At the beginning of Oiseau de Nuit were a host of imagined existences. Drawing from them and from each of the periods in the lives of these characters, Antoine Corriveau has made them collide, multiply and melt into each other, until they become one. How do you write about what’s growing inside you and what you choose not to say? It’s here, in the middle of the knot, that a number of invisible forms of violence arise that become imprinted on the flesh and can lead to a need for dissociation, a ferocious desire to make oneself other, double, new, to get past the imprint of the dark. The traps and rides are many: affectless sexuality, camouflage, compensation, plunges into the void, multiple little deaths, escapes across the world, across time, resurrection. In the course of creation, memory blended with fantasy, and the line between parallel lives and memories became blurred.

The initial desire behind the conception of Oiseau de Nuit was to borrow from the production codes of hip-hop, without falling into the trap of an exercise in style. Interested in exploring further the collage that had been touched upon on his previous record, PISSENLIT, Antoine Corriveau got his hands on a large collection of vinyl records, with the aim of creating a sampling record. However, he soon felt that the collection was too small for him, so he decided to create his own bespoke samples, inviting a myriad of musicians to come and record improvisations in his studio: Stéphane Bergeron (drums and co-producer), Marc-André Landry (bass), Simon Angell (guitar, saxophone), Sheenah Ko, François Lafontaine (synthesizers), Cherry Lena, VioleTT Pi, Rose Perron (vocals), Taurey Butler (piano), Éveline Grégoire-Rousseau (harp), Pietro Amato (French horn), Émilie Fortin (trumpet), Kalun Leung (trombone), Laurie Torres (piano), Mat Vezio (drums) and Ariel Comtois (saxophone). The energy of these improvisations really exploded the limits of his songs, where RnB-like melodies rub shoulders with sweeping lyrics delivered without ever catching his breath.

These very free research sessions led to the production of almost half the album. For the rest, Antoine Corriveau returned to his first love, alone at the piano or guitar, and composed several songs, largely arranged thanks to improvisation sessions recorded on reels. The Beastie Boys, Kendrick Lamar, Makaya McCraven, Armand Hammer, Alice Coltrane, Cymande, Yusef Lateef, Lolita Cuevas, Georgia Ann Muldrow and Brahja were the records he listened to during his creation.

The award-winning singer-songwriter invites us on a journey that takes us deep into his childhood and adolescence and takes us on a spectacular journey to reveal the many facets that make him who he is. In the midst of questioning his identity – the public one, the intimate one and the one that belongs to him alone – Antoine Corriveau reveals in this new album what he has never said before on any record.

It’s all about feeling and knowing you’re alive.