Local musician celebrates birthday with album release

“It'll be my little gift to myself,” Poulin said.

The Azilda native jokes his 35th birthday marks something of an early “mid-life crisis.” Poulin has been in the music business for about 20 years now, first touring with a band at the age of 15.

But long gone are the days when he can focus solely on music. He and wife Sarah King-Gold — a local artist — have two young children. Poulin also has a day job as a technician at Radio-Canada's Sudbury station.

His album's title, Alter Ego — and many of the songs on it — refer to the split he feels between the person he is on stage and his roles as father and working man.

“I try to incorporate both into each other, but it's a constant challenge,” Poulin said. “I'd say pretty much every song, lyrically, talks about that.”

He describes his musical style as pop rock with both strong, catchy melodies. But that doesn't mean it's lightweight music.

“If you listen, there's a lot of layers to it, musically,” said the musician, who often comes up with lyrics with the help of local Francophone poets.

Poulin said he's been a member of several different local bands, including Toe Jam Tequila, but Le Paysagiste is his solo project.

He released his first album, entitled simply “Le Paysagiste,” in 2012. In French, the term "le paysagiste" loosely translates into "landscape artist." Poulin said he aims to blend harmonies much like a landscape artist blends colours.

Those attending the album release for “Alter Ego” are in for a treat. Poulin said he plans to play all of the songs on the album from beginning to end.

As for La Slague booking him for its music series, Poulin said he's grateful to be included alongside big-name acts from Quebec and France.

“We're well paid, and it's big shows, and it's well organized,” he said.

The concert and album release begins at 8 p.m. Sept. 10 at Théâtre du Nouvel-Ontario. Tickets to the event, which cost $25 for adults and $22.50 for seniors and students, are available by phone at 705-525-5606 or by visiting leTNO.ca.

Poulin's album — which costs $10 for download cards, $15 for CDs and $25 for vinyl — will be available for purchase at the event, as well as at Cosmic Dave's Vinyl Emporium after Sept. 10.

Learn more about Poulin at lepaysagiste.ca and La Slague at laslague.ca.