WHO IS TRUSTED WATERS ?

Trusted Waters began with professional waterman Julien Fillion’s obsessive guitar playing and compulsive writing of music and lyrics. Then, he met Toby Gendron, who happens to be one of Montreal’s most famous producers/studio engineers. They connected and teamed up.  Together, they brought a melting pot of amazing musicians from all sectors of Montreal’s insanely rich music scene. The collective’s goal : bring Julien’s musical vision to life. While pushing the boundaries of INDIE/ROCK into progressive structures with that unique Montreal sound, the final result showcases their passion for what they do best, play music!

Guitar, Vocal, Moog

ABOUT JULIEN FILLION

It’s easy to underestimate a guy like Julien Fillion: his extremely easy-going, laid-back attitude can be mistaken for shyness. You won’t find Julien boasting about his latest song or asking if you saw him killin’ it during his last wave session. Instead, Julien lets his riding, his art, and his music do the talking.

Whether he’s surfing the biggest waves in Hawaii, chasing the waves in a hurricane’s aftermath, kitesurfing the coasts of Africa or jamming to his latest tunes, Julien’s all-round talent speaks volumes. But sit down at a coffee shop with this guy and you’ll quickly discover a wicked sense of humor and a loyalty to those who are part of his life: he has a tight circle of friends and family spread out across the globe, so that no matter where he is, he’s surrounded by people with a like-minded attitude. He makes it easy to forget that he’s also the lead designer for several extreme sports equipment companies, and has a rep for designing the greatest traction kite gear on earth.

THE SOUND

Julien’s vision and the musicians’ collective came together under veteran producer Toby Gendron’s masterful direction. Gendron gave the collective the room it needed to play, the guidance not to get lost, and the setting to have fun in his notoriously relaxed yet professional Montreal studio, the Gypsy room. The result, a sound that is at once sober and sophisticated. “It was really magic,” says Julien. “Everyone was so stoked. And generous. And everyone gave. These are amazing musicians who respected what I wanted to do but also created in their own right.”

Egos were set aside as veterans and neophytes meshed to capture and express the essence of Julien’s songs, while having fun musically. Every note that is there serves and respects the musical landscape that sprang from Julien’s imagination. A landscape of moods and stories that are an accessible yet unique hybrid of indie, pop, and rock. At times introspective and ethereal, at other times just plain rocking, the collective’s album is at mix of deeply personal songs, ironic commentary, and finely crafted-stories that reflect the crazy mix of worlds and ideas Julien encounters as he travels the planet for his work. “My goal was to make sure that each song was different, that I gave people who listened to the album something fresh with each song.”

And each song is a world onto itself: Our House, for example, uses daringly simple lyrics and haunting guitar riffs and vocal layers to build a surprisingly intelligent, moody rock piece that everyone will relate to; Vampires Are Cool is a party song that happens to be an ironic commentary on youth culture’s obsession with the immediate and nihilistic; with Tsunami, the TWs collective taps into the adrenaline, intensity and borderline insanity that it takes to face and ride life-crushing waves; and in California #7, TWs delivers a dark futuristic ballad about the demise of a not-so distant world. Each song is fresh, but TW’s approach remains cohesive musically and thematically. Water and shiftlessness in different forms, are always present.

All songs are at once melodically ethereal, sometimes almost explosive, and always shifting slightly as they progress, unpredictably, along with Julien’s acoustic guitar. The end-experience: a passionate, honest, masterful, playful yet intense debut album with a complexity of musical and lyrical layers that make you want to listen over and over again. In terms of sound, for fans of Jeff Buckley. Arcade Fire. And Radiohead in the early days.