Jean-Michel Blais brings his fourth album, mirador, to Salle Pauline-Julien as a work-in-progress (en rodage) concert. The album marks a significant departure from his earlier minimalist style, embracing a luminous and generous maximalism built around twelve wordless voices, a string quartet, and Andean instruments including charango, quena, and zampoña.
The project draws deeply on Blais's childhood in Nicolet, Québec, where he grew up as a queer person living with Tourette syndrome. His family basement — stacked with Larousse encyclopedias, Fisher Price instruments, and a makeshift Hammond organ — became his refuge and the spiritual origin of the album's title (mirador meaning a lookout or watchtower).
The album's sonic palette was shaped by multiple influences: a residency at the Arvo Pärt Centre in Estonia, Latin American travels that led him to study marimba and Andean folk traditions, and collaboration with Montréal-based musician Tulio Velazco Villagra, who grew up near Lake Titicaca and guided Blais in integrating Andean traditions with care and respect. American composer William Brittelle also contributed to assembling the choral ensemble.
Musical references range from Ariel Ramírez and Los Kjarkas to Beethoven and Portishead, resulting in pieces including 'carnavalito', 'kyrie', 'pavane', and 'granada' — each blending intimacy with sweeping, dreamlike scope.
The concert takes place on Sunday, September 27, 2026, at 16:00 in the Grande Salle of Salle Pauline-Julien, as part of the Beaux dimanches series.