What do Gordon Downie (Tragically Hip), Alecia Beth Moore (a.k.a. Pink) and Geneviève Racette have in common?
They are the select few who have done a duet with Dallas Green (City and Colour).
It started with the big stage at Osheaga for Hello, I’m In Delaware. The juxtaposition of Geneviève’s voice with Dallas was a match made in…Montreal…but probably Toronto.
When Geneviève released Satellite one year ago, one of the stand-out tracks was Someone, a duet with Dallas again.
Yet, Geneviève doesn’t need Dallas to stand out. Her voice and style speaks volumes about her talent with songs like Hostage, Maybe, & Les adieux.
For the one year anniversary, Satellite Deluxe is being released today, with 4 acoustic tracks of all of the above songs. Stream the release here.
“I wanted to honour the original versions of these songs, because all the songs start with an acoustic version”, shared Geneviève.
The inception of these songs started in the living room of her Verdun apartment, with a guitar or piano, during the Covid Pandemic.
With time on their hands, the band would take a song and explore different ways to play them, but some songs were just perfect the way they were.
“For example, Change My Mind on Satellite is actually the demo. We tried a bunch of stuff on it…bass…piano…in the end, we just stripped it all back to the demo. Sometimes, it’s better to keep the original version.”
To hear some of these tracks in acoustic form, is to honour their origin, and appreciate their evolution.
Les adieux “is special to me because I play piano on the track.”
Keep in mind that Geneviève never plays piano on a track or live. “It was a spur of the moment thing.”
Geneviève’s mom was a piano teacher, so she heard piano her whole life and has a special connection to the instrument. Also, “it’s the only French one on the record, so it has a special place in my heart.”
During our interview, I took a sip of Kopi Luwak coffee, which is a coffee bean that consists of partially digested coffee cherries, which have been eaten and defecated by the Asian palm civet. I call it “poop coffee.”
All this to say that being an artist today, is like that coffee bean. One has to pass through a lot of crap before they come out a delicacy on the other side.
Geneviève’s journey has been a long one, singing since she was young, but that long, hard road is finally paying off.
One of the recent highlights was participating in the Folk Alliance International, the world’s largest gathering of the folk music industry and community.
Geneviève Racette performed a showcase, which put her in front of industry giants, who help further her career.
“It’s not an easy slot to get.”
She applied for years before being accepted, not once, but twice in a row.
This year, with her team and boyfriend behind her, she was able to build on the relationships she had started to develop.
This opens up opportunities to start playing gigs in the States, which is a very competitive market compared to the isolated Quebec industry.
One thing that sets her apart is having some French songs on the setlist. During some of her “living room” shows, the US audience will often ask her to play one of her French songs.
It’s brings a certain romanticism to the song because of the French language. It’s exotic enough to garner attention.
While not an overnight success, Geneviève is exposing the US to her style of music through hard work, networking and getting the attention of people like Dallas Green, who see something special in her.
This satellite is soaring, so look to the stars, and listen to the sweet voice of Geneviève Racette.
Writer: Randal Wark is a Professional Speaker and MasterMind Facilitator with a passion for live music. You can follow him on Instagram, Twitter and YouTube. His Podcast RockStar Today helps musicians quit their day jobs with out-of-the-box advice from Ted Talk Speakers, Best Selling Authors and other interesting Entrepreneurs and Creatives. He created the Rock Star Today Music Business Jam Session for musicians. Randal is a collector of signed vinyl, cassettes and CDs.
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