YlangYlang – Cycles & Decay Cassette

YlangYlang is the solo project of Catherine Debard – a moniker that has been in development since 2012, as part of her deep-rooted involvement & strong-felt presence in the Montréal music scene. Over a decade of releases & performances has shaped her intimate music into a singular form of expression, crafting introspective songs & experimental soundscapes that range in various styles & influences, from ambient/drone to 90s pop/rock music, field-recordings, noise, improvisation, processed treatments, poetry & spoken-word, retro aesthetics, healing practices…

Her musical output extends far and wide over multiple releases by various international labels – such as Crash Symbols (USA), Phinery (DK), Fluere Tapes (SE) and ΠΑΝΘΕΟΝ (RU); and her performances & collaborative experiments have made her perform & tour extensively through Canada and beyond, featuring in music festivals such as Suoni Per Il Popolo, Mutek Montréal, Electric Eclectics, Strangewaves, Tone Deaf, and a participant in Red Bull Music Academy residency at Calgary’s National Music Center, and in a workshop hosted by Suzanne Ciani.

‘Cycles & Decay’ follows her accomplished 2020 release ‘Interplay’ on Crash Symbols & NO EXIST; an album that was characterized by orchestration & recording sessions from guest musicians/friends & resulting in a more defining ‘jazz’ sound and amplified symbiotic warmth. Following a much-needed ‘long period of rest’ after life events and personal displacement, the creation of Cycles & Decay spans between 2019 & 2021, including a session in Fall 2019 with returning collaborators – Connor Bennett & Evelyn Charlotte Joe.

In her own words, Cycles & Decay « is a reflection about the various phases of death & rebirth I experienced in my life, and observed within nature and loosely throughout History. During that period in time, I felt the need to slow down and linger within the shadowy uncomfortable spaces inside the waning, the decaying, the shedding, the letting-go. Then, later, I started dreaming of decomposed sound matter, of rotten music, compost music, of a music that I would lose control of, that would have its own sets of parameters and rules, all organic, non rational, non linear. These songs are an attempt to play with these ideas. »