Essaie pas
OriginMontreal, Quebec, Canada
Genres
Years active2010–present
Labels
  • Téméraire
  • Malditos
  • Teenage Menopause
  • Atelier Ciseaux
  • DFA
Members
Websiteessaiepas.bandcamp.com

Essaie pas (French for "don't try")[1] is a Canadian electronic music group formed in 2010. Based in Montreal, Quebec, the group consists of wife-and-husband duo Marie Davidson and Pierre Guerineau.[2]

History

The duo formed in the summer of 2010, releasing a guitar-oriented four-song cassette EP in the following year on their own Téméraire Records. Their following releases, a 2012 split with Hobo Cubes and Tout est jeune EP, showcased an electronic-oriented sound. In 2013, Malditos Records and Teenage Menopause Records co-released the compilation Nuit de noce, which featured the tracks from the previous cassettes, as well as an unreleased track, in vinyl format. A split EP with Police des moeurs and the 7" single "Danse sociale" were issued in 2014 and 2015, respectively.[3]

In 2016, Essaie pas released its debut studio album, Demain est une autre nuit, on DFA Records. The album was longlisted for 2016 Polaris Music Prize.[4] Its follow-up record, New Path, was announced in early 2018 and was released on DFA later that year.[5] An accompanying music video for the album track, "Complet Brouillé" was also produced.[6] In 2019, the band issued Earth EP, which they regarded as "a tribute to late 1990s, early 2000s pop trance tracks."[7]

Musical style and lyrics

Essaie pas's music has been described as electronic, minimal synth-pop[3] and cold wave.[8] Considered to be among the "contemporary groups reviving the DIY minimal synth sound of the 70s and 80s,"[9] the band combines "dark, minimal synth pop, French pop, Italo-disco, and elements of horror movie soundtracks."[3] Their lyrics, spoken and sung both by Davidson and Guerineau largely in French,[9] feature themes such as loneliness, sexuality, and fantasy.[3] The band's sophomore album, New Path drew on the themes of "personal ground, on addiction, loss and the lingering strength of identity within late capitalism’s mass media paranoia."[5]

The band's debut, Demain est une autre nuit was compared to "Giorgio Moroder and John Carpenter film scores as well as the industrial synth pop of Chris & Cosey," as well as Davidson's minimal wave solo work.[10] The band's sound also drew comparisons to the early Human League, "Sensoria"-era Cabaret Voltaire and darkwave acts such as Xeno & Oaklander and Cold Cave.[1] New Path, which featured "English and French lyrics, techno beats and fear-inducing soundscapes,"[11] was heavily influenced by Philip K. Dick's 1977 novel, A Scanner Darkly and borrows its title from the book.[12]

Discography

Studio albums
  • Demain est une autre nuit (2016)
  • New Path (2018)
EPs
  • Essaie pas (2011)
  • Liaisons dans la nuit / Le fruit des solitudes (2012; split with Hobo Cubes)
  • Tout est jeune (2012)
  • Police des moeurs / Essaie pas (2014; split with Police des moeurs)
  • Demain est une autre nuit (The Remixes) (2016)
  • New Path (The Remixes) (2018)
  • Earth (2019)
Singles
  • "Danse sociale" (2015)
  • "Futur parlé" (2017)
Compilation
  • Nuit de noce (2013)

References

  1. 1 2 Lester, Paul (22 January 2016). "New band of the week: Essaie Pas (No 87)". The Guardian. Retrieved 20 March 2020.
  2. ↑ Mertens, Max (16 March 2018). "Essaie Pas: New Path". pitchfork.com. Pitchfork. Retrieved 7 February 2020.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Simpson, Paul. "Essaie Pas biography". allmusic.com. AllMusic. Retrieved 7 February 2020.
  4. ↑ Sperounes, Sandra (15 June 2016). "Polaris Music Prize unveils long list of albums in Whitehorse". edmontonjournal.com. Edmonton Journal. Retrieved 20 March 2020.
  5. 1 2 Ryce, Andrew (10 January 2018). "Marie Davidson and Pierre Guerineau announce new album as Essaie Pas". residentadvisor.net. Resident Advisor. Retrieved 7 February 2020.
  6. ↑ Armstrong, Aimee (22 May 2018). "Watch: New Essaie Pas Video". thequietus.com. The Quietus. Retrieved 7 February 2020.
  7. ↑ Ryce, Andrew (10 October 2019). "Essaie Pas return with new EP, Earth, for DFA Records". residentadvisor.net. Resident Advisor. Retrieved 7 February 2020.
  8. ↑ Lozano, Kevin (16 December 2018). "Essaie Pas: "Futur parlé"". pitchfork.com. Pitchfork. Retrieved 19 March 2020.
  9. 1 2 Pattison, Louis (8 February 2016). "Essaie Pas: Demain Est Une Autre Nuit". pitchfork.com. Pitchfork. Retrieved 19 March 2020.
  10. ↑ Simpson, Paul. "Essaie Pas - Demain Est une Autre Nuit". allmusic.com. AllMusic. Retrieved 7 February 2020.
  11. ↑ Brash, Tallah (12 March 2018). "Essaie Pas – New Path". theskinny.co.uk. The Skinny. Retrieved 20 March 2020.
  12. ↑ Brash, Tallah (March 8, 2018). "Essaie Pas on New Path". theskinny.co.uk. The Skinny. Retrieved 7 February 2020.
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