Many months of rehearsing began with various band members and session musicians. Assistance from the great John Taylor on bass and guitarist Eric Martin for early pre-production recordings were done at SoundLab Studios and assisted by Darryl Cameron. Unfortunately, we could not get John on the project due to scheduling conflicts.  
The recording sessions went very smoothly. We had some fantastic talent in and out of the studio from January 18 to March 24, 2020. Robert Auger flew in from Montreal at the end of February and stayed into the first week of March to lay his tracks down and hang out at the “Audio Department” studio in Edmonton, Alberta. Lots of food and coffee was available as sessions would occasionally go for 8 to 10 hours. We did over 10 sessions.  Thanks to Denis Frigon for assistance with instrument transportation and set up (also, himself a fine drummer!). Setting up for recording can be gruelling work (loading in and out, set up, tuning, soundcheck etc.) Denis helped conserve some of our energy for performing, producing, creating, and so on. 
Also, our engineer, Nik Kozub, was alert and ready to work. He was on top of it the entire time. He’s an excellent engineer and performer in his own right.
Our cellist Conrad Sobieraj came in with his own string arrangements that he composed and proceeded to solo and overdub cello parts with such ease and confidence. Stellar job!
Graham Guest is known to many as an ace blues keyboardist and singer but is a very well-versed musician in many other styles. Here on this recording, his accordion skills are featured. The tasty fills and shadings on “Le Bal” really create a mood. Due to schedule conflicts and pandemic we were unable to feature Graham on keyboards as well. Next time for sure!
Our special guest Jack Semple made incredible contributions on both electric and acoustic guitars. Due to the pandemic, he recorded his parts at his home studio in Saskatchewan. Jack’s playing speaks for itself and we were honoured to have him on this CD.
Guitarist Real Fagnan performed some of his trademark solos and was a great creative presence in the studio.
Guitarist Eric Martin came in on the last session and conjured up some very original and powerful playing on ‘Marie-Hélène”.
Marc Beaudin composed  “T’as Tout Compris“ and “L’Histoire se Répète sans Cesse”, and played bass and flamenco guitar on various cuts. Marc demonstrated total command and facility on both instruments as well as his composing skills.
Andrew Glover’s assistance in writing out the arrangements and coming up with keyboard parts was a major contribution in the success of the project. Andrew is a brilliant pianist and composer. He is one of the most in-demand players in Western Canada and beyond. Andrew and  Joel Gray are also part of Jack Semple’s Band.
Joel Gray organized the horn section on “L’Histoire se Répète sans Cesse”, and did the arrangement as well. His flugelhorn playing was superb on “T’as Tout Compris”. Joel is a world class musician and has performed with many top artists including my favourite, Gino Vannelli.
Thanks to the Horn Section: Joel Gray, Dave Babcock, Hannah Gray and Justin McDade, for making it happen.
Chantal Marie Performed most of her tracks live and put forth incredible energy and consistency in her performances. She sang and played acoustic twelve and six-string guitars on all but two tracks. She is a very honest and extremely talented performer and I was honoured to be able to produce this album for her. 
My role in the project was drummer, producer, music director and I ordered food and made a lot of phone calls and e-mails!
Bassist Humbert Medeiros contributed his excellent bass style to this recording and also rehearsed with us during the formation of these arrangements. Always an asset!
Our last live session at the onset of the pandemic was the evening of March 24, 2020 with the horn section, guitarist Eric Martin, and Andrew Glover doing final keyboard parts. All the mixing and artwork were done online.
Over the next few months, Marc Pearce from Hok Nik Creative did the graphics, as I directed the artwork over the Internet. First time doing it like this! Marc did a great job and helped with the licensing procedures as well and put up with my late-night phone calls obsessing about the artwork.
Nik Kozub and I tossed mix ideas back and forth for a couple of months, and Nik really brought everything together for a great sound.
Special thanks to the very creative Norm Kosty for his work on the design of our band logo.
A rather long overview, but I actually abridged it. I normally do not do write-ups like this, but this project is an exception. This is a big step for Chantal Marie as an artist, and we are going all the way.
Please check out our website www.jldrums.com for further details and the upcoming online store for t-shirts and other items. 

For other information, please call 
403-872-2376, or email info@jldrums.com

Enjoy the music of 
Chantal Marie et l’Onde Sonore.

Best wishes to all of you!
Jeff JJ Lisk  |  Chantal Marie