Ariane Moffatt, remixed

Poirier and Moffatt, photo by SPG Lepigeon

Street-level Québécoise vedette Ariane Moffatt made the linguistic leap to English on her fourth album, MA, the majority of its song penned in her second language. And though her songs have always incorporated an eclectic range of sounds, her new EP, MA Remix (out tomorrow, and soon to be included in a repackaging of MA), takes a stylistic turn, delving deeply into the realm of beats and bass.

Even before the mastering of MA was complete, Moffatt was thinking of ways to bring out some of the material that was obscured by vocals and conventional arrangements. The first name that came to mind was internationally renowned local DJ and producer Poirier, who’s remixed work by artists ranging from les Georges Leningrad and We Are Wolves to Buck 65 and Cadence Weapon.

“It started with the idea of just one remix,” says Moffatt. “Poirier has a lot of recognition in his field, internationally, and he’s a good guy, too. When we spoke, I thought that he could be the intermediaire. He’s more familiar with the electronic scene, so we brainstormed together.”

Moffatt successfully pursued Toronto bass duo Bonjay, but had less luck with Caribou and Lunice, who were unable to join in due to time constraints. Dubbel Dutch (from Austin) and Nautiluss (from Toronto) were good gets considering the required learning curve. “They didn’t know anything about Ariane Moffatt,” she says, “so they had to really be interested in the tracks to want to get in.”

“It was really free — I just gave carte blanche to everyone, not to aim for the clubs or radio or just do a disco remix where you have more kick and more snare. The idea was to make a complement to MA, and perhaps reach a different audience.”

Along with producers from the worlds of dancehall, hip hop and electro are artists you wouldn’t normally associate with remixing, including Moffatt herself.

“I pushed myself to try one, ‘Walls of the World.’ It’s my first remix ever! And also my good frinds from Plaster, because I like the idea of non-electronic musicians remixing songs. It’s such a different mindset and a way to approach music, so I’m happy that there’s a balance between all these people on the same EP. I’m really happy with the result.” ■

EP launch with DJ Poirer at 5295 Parc ce soir, Monday, Nov. 5, 5 p.m.