page on Harmonium Very nice to know that English Canada (Even if it's a tiiiiiiny bit) is interested in what Québécois artists did and are doing. I just want to specify that Serge Fiori wasn't arrested for domestic violence!! He and his girlfriend were attacked by 4 young women while they came out of a bar or bistro! Fiori went to court because he charged them with assault and he and his lawyer faced each girl and their lawyers (4 in total) and the guy lost. The victim became the guitly one!!! Three cheers for the canadian judicial system! Although the details are sketchy, there was no doubt he was screwed by the system. |
| In a later email Andre wrote: |
| In august 1997, four young women assaulted Serge Fiori and his girlfriend, Marie-Jocelyne Dion. Fiori pressed charges and had his day in court in early February 1999; it wasn’t his day at all. Facing the women’s four lawyers, Fiori saw the jury give a verdict of “non-coupable”. The defendants accused Fiori’s friend of provoking them, which they strongly deny, and that their actions were of legitimate self-defense. The jury could not rule out reasonable doubt and dismissed the case. Fiori could bring this to appellate court but found the proceedings to disgusting to proceed. Bygones! If these lawyers were Harmonium fans, I wonder if they started sleeping better yet?? |