After building anticipation with the singles PLS, 1000 and Mourir au large, Safia Nolin steps into a new chapter of her career with the release of SEUM, her latest body of work where abrasive indie rock bangers and minimalist folk ballads co-exist harmoniously. Available on vinyl and digital format, the mini-album is available as of today via Bonsound.
The Montreal-based singer-songwriter also presents a self-created music video for Personne, the fourth single from SEUM. The latter transposes Safia Nolin into the universe of the notorious video game The Sims, which she has been fond of since her teenage years.
In the midst of this release, Safia announced a series dates for 2021 and 2022, some of which are already sold out. To mirror the duality of her EP, she invites the public to two release shows in Montreal. On December 16th, she will present an intimate acoustic performance at the Chapelle Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours; the next day she will take over the stage of Foufounes électriques for a rip-roaring full band show. Visit safianolin.com or check the list below for all tour dates.
About SEUM
Safia Nolin embarks on a new chapter with SEUM, having worked with a band in the studio for the first time, which gave her the opportunity to create arrangements with a diverse array of grunge, indie rock and alternative pop sounds. She also took this opportunity to experiment with the acoustic formula that launched her career. Co-produced by Safia and Félix Petit (Les Louanges, Laurence-Anne, Hubert Lenoir), this new EP showcases the singer-songwriter challenging her creative process with various instruments and sounds.
Spread out over four songs available in sunset and sunrise versions, Safia Nolin’s new EP echoes the duality that inhabits her. The creation of this EP enabled the musician to channel her emotions - anger and sadness being the most influential on her music - to various degrees. By treating every song on SEUM like a work in its own right, and by pushing her artistic boundaries to include two versions of each of them, Safia frees herself from the constraints and conventions of albums and EPs, with which she no longer wishes to comply.
After addressing sadness extensively on her previous releases, Safia Nolin felt the need to express her anger through more abrasive arrangements and by delving into her grunge and rock influences. Her anger is also the inspiration behind the name of the mini-album - which also references her Maghrebian origins - whose title is derived from the Arabic word “sèmm”, meaning venom, and taken from the French expression "avoir le seum", meaning "to be angry". To make her vision come to life, she recorded the sunset versions of SEUM with Jean-Philippe Levac (drums), Agathe Dupéré (bass) and Marc-André Labelle (guitar).
With the sunrise versions, Safia goes back to her roots to present minimalist folk recordings with a melancholic hue. However, these recordings have the distinctive feature of being captured outdoors in various locations in Montreal (from the back alleys of Rosemont to Parc Jean-Drapeau) in the manner of field recordings, giving the tracks an intimate and raw production.
Tour Dates
10/11/2021 Rouyn-Noranda - Le QG - Candlelight performance
11/11/2021 Val-d’Or - La Cabane
25/11/2021 Val-Morin - Théâtre du Marais
09/12/2021 Quebec City - Le Pantoum - Launch / plugged version (19h) FULL
09/12/2021 Quebec City - Le Pantoum - Launch / plugged version (21h30) FULL
10/12/2021 Quebec City - Le Pantoum - Launch / unplugged version (19h) FULL
10/12/2021 Quebec City - Le Pantoum - Launch / unplugged version (21h30) FULL
16/12/2021 Montréal - Chapelle Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours - Launch / unplugged version
17/12/2021 Montréal - Foufounes Électriques - Launch / plugged version
04/03/2022 St-Hyacinthe - Le Zaricot
18/03/2022 Alma - Café du Clocher
19/03/2022 Chicoutimi - Bistro-Café Summum
26/03/2022 Lavaltrie - Église St-Antoine
09/04/2022 Sherbrooke - La Petite Boîte Noire
15/04/2022 Frelighsburg - Beat & Betterave
16/04/2022 Gatineau - Minotaure
26/05/2022 Carleton-sur-Mer - Studio Hydro-Québec du Quai des arts
27/05/2022 Mont-Louis - La Pointe-Sec
28/05/2022 Gaspé - Secret location