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Olivier Pépin is Jalouse – ask him why. A polymath in parallel activities for two decades, the Montrealer first made a name for himself as a guitarist in bands ranging from jazz to experimental rock and dance-rock (Rock Forest, Bad Dylan), as well as a musical director and accompanist for Pierre Kwenders.

Jalouse: the name of a solo project that’s been in the works for a while now, but, due to lack of time, the ideas connected to it mostly turned into instrumental snippets shown here and there. Then, at the turn of the decade, with most of the aforementioned projects on hold, he took months to focus on compositions, working entirely on his own – writing lyrics, making music, performing, and programming.

“Inspiration is something that’s built”: from rough drafts of themes and melodies, drawing from 90s action films, synthwave, and 80s goth-pop, he lets himself be guided, flowing through accidents and setbacks to surprise himself. He picks up bits of Vangelis’ horizontal vertigo and some of Sonic Youth’s unlikely melodies in his influences. What he ends up with is a colorful and laid-back experimental pop: blending art-pop, synthetic chamber pop, and 80s French pop, Jalouse creates songs with a mix of nocturnal observations, self-examinations, and redemption – something like a "perfect mix of 'dark' and guilty pleasure." And he layers on lyrics, tackling "more personal subjects than he thought" like living in the past, the fear of aging, and the dialogue with his inner saboteur.

After years of exploration and development, the EP Compostelle, the first step, finally drops in early 2022 – a personal initiation he wanted to take on alone, meant as a calling card to make the future resonate. Following a complete process, Nature Morte, Jalouse’s debut album, is released in early 2023 via Les Disques Dur Vie – this time with the duo Lesser Evil handling production and artistic direction (Ariane in charge of direction and Christophe on mixing). It’s an album that feels like a continuation of the first step, always pushing past habits and constantly evolving.