Isabelle Boulay
Isabelle Boulay (b. 1972) is a Canadian francophone singer from the rural Gaspé region of Quebec, northeast of Montreal. As a child, at home and in her parents’ restaurant, she relished “chansons” by Charles Aznavour, Jacques Brel, Edith Piaf and others. Her singing career launched by winning several song contests in France as well as Canada during the early 1990s.
From 1995-98, French Canadian music executive Luc Plamondon tapped her for a lead role as Marie-Jeanne in a re-boot of the rock opera “Starmania” that he wrote and produced in Paris with Michel Berger. Boulay released her first albums in 1996, 1998 and 2000 and proceeded to win a number of Canadian music awards (Félix, Juno). The 2000 album, “Mieux qu’ici-bas” (Better Than Here Below), brought wide recognition in countries with francophone populations (Quebec, France, Belgium, Switzerland).
As of 2024, she has released 17 albums. Her style is generally identified as an amalgam of folk, pop, country and chanson. She is a vocalist with a strong, amber-polished voice of wide range and ample timbre. She works with many notable composers and lyricists on the music and words for her songs and has collaborated in duets with top performers. There is little record regarding musical training or education or instrumental proficiency but many observations regarding the “raw talent” that she brings to her art.
The two songs featured here are both from Boulay’s album “Mieux qu’ici-bas” that was released in the year 2000, one of her early productions. “Parle-moi” (Speak to Me) takes the perspective of a nightmare relationship of broken-down communication while the song “Mieux qu’ici-bas” (Better Than Here Below) resembles a reverie composed on the shifting sands and oases of down-under Morocco.