Popular Argenteuil folk group Jabbour has just released a new bilingual album inspired by the historic Carling Lake Ski Centre.

‘Carling Lake’, the third album from Jabbour, was released on May 7 and draws its inspiration and images from the history of the small Pine Hill ski centre called Carling Lake. Located in the heart of the Laurentians, the resort delighted many people until the mid-1990s. The album is intended to be a nostalgic symbol of the innocent camaraderie, family spirit and the appreciation of nature that reigned at Carling Lake – conditions that contrast with the pandemic context in which the album was recorded.

Produced by Montrealer John McColgan, the 12-song bilingual album incorporates different sonic textures, interviews and field recordings. ‘Dans ton café’, the first French radio single, explores the complexity of human relationships.

The defining spirit of the album is found in ‘Carling Lake’ – an English song bearing the name of the Pine Hill ski resort and whose music video intertwines period footage with a modern-day snowshoe pilgrimage up the desolate mountain – was unveiled during a virtual listening party held on May 7. Tthe video of the song can be found on YouTube here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=_t4q8nSHSi8.

Jabbour, composed of Guillaume Jabbour, Bill Gossage, Carl Rufh and Bill Collier, creates folk music with accents from the heart of the Laurentians – sung effortlessly in both English and French. The group’s identity crystallized during its 2015 tour of British Columbia, when the four realized they had found their niche on the Canadian folk music scene. That winter, the band recorded its debut album ‘Round the Clock’ over a weekend on stage at the Oscar Peterson Hall in Montreal. This debut album won them a Stingray Songwriter Award and airplay on SiriusXM, Stingray, CBC, ICI Musique RadioCanada and several community and university stations.

In 2019, Jabbour released the group’s second album ‘Saint Bernard’, produced by John McColgan, which also received excellent airplay. The band supported this release with tours throughout Quebec, Ontario, Saskatchewan and Manitoba; conference showcases at Folk Alliance and Folk Music Ontario and concerts at the Folk on the Canal Festival in Montreal, La Série Découvertes at Place des Arts and other Quebec festivals.

Carling Lake Album Cover Photo by Ross Cole