Munya - Voyage to Mars (2021)

Josie Boivins dream has always been to be a musician. Well, that and to go to Mars. I love space. I love aliens. I love thinking that were not alone in this big strange universe, says the Montreal-based singer and multi-instrumentalist who records as MUNYA. Those things give me hope. Both the longing to make music and the desire for interplanetary travel come together in Boivins new album, Voyage to Mars. Named for Georges Méliès classic silent film Le Voyage dans la Lune, the record feels beamed in from another planet, suffused with an otherworldly light. Its music that looks out to great darkness of the sky and the stars beyond for the inspiration to pursue your dreams. Born the youngest of a large family in a small Quebec town, Boivins path to music was a wandering one. After a high school teacher discovered she could sing opera, Boivin spent years in the opera world, before switching to jazz in college. It wasnt until moving to Montreal that she began to hone her unique musical vision. After releasing a trilogy of EPs on Luminelle Records in 2018, Voyage to Mars marks MUNYAs official full-length debut. Yes, there is music or art that has a special power to take you somewhere else, she says. A certain emotion they give you. Sometimes you cant put a finger on it, but you know its there, and it affects you. Thats what I wanted to do. Voyage to Mars was entirely recorded in Boivins apartment during the past year. The longing to for exploration is palpable throughout the album, each one a shimmering rocket sent skyward. Its an expansive record that finds the wonder and vastness of outer space in the midst of the struggles of everyday life. I always have the same process, says Boivin. I have my little toys, my keyboard, and my guitar. My songs are always written by myself in my bubble with my little things. But for the songs to find their truest potential, Boivin reached out to her friends scattered across the continent, sending songs back and forth until they were finished. I missed being in a room with other people, but it wasnt an option, so I changed my mindset. There was a pandemic and I wanted to make a record, so thats what we did. Boivin reached out to several friends, including Kainalu, P.O. Rioux, and Gabriel Lambert, for guitar, bass, and synth tracks, Sandy Davis on bass, and Mike Thies for additional drums. The resulting album is very much Boivins own. Lush synthesizers lend depth to the minimalist guitar, bass, and drums setup, adding a breezy quality that is both danceable and thoughtful at the same time. The lightness belies a sincerity to the lyrics, Boivins vocals heartfelt without ever seeming heavy or weighted down by the world. Luminous first single Pour Toi was inspired by Boivins childhood. When I was a kid my parents had an old red telephone in the basement. And every time someone would call it had a weird buzz to it because it was old, a noise, as if someone was calling from outer