While you consider jazz, a specific sound involves thoughts: subtle chords, expressive syncopation, and the call-and-response patterns. Dominique Fils-Aimé, an award-winning musician from Montreal, redefines the age-old style by including meditative vocals and amplified harmonies to her reside recordings. To not point out, the “Go Get It” singer’s stage presence is kind of distinct, sometimes all-black apparel, glittery make-up, and embellished field braids–completely a brand new wave of jazz.
Throughout her rceent U.S. tour, Fils-Aimé scatted throughout the east and west coast, making stops at live performance halls just like the Blue Notice. And turning into one of many only a few artists to carry out back-to-back on the legendary venue.“It makes me so blissful to see individuals truly sink into the method of letting themselves go and simply closing their eyes,” the free-spirited artist tells MadameNoire. She provides, “Or simply feeling like they’re taking within the music as a private journey, vibing with it like that. It makes me tremendous blissful.”
Together with her American tour concluding quickly, in preparation for her Canadian run early subsequent yr, Fils-Aimé spoke solely to MadameNoire about her private sound, reside music preparation, and forthcoming multi-album venture.
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MadameNoire: The U.S. leg of the tour started on the East Coast, which included the Blue Notice (NYC), and then you definitely traveled to the West Coast. How has the tour been going to date?
Dominique Fils-Aimé: Sure, the primary date [was] Boston. Firstly, it’s been wonderful. Individuals have been so variety and welcoming. I really feel extraordinarily fortunate that I get to do that actually, with a beautiful band and a phenomenal staff. It was a milestone to do the Blue Notice in New York, as a result of that’s a spot I by no means even imagined in my wildest goals. In order that was fairly unbelievable. We simply did the Blue Notice in LA as effectively, and now we have now Napa [too]. So, we’re the primary tour to have three Blue Notes. It appears like a really humbling privilege, as a result of I do know many individuals [who] would deserve it as effectively, and for us to be the fortunate ones is only a privilege and an honor.”
Throughout your reside efficiency on the Blue Notice, you requested the viewers to shut their eyes and reminisce on their childhood. Take us again to your upbringing, being raised in French Canada by immigrant mother and father from Haiti, and your total musical journey.Yeah, music was very current on the whole. I wish to assume that all of us begin our life singing, as a result of the very first thing we do is to make sound, to scream for air. And the enjoyment of being alive is the primary sound we make, actually. However music was simply all the time there. My sister studied piano. She tried to show me. She gave up in a short time. I had zero self-discipline [laughs]. My mother cherished music taking part in in the home from all over the place and each sort of music. So it was an surroundings the place it was seen as simply a part of the surroundings, all the time, and never essentially one thing I ever considered a job. Far more as only a lifestyle, in a way.
Having the ability to have entry to the European tradition, Canadian, American—Montreal may be very multicultural, very open-minded, in order that was undoubtedly a spot that could be a nice and fertile floor for artwork. Even avenue artwork is all over the place, similar to New York. There’s one thing about strolling down the road and seeing artwork all over the place that sort of stimulates the thoughts and the creativity.
You acknowledged your band and the sound technician in the beginning of the present, quite than in direction of the tip. It’s clear that sound and instrumentation are extraordinarily vital to you. How do you all work collectively on the set record and determine what components to do a cappella?
After we created that present, I actually wished it to be a play or a film. In order that’s why I wished issues to sort of merge one music into the opposite. In order that there could be one thing seamless and an evolution. And a story that individuals may actually sink in and let themselves sort of think about a world inside their minds as they’re listening to the present. So it was a variety of work with the band. I wished the present to convey narrative curves.
All of us collectively created one thing that flew the best way it does now, with little sections and matters that I wished to underline all through the present. In order that was a very enjoyable course of. It appears like one other type of creation that’s extra collaborative, that enables my album to have a brand new gentle and a brand new life. They actually remodel the songs, they usually make it their very own. So it turns into one thing else as a band, and that’s one thing that I actually love doing.
The band actually got here collectively tremendous organically. Montreal is a really small community of musicians. There’s a really robust tradition of jamming. So that is the place you meet everyone. Everybody is aware of one another. You uncover who you get together with, who has a match that is sensible. So all through the previous seven years or so, the band has been constructing slowly however absolutely into what it’s now. And now it’s been about six, seven years, that’s the similar band, aside from the drummer…So, I’m surrounded by stunning people who’re as variety as they’re proficient.
Talking of sound, how would you describe yours? Style-wise, you’re categorized as jazz. But additionally blues, soul and R&B. I observed that there’s a little bit of spoken phrase in there too.
