Like the gentle entrance of a cool autumn wind at the end of summer, La Steppe has made its formal entrance, offering a blend of folk-centered storytelling and cinematic textures.
The project from Montreal singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Marin St-Pierre-Paiement has achieved a creative culmination with the release of the full-length debut, Recueil.
Translated from the artist’s native French as “Collection,” the graceful recording is a contemplative depiction of contemporary life that considers identity and personal growth while serving as a plea to put community and compassion above the intense focus on individualism that defines modern life.
Released Sept. 15 with album art from multimedia artist Alphiya Joncas, the 27-minute recording is led by St-Pierre-Paiement’s calm and quiet voice, most often accompanied by an equally delicate acoustic guitar or piano.
With the opening piece “Histoires” (Histories), the album begins under this simple relationship, as St-Pierre-Paiement projects their voice at a near whisper alongside a piano.
Listening nearly feels like an act of voyeurism before St-Pierre-Paiement’s single voice is joined by accompanying voices and the song grows with a full ensemble of strings and brass.
The piece serves as a modern overture for the album, which then transitions directly to one of the most traditional pop pieces on the album, “Abri” (Shelter or Refuge). A bright, plucked guitar groove centers the song while St-Pierre-Paiement shares a vocal line in duet with Noémie Castongua.
This light and playful guitar permeates much of the album, giving the project its folk-inspired core, although many progressions lean toward jazz influences.
Several songs into the album, “Toise,” translated as Height Chart, introduces the listener to the project’s darker tonal vocabulary with swirling synthesizers that convey a deep sense of melancholy and self-reflection.
This instrumental interlude carries the darkest emotional resonance on the recording by a significant margin.
It introduces the synthesizers that are used to widen the group’s sonic palette, alongside the use of stringed instruments.
“Chêne,” or Oak, and “Rivières,” Rivers, arguably serve as the musical climaxes of the album, combining each of the previously introduced musical elements into freestanding compositions.
In doing so, the two pieces also stand as the most fully realized works on the album, serving as the core reflection of La Steppe’s adventurous and experimental musical identity, combining traditional folk with sweeping cinematic orchestral strings alongside ambient textures from a synthesizer.
Rooted in St-Pierre-Paiement’s identities as a composer and professional fisherman, the musical undertaking carries a thematic focus on simple, clean living and a deep ache to put aside the modern, metropolitan complications of the world and embrace the rural, agrarian traditions that are often overlooked.
It is a journey and deep desire that is artfully depicted in Recueil, and one that listeners will continue to yearn for long after this record has finished spinning.
