There is a cinematic quality to “Our Roots Run Deep”. Dominique Fils-Aimé frames her latest album with a loose, dreamlike narrative structure that tells a story of growth. The first track sets the stage with the phrase: “our roots run deep underground”. Along the way, there are a myriad of human challenges and forms of interference. An underlying life force presses on. The final track closes with the lyric: “let me climb all the way to the sun”.
Dominique provides a spaciousness in her work by creating her own musical language. She layers a variety of catchy, wordless vocal licks that feel like mantras or prayers—repeating, soothing the nervous system, and distinguishing her sound. These patterns don’t have any literary definitions attached to them so they escape the clutches of our interpreting minds. The result is a sonic space where the listener can feel and dream alongside innovative melodic structures.
“To Walk A Way” marks a shift in the narrative. A song that embraces the freedom that can come from change. A clapping beat, joyful trumpets, and the warm sound of hand drums radiate an energy of encouragement. Dominique’s bright vocals bring an infectious positivity, nudging the listener forward.
“Quiet Down The Voices” embodies Dominique’s
songwriting style. She enters a mood with one vocal riff which she texturizes and branches off from—creating a variety of counter melodies, giving the song contour and shape. This approach allows her to build the track from the ground up, influencing the musicality of a song without picking up an instrument.
For Dominique, nature acts as an anchor—a source of inspiration that provides her with metaphors to express the unique but interconnected journey of a human being. Her lyrics bring a calming clarity to the already spacious atmosphere encompassing the album: “Just like the tide gets high, my love will grow back”. These elements are intricately balanced, with an ear for subtlety, creating beautiful melodic terrains. The album traverses these soundscapes. Each song feels like stepping foot into a new habitat.
“Our Roots Run Deep” is an album that can be played from start to finish. Songs move in organic sequence—flowing leisurely, falling dramatically and shaping the environment. This style of continuity allows the audience time and space to sink into Dominique’s world on a trip of their own.
Three Little Words concludes Dominique Fils-Aimé's album trilogy exploring the roots of African-American musical culture. Her 2018 acclaimed debut full length blues-tinged Nameless saw Fils-Aimé boldly confront historical silences and sorrows while her sophomore JUNO award winning album, Stay Tuned! delved into the civil rights movement of the 60s through jazz. Now with Three Little Words Dominique embraces the emotional lushness of soul music of yesterday and tomorrow.
Each album carries with it a lesson that has been learned and then moulded into each subsequent volume. This final album is Fils-Aimé's adaptation of soul music in the truest sense of the term: music that comes from the depths of her soul and is meant to challenge and enrich the souls of her listeners. It is at once both an acknowledgement and an appreciation of the different musical genres that live within her head and flavour her own soul. In music, as in with life, the best prognosticator is looking to the past.
It was of great importance that 'Three Little Words' end the trilogy in the light, with the understanding that light cannot come without first going through a period of darkness. There is a beautiful luminosity in confronting darkness, and the album is centered around self-healing and recognizing the importance of mental health. There is no shame in admitting that we are not okay today, and that we will work towards getting better tomorrow.
Fils-Aimé also unabashedly dives head-first into the importance of empathy and love when trying to affect social change, while also reminding that demanding freedom and challenging the collective consciousness can be a somewhat gradual process. The most powerful take-away is that love is omnipresent and constitutes the foundation of the human experience. Love is, quite simply, the all-important sixth element, and the building block of the energy that unites us all.
Perhaps her most musically diverse and eclectic album to date, Fils-Aimé's distinct brand of incisively-delivered vocals resonate throughout 'Three Little Words', whether they are engaging the listener with the heartwarming 1950s-inspired doo-wop harmonies of While We Wait, or with the punchy brass-fueled crescendos of the more soulful Mind Made Up. Throughout the album, Dominique’s captivating yet gentle voice is backed by the spellbinding groove of African percussion, horns, synthesizer and expansive bass lines, the likes of which are never more prevalent than in Love Take Over with its coaxing, melodramatic drums that envelop the listener in a primal and soothing aural embrace.
Integral to the trilogy as a whole has been the tireless work of acclaimed record producer, musical arranger and mixer Jacques Roy. In Fils-Aimé's own words, Roy has been directly responsible for connecting her voice with the multitude of other sounds on 'Three Little Words,' always ensuring that the necessary frequencies are covered and accounted for. “Jacques is the glue that has held this trilogy together with his open-mindedness and his willingness to delve deep in the search to understand exactly what it is that I'm trying to say with my music,” exclaims Dominique.
