In
1992, Antoine and James Renauld met and began a collaboration
that would rack up achievements such as the double-platinum
status of Piece of Paradise and Best New Group Award at the
Junos. Antoine and James invested not only time, but a rare
combination of talent and passion for music into their work.
So, to the fans and the external public, perhaps their break
up came as a surprise and may have even seemed untimely, as
their success culminated and exploded in the music scene. Why
would a group forsake such a good thing?
American expatriate writer Henry James once noted that, "The
whole of anything is never told." And as with most things
in life, there is an undercurrent or a subplot of which most
people are not aware. Yet Antoine sheds light on the surprising
event by, ironically, alluding to his own lack of surprise at
the break up.
"
I always knew that James was not completely in his element.
He never felt comfortable being in the public; he never felt
comfortable being under the camera; he never felt comfortable
doing interviews. He and I thought there was going to be something
that was going to change in his personality...but it didn't.
Things just got worse for him as time passed."
Like
in any relationship one values, there is always the hope that
some catalyst will instigate a change of some sort and happiness
can be had once again. But Antoine knows the golden rule: you
can't change people. Antoine recalls, "I always kept the
choice open for him and I was never ready to say: No James,
don't leave, we've got this great thing going."
It's
hard to attain this kind of wisdom when many of your self-interests
are at stake, but for Antoine, his realistic view was an asset
to understanding and accepting this change. His attitude towards
James was one of sympathy rather than resentment. "You're
miserable in this. Every time you're unhappy, it makes me unhappy."
Surely
a more bitter and spiteful break up would have been more dramatic
fodder for media coverage, but just like personal relationships,
not all creative ones have to end in a ball of smoke and harsh
words.
However,
let it not be forgotten that splitting up is a process. It can
be quite methodical despite all the emotions involved. So the
next step after the initial "incident" is picking
up the pieces and assembling something again when you feel like
you have nothing.
For
many, tearing up pictures, fabricating voodoo dolls, or resorting
to boxes of tear-drenched Kleenex is the next step, however
counter-productive it may be. But Antoine took the introspective
route, offering some incredible insight as to how to put the
pieces together, without falling into that destructive trap
that can curb the creative flow.
"First
of all, like after any relationship, you have to do a little
bit of work on yourself before getting involved in any other
things. So for five to six months, I did a lot of writing by
myself just to see where my head was at, analyzed what had just
happened, and thought about where I wanted to go from there."
And
enter stage left, Anastasia. A pretty, talented artist with
dreamy vocals surfaced at the right time, at the right place.
Although Antoine was not looking to fill James' shoes, he was
looking to continue creating music with a self-proclaimed work-a-holic
passion. Antoine and Anastasia had known each other for more
than 10 years (they dated while they were teenagers!) but she
had traveled for many years and was doing her own work with
a band, writing and singing.
They
had bumped into each other occasionally as Sky was rocketing
upward and now, again, they were face to face. Suddenly, it
was a window of opportunity for them both. To Antoine it almost
seemed like a charismatic force of destiny. "How come I'm
seeing this girl now, when everything's happening?" As
one door closed, another one opened and on the other side was
the new Sky.
Antoine
had no idea if musically they would gel, but he knew that their
commonalties would provide a good chemistry.
But now, at this part of the process, the pressure builds. The
memory of a past relationship could pose several obstacles.
Will this new relationship be just as good? Will it be better?
Anastasia
is not intimidated though. The past success of Sky is not something
that preoccupies her mind incessantly. "I'm not trying
to think like someone else, or write like someone else. I'm
just doing what I can as a performer/singer/songwriter... all
I'm trying to do is give my one hundred percent, the best that
I can give and hopefully the fans of Sky, and other fans, will
enjoy it and appreciate it."
Sky
is not limiting itself to a particular sound either. This new
collaboration between Antoine and Anastasia has been a creative
outlet for the both of them. Their endeavour has been to incorporate
many different musical genres into their sound, ranging from
dance beats to a latino flavour on their album, Travelling Infinity.
This is a kind of freedom Antoine feels he may not have had
before. He also feels Anastasia's vocals add a different dimension
to the music that create a different chemistry.
Even
with a new sound and a new partner, Antoine still has a positive
outlook in retrospect. He has no qualms about playing his old
material and he feels just as strongly about it now as when
he created it. "That was child number one, and this is
child number two," he comments on his music. That is a
pretty good analogy considering that in real life, a parent
doesn't stop loving their children after a divorce. And for
Antoine, art is life, so the parallels he draws come straight
from his musical passion.
Despite
this new partnership, it is not to say Anastasia and Antoine
don't have their disagreements. Anastasia smiles slyly as she
refers to her ability to "vocalize" when she's angry.
She then laughs and looks over knowingly at Antoine and it's
quite obvious that their fights may be explosive but they are
not huge obstacles.
Anastasia
points out one of the relationship's strengths: "When we
disagree, we agree to disagree." And they consider themselves
lucky because the lines of communication are always open...even
after the initial explosion. Antoine observes, "Some people
just keep all this frustration inside...with us, after five
minutes, we'll be like: ok, what's up with that?" This
is not surprising though, considering the expressive, lyrical
nature of their profession.
But
neither Antoine nor Anastasia have any regrets. In fact, they
are a prime example of how life goes on. And it really does.
Relationships
may end, but the natural tendency is for something new to pop
up when you least expect it. And it may be something great.
But if your eyes are welled up with tears, you may not be able
to see it.
"It's
bad that James left, but now he's happy, and now I'm much happier
also because I have a partner to enjoy all these great moments
with."
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