Québec Folk Group Jabbour Releases its Third Album 'Carling Lake'
Folk group Jabbour, composed of Guillaume Jabbour, Bill Gossage, Carl Rufh and Bill Collier creates folk music with accents from the heart of the Laurentians, sung effortlessly in both English and French. This third album by Jabbour, released on May 7, 2021, draws its inspiration and images from the history of the small Pine Hill ski centre called Carling Lake, in the heart of the Laurentians, a resort that delighted so many people until the mid-1990s. The album is intended to be a nostalgic symbol of the innocent camaraderie, family spirit and the appreciation of nature that reigned there; conditions that contrast with the pandemic context in which the album was recorded.
Produced by Montrealer John McColgan, the 12-song bilingual album incorporates different sonic textures, interviews and field recordings. Dans ton café, its first French radio single, explores the complexity of human relationships. The defining spirit of the album is certainly found in Carling Lake, an English song bearing the name of the Pine Hill ski resort and whose music video intertwining period footage with a modern day snowshoe pilgrimage up the desolate mountain, was unveiled during the virtual listening party on May 7.
The group’s identity crystallized during its 2015 tour of British Columbia, when the musicians realized they had found their niche on the Canadian folk music scene. That winter, the band recorded its debut album 'Round the Clock over a weekend on stage at the Oscar Peterson Hall in Montreal. This debut album won them a Stingray Songwriter Award and airplay on SiriusXM, Stingray, CBC, ICI Musique Radio- Canada and several community and university stations. It also gave them the opportunity to tour the Maritimes twice and perform at various festivals.
In 2019, Jabbour released their second album Saint Bernard, produced by John McColgan, which also received excellent airplay. The band supported this release with tours throughout Quebec, Ontario, Saskatchewan and Manitoba; conference showcases at Folk Alliance and Folk Music Ontario and concerts at the Folk on the Canal Festival in Montreal, La Série Découvertes at Place des Arts and other Quebec festivals.
The group continued to mature and evolve musically and in the fall and winter 2020/21, with the support of the Canada Council for the Arts, they recorded their third album Carling Lake, an epic 12-song album, again produced by John McColgan in the midst of the pandemic and the various technical constraints it has brought about.
Website: jabbourband.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/jabbourband
Instagram: www.instagram.com/jabbourmusic