The idea of making an attempt to label issues I’ve a tough time with. So I really feel like probably the most trustworthy reply to how [I] would describe my sound could be I wouldn’t. And me making an attempt to be my most genuine self and having [the] most enjoyable, and it creates one thing that appears like me. I assume, or I may describe it as free. As a result of I believe that’s the essence of jazz.
In order that’s what I took away from observing and listening to jazz artists, I really feel like there’s a tutorial aspect that sort of studied jazz and determined these are the notes and the sound. However in actuality, jazz has by no means been a couple of construction. It’s all the time been about searching for private freedom, searching for collective freedom, and having it leak into music. Or the liberty they present in music leaking into society. It’s an alternate between the Black group freedom. So, that is my imaginative and prescient of jazz. I believe this is the reason I really feel like I’m a jazz artist.
You launched your debut French single final yr, “Moi j’et aime”? Do you see your self getting into extra so the worldwide music house, much like artists like Burna Boy, YoYo Ma and Angélique Kidjo?
Yeah, the music simply got here by itself. After I create, it’s a really natural course of the place issues simply occur in a means. So I even marvel typically, how did I even write any of these songs. And that one simply got here to me in French, so I went with it. I believe most of my musical schooling was schooling being every part I listened to as a result of I didn’t go to [music] college, however I really feel like I used to be taught by those I listened to rising up. It was principally completed in English, in order that’s what got here extra naturally. However that one by some means simply felt proper. The lyrics got here in, in an hour, it was written, and it simply made sense. So I figured, I assume that is the beginning of my first French journey in music. So we’ll see if it goes any additional.
[Also] I don’t see myself [as a global artist] I don’t actually venture sooner or later. I’m simply so blissful within the now. So, I wouldn’t be capable of actually say. I assume I’ll simply maintain doing what feels proper, after which it’ll take me the place it’ll take me. Particularly that I’ve a phenomenal staff that will get to plan these sort of initiatives sooner or later for me. So I can simply benefit from the course of and comply with my instincts to say sure or no when issues really feel proper or don’t. I’m already simply amazed of every part that’s occurring. I can’t consider that is my life. I’m simply right here for the journey and grateful to get to do that.
Your newest album is a reside album: Dwell At The Montreal Worldwide Jazz Competition (recorded in 2024 and launched in 2025) What impressed you to launch a reside file?“
We had considered making a reside album for some time, as a result of the reveals and the studio albums are so completely different that we might discuss it occasionally, like, “you realize, it will be good to have the present immortalized ultimately.” And there’s a type of legacy within the idea of jazz as a result of there’s one thing very uncooked and genuine about “that was the present,” and with all of the imperfections, if we will pull it or quite the issues that make it human.
After the Jazz Fest, he [my manager] advised me, I believe that needs to be the one. And we file each present. So even for instance, Blue Notice New York, we have now the recording of it. The choice to make a reside album sort of expertise. [The live album] may be very particular as a primary on the large scene on the Montreal Jazz Fest, with the choir, with the percussion, the trumpet, everybody being there, and the vitality of that that night time was so heat and vibrant. I’m very blissful. That is the primary one we bought to provide as an album. So possibly sooner or later we’ll see one other one. I’d love the Blue Notice New York to be the following one. Simply because I had such an awesome night time. Yeah, in order that’s behind my head. Possibly in the future.
Additionally, you talked about that your fourth album, Our Roots Run Deep, launched in 2023, is the primary album of a trilogy. Are you able to inform us extra about that venture collectively?
Our Roots Run Deep was the primary of my second trilogy. Earlier than that, I had completed a trilogy already, however that was primarily based on the historical past of music and my understanding of the emotional elements. So, the notion of us uniting the primary one, I wished to additionally underline my gratitude for all of the work our ancestors put in for us to be the place we’re right now. To additionally allow them to know that I’ll do what I can so as to add my brick to the constructing in probably the most trustworthy and loving means attainable. And simply reminding myself and whoever of all these connections that exist between us. That was sort of the start line.
And now for the continuation, it’s going to be about diving additional into the notion of searching for private and collective freedom by means of artwork and life on the whole. So each time there’s a component, there’s a colour linked with [the] time-frame. These components are nonetheless going to stay, and there’s additionally connections to chakras for every colour. So if individuals take note of the development of the albums, they need to be capable of guess the colour of the following album, and due to this fact the chakra that’s linked to it.
The inexperienced one was the primary. So mainly, the primary trilogy was all major colours. And now the secondary colours for the second trilogy began with inexperienced, and it’s mainly a mixture of the yellow and the blue from the primary album. Even the energies of the primary trilogies are sort of introduced into the following one as a continuation.
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