A couple of years after the original recordings were done, Sudbury synth pop instrumental band Telecolor has recently come out with a couple of singles from its upcoming album, Chamades.
The first single, Fleurs, was released at the end of May, and is described by the band as a “frenetic and dancy track that will make you want to sway in the wind like the first spring flowers.” You can check out the music video below.
Another single, Patience, was just released Friday. The song is the result of a collaboration with Sudbury poet and author Chloé LaDuchesse (who’s one of Greater Sudbury’s past poet laureates).
No video is currently available for Patience, but you can check out the track on the group’s Bandcamp page.
The lyrics explore the themes of life after death, legacy, and what we leave behind, both in a literal and figurative sense. The lyrics are interpreted by LaDuchesse herself.
Patience is one of four tracks on Chamades — the full album is set to be released in November — to feature franco-ontarian poets. Other poets include Loïc Gauthier Le Coz, Emmanuelle Gingras and Daniel Groleau.
Telecolor is made up of brothers André Laforge (leads and rhythm) and Michel Laforge (bass and leads) and Matt Landry (percussions).
Although it’s been around since 2013, the band has existed in its current form since 2016, and released its debut EP, Lumia, in 2017.
Although typically Telecolor’s tunes don’t have lyrics (with the exception of the collaborations with the aforementioned poets), the band is considered part of the francophone music scene, and often performs at French-language events.
However, because it’s mostly an instrumental band, it can also easily (and often does) perform at anglophone events.
Not that Telecolor or any other band has had much in the way of live shows lately due to COVID-19 restrictions. It’s something they really miss, said Michel Laforge.
“Hopefully with everybody getting vaccinated, maybe we’ll be able to start playing shows again in the fall,” he said.
After recording with Matthew Wiewel at Deadpan Studios in the summer of 2019, Michel said Telecolor was actually planning to release its new record last summer, but decided to delay the launch to this fall due to the pandemic.
He said they’re looking forward to releasing the album, because then they can get back to writing more new music again.
The band describes itself as “retro-futuristic” in some of its promotional material.
Michel said that’s partly because they use a lot of analog synthesizers that were most popular in the 1980s. “Some of the keyboards we play on stage are older than we are,” he said.
The band’s name, Telecolor, is also named after the machine created by 19th century U.S. inventor Thomas Wilfred.
The telecolor machine transformed sound into light. It’s a good name for the band, as they often use colour projections in their live shows (at least back when they could still play live).
More information about Telecolor is available on the band’s website.