Dominique Fils-Aimé [FEES-em-AY] kicks off her JUNO award winning album “Stay Tuned!” with a celebration of motivational drums and encouraging words. Melodic humming links the opening track with the final song on her previous album, “Nameless.” This transition comments on how the history of music builds upon itself, in this case, from the blues inspired, “Nameless” to the jazz infused “Stay Tuned!” By conceptualizing her album trilogy this way, Dominique is figuratively placing herself within the historical and continuous transformation of African American music, mirroring her personal exploration as an artist. The album explores themes of liberation and progress, drawing from the revolutionary Jazz movement of the 1920s. It continuously reinvents itself with its personal and empowering lyrics backed by imaginative musical arrangements. The sound travels through various emotional identities, calling upon these free-form Jazz traditions, as well as pushing the boundaries of what is expected by a musical artist.
A defining characteristic of Dominique’s music is the presence of positive messaging. Even when the music uses darker tonal ranges, they are complimented by hopeful themes. This relationship is felt during the descent into “Where There Is Smoke”—a haunting drone, a lurking baseline thumping from below, a faint rattle and her lone voice asking “Do you smell smoke?” The opening of this track conjures a post-apocalyptic atmosphere, yet she eventually offers her listeners a welcome reprieve with her lyrics: “To be the light, to be the way.”
As the album progresses, her lyrical focus shifts to the complexities of relationships. Dominique shares her wisdom in “Big Man Do Cry”, a song that encourages masculine vulnerability. It flows with a catchy intensity, but does not get stuck in any one repetitive form. This song exemplifies one of her core values: “I need to remember that I am allowed to do what I want, sometimes we forget the we are allowed. We can do whatever we want. Really. Especially in art.” In this sense, “Stay Tuned!” is a groundbreaking album—pushing structural boundaries set in place for artists.
Dominique closes the album by turning inwards—celebrating the redemptive qualities of the soul. “Joy River” starts as a cry for help, like someone stranded in a desolate place, searching for a way through hard times, asking for nourishment. Then, the song drops with a rush of emotional relief, like the flood gates have opened and joy river is pouring into the forgotten wasteland. It sets up the last song where Dominique pledges her faithfulness to the soul, leaving us with an empowering message of self respect and self love.
Dominique Fils-Aimé [FEES-em-AY] opens her second album, “Nameless”, with an intimate vocal solo. One melody finds accompaniment with another—they multiply, creating a family of sound, related but independent. She crafts what sounds like an entire band out of layered vocals, establishing a minimalistic approach early on. Gradually, she brings in selective instrumentation balanced with a blend of intriguing vocal harmonies. Her voice glides over the track, guiding the music, grounding her body of work in a refreshingly human quality.
The opening cover song, “Strange Fruit”, sends a message—a testament of American racism, written in 1937 by Abel Meeropol and sung by Billie Holiday and Nina Simone. This song, when paired with the deep blue of the album’s cover art, references the history of African American music and the social realities that influenced the blues.
From this introductory cover, Dominique transitions into original compositions, introducing an upright bass, snapping fingers, and her slick, hushed and lyrical flow. This approach places her voice in the foreground and showcases her aptitude for finding fresh melodic movements. In the title track, “Nameless”, the opening vocal line loops throughout, mimicking that of a rhythm guitar or baseline, creating a foundation for other harmonies to branch out. By overlaying similar lyrics in a different time, she creates a sense of perspective. One melody is close up and sharp, while the other is drawn out and atmospheric. These techniques create a spaciousness, allowing the song some room to breathe.
In “Unstated” Dominique experiments with classical sounds. Her voice assumes the form of a string quartet, exemplifying her versatility. The drum sounds like a beat found in an R&B or rap record. Together, they provoke a dramatic, irresistible sway. Dominique has a sensibility for executing these experimental choices in a natural and effortless way.
The album's closing is similar to its beginning—solo vocals and a cover of, “Feeling Good.” By framing her original work within the bounds of these iconic blues singers, she is making clear that her sound is inspired and builds upon the talents of past generations. By interpreting these classic songs in a modern way, she is considering how she can play her part in furthering this musical tradition.
