“The music was really catching on,” said En Bref lead singer and Sudbury resident Yves Doyon, who is one-quarter of the group that also includes drummer Shawn Sasyniuk, lead guitarist Martin Laforest and bass player Scott Aultman.
“We had some major labels interested. We found out too late in the game the labels didn't want to deal with the management we had.”
Because the band's reputation had been damaged by the situation, they decided to take a bit of a time-out and work on their own musical pursuits.
About a decade ago, however, they started playing together again at music festivals, and in 2012, they recorded a live album featuring some of their old standby tunes at Sudbury's Little Montreal bar.
After that experience, they decided they wanted to turn the page on the past, and write some entirely new tunes for another album. The result is "Silence Radio," which is being released March 18.
“Obviously, with the first album that came out in '97, we were in our early 20s,” Doyon said. “We're now in our late 30s and early 40s, so the writing isn't the same. The themes and the topics aren't the same. You have more maturity there.”
On one level, the album's title track — "Silence Radio" — speaks to the band's “silence” after its management problems. But it also explores the problematic silences that sometimes happen in long-term relationships, Doyon said.
Another track, "Elle," is a love song Doyon wrote without the benefit of being in a relationship at the time. Oddly enough, Doyon's own “Elle” — his girlfriend — appeared in his life for real after he wrote the song.
“The lyrics are based on someone fictitious,” he said. “It's not based from an actual experience. It's just sort of an ideal.”
The album will be available for purchase on iTunes and www.apcm.ca March 18. En Bref will launch their album in Sudbury starting at 5 p.m. March 19 at La Fromagerie Elgin.
For more information about the band, visit enbref.ca, facebook.com/EnBrefMusique or twitter.com/enbrefmusique.
