Devotion: The Noah Franche-Nolan Story

For those unaware, Noah Franche-Nolan is a Juno-Nominated Canadian pianist, improviser, composer, and producer based in Vancouver, BC.

He leads the Noah Franche-Nolan Trio, featuring bassist Jodi Proznick and drummer Nicholas Bracewell. This trio also serves as the rhythm section for the Indo-Jazz Fusion Juno-Nominated group Raagaverse, led by Shruti Ramani, blending rich cultural traditions with contemporary jazz elements.

As a film composer and inter-disciplinary collaborator, Franche-Nolan has built a diverse portfolio, including the live score for the 1922 silent film Häxan. This project was commissioned by Vancouver’s independent theatre, The Cinematheque, and showcased his ability to merge historical cinematic art with modern musical sensibilities.

Additionally, he composed the score for NYC filmmaker Talha Jalal’s documentary Rite of Passage and Vancouver playwright Shelby Satterthwaite’s play Light Rapid Transit.

In the realm of recording, Noah is the co-leader of Arid Landscapes, an electro-acoustic duo collaboration between Noah and Toronto-based guitarist/composer Dan Pitt. Their first self-titled record released on Signal Chain Records, a record label run by Noah and Dan.

Through his work as a performer, composer, and producer, Franche-Nolan strives to blend sincere emotional connection with musical intricacy and artistic curiosity, offering audiences and collaborators a uniquely expressive artistic voice.

I sat down with Noah and we discussed everything from his new album Rose-Anna, how he sees himself as a musician, on through to who Rose-Anna is, and even his love for penguins!

Being that Rose-Anna is actually from your Trio group and you also just released your duo work under Arid Landscapes, but knowing you also do solo work, how does your creative sound differ here on this Trio album as opposed to your output within the duo and even your solo work? - “I call my trio my “song” project. It is the medium that I use to explore more traditional song structures. In addition that, there is also quite a history surrounding the jazz piano trio format, and I try to engage with that history and sound through the compositions, arrangements, and band-playing-dynamics that I explore with this band.”

Indeed, were some of the biggest obstacles along the way to bringing this album Rose-Anna to fruition and how did you overcome them? - “Being an independent artist inevitably leads to challenges with funding one’s own projects. I work 2 teaching jobs and a music director job in order to fund and support my work.”

As for the album, Rose-Anna, I understand that it is being touted as one having groove-laden tracks to forlorn miniatures and secular hymns to freeform forays, so can you please explain just what these rhythms and patterns mean to you within the context of how it came together, both thematically and musically? - “The rhythmic pieces on my record certainly draw from well-known grooves in the history of Jazz/Black American music. Hawks uses a quasi hip-hop and funk beat, whereas Union town alternates between a New Orleans Street Beat, Swing, and an interesting rhythmic pattern that explores rhythmic diminution that I composed. The rhythms are meant to invigorate and inspire the listener.”

Indeed, a lot of words and terms have already been used to describe your music over the years, but how would you yourself sum up your sound on this Rose-Anna album ... and in just five (5) words? - “Contemplative, explorative, cinematic , dynamic, evocative.”

Please tell us (in a couple of sentences or less) a little more about what these tracks noted below mean to you and how they came to be:

Haxan - “Haxan is the main theme that I composed for a live-score that I was commissioned to write and perform alongside a screening of the 1922 silent film Häxan at Vancouver’s Cinemateque. I tried to write a piece of music that was both empathetic towards the victims of the violence perpetrated in the film, as well as something that pointed to the madness that infected the minds of the perpetrators of the violence.”

Rotations - “Rotations is a stark and existential piece of music. It is intentionally brief and sparse. I wanted to capture the feeling of loneliness and loss.”

A Triangle is a Bird - “A Triangle is a Bird leaves much room for spontaneous music making within the band. This is intentional, as it is meant to celebrate the creative possibilities of the human mind. The piece jumps around in all sorts of places and does not adhere to any set tempo or time signature. I wanted to create interesting musical moments that could launch the band into unique improvised spaces.”

Union Town - “Union Town was originally composed as a theme for a documentary about the Unionization of the Chicago Art Institute Workers during the Covid Lockdowns. It uses the main rhythmic phrase of a protest song that was sung by the worker community as they were fighting for their right to unionize. The rhythmic theme draws from the following words: “Get up! Get Down! Chicago is a union town!”.

And was Rose-Anna always going to be the album’s name or was there another that nearly won the race come the time to take your hands off the project? - “I considered naming the album Devotion or Sublimation before deciding on Rose-Anna.”

And I would be remiss if I didn’t ask who Rose-Anna is/was? - “Rose-Anna was my great-grandmother. She was an Acadian woman who played the organ and passed her gift of music on to my grandmother.”

Being that we’re not called Exclusive Magazine for nothing, is there a hidden message, a secret notation or an easter egg to be found amongst all the tracks assembled for this recording? - “There is unfortunately no hidden message or easter egg in this record”.

What are some of the last albums (CD, vinyl, cassette, et al) you physically purchased (vintage and/or new releases) and which one have you already gone back to listen to more and why? - “I have been listening repeatedly to a recently acquired vinyl record of Thelonious Monk Live at The Blackhawk, which my good friend Arvind Ramdas gifted me on my birthday.”

What would you like all the readers of this interview to know about the new album and what to expect? - “I am very proud of this record. I believe it takes the listener on a journey, and I hope some of you find the time to sit down and listen to the whole album from start to finish. ”

We here at Exclusive Magazine love Penguins and so we were wondering if you had any love for them and/or had a story of one (soft toy, zoo, chocolate bar, relative, etc.) that you could share with us? - “As kids, my brother and I would love going to the Montreal Biodome when we would visit our grandparents on holidays. One of my favorite sections in the biodome was the penguin section.”

And finally, we asked Noah to kindly provide a never-before-seen photograph of himself. One that perfectly personified their readiness for the world to hear his new musical endeavor. Perhaps even one that encapsulated who he was today. And kindly, this is what he sent (along with a description).