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Interview with alex henry foster
Owner of la maison de tanger
La Maison de Tanger being first and foremost a place meant to gather and share, we offer you the magazine “Oasis” in which we will present the fruit of various encounters taking place at La Maison, of craftsmen in the field, some events that make the city shine, our favorite adresses, as well as the various surprises that only Tangier holds the secrets to.
As it is difficult for me to introduce you to the co-owners of La Maison de Tanger that are Alex Henry Foster & Jeff Beaulieu in just a few lines, just as much as it is difficult for me to draw up a true portrait of these two knowing that they would probably prefer for us to essentially discuss about their passion for the city of Tangier and their humanitarian involvement, I thus decided to set a rendezvous with them in order for you to discover the perspective of both those 2 musicians, creators, entrepreneurs, speakers, authors and philanthropists, through their own words.
For this first edition, I had the privilege of speaking with Alex Henry Foster as he was visiting New York.
Presentation
Alex: I was born in Greenfield Park, but I mainly grew up on the island of Montreal in Quebec, French speaking province in Canada.
Alex: My parents had a unique influence on the person that I am. Both of them were passionate about music, my father was sculpting wood and painting, while my mother had a singular devotion to reading. And even though it was a daily fight for them to withdraw from the roughness imposed by poverty, through their love, they will have transmitted to me the greatest wealth, that of cultivating the infinity of my dreams and to totally invest myself in it.
Alex: Absolutely. I can confirm that I had as much as the outmost joy, as the instructive misfortune of encountering numerous individuals which left an indelible imprint on me. The most significant were Philippe, that remains to this day one of my best friends, which I met in high school, and that became my faithful accomplice as I was spending more time in the concert venues of Montreal than in my classrooms and who inspired me, with his enthusiastic nature, to never hesitate to push through and to follow my instinct, as he was leaving alone for college in Los Angeles. He still resides there to this day, but with a family of his own now.
There was also Roger, an American missionary teacher that enabled me to not only perfect my mastery of the English language, but through who’s stories linked to the 25 years he consecrated with his family to set up a elementary school system for children of Kinshasa in Congo, will have been able to create the spark that gave life to my dream of discovering Africa and to invest myself with “the other”.
I cannot fail to mention the importance of the city of Montreal for its openness back in the day, its vibrant multiculturalism based on the togetherness, the richness of its social boiling that influenced an incomparable cultural diversity… music, painting, theater, as diverse as based on sharing community values.
Alex: It is what I have always done with my least edifying encounters, but often the most educational. We are made up of all ascending and contrary currents… it’s what we decide to do with our moments of storm and of peace which determines the different stages of our personal journey.
About Tangier
Alex: I was the leader of an Alternative Rock band, Your Favorite Enemies, and after 12 years of releasing albums, going on international tours and being involved in countless projects, the death of my father made me aware, or at least was the trigger for a deep awareness… and just like that, after booking a trip in Barcelona purposed to writing my band’s album that would follow, I instinctively decided to cancel it and go to Tangier for at least 2 months… which turned into 2 years.
Alex: I indeed had the joy of discovering that Tangier has this incredible saving effect on people willing to let themselves be surprised and immersed by its galvanizing nature. There’s a unique renewal essence that emanates from this surprising city, carried by people belonging to all sorts of backgrounds, and that quickly become a part of its collective fabric, which happens when we forget our own codes and our restrictive references. I can’t say that it was love at first sight, but rather a place that inspired a profound personal rebirth in me.
Alex: Like Tangier, the writing of the album was some sort of an accident made of improbabilities and unexpected circumstances. It comes from poetry and personal reflections on the loss of my father, the mourning of my previous artistic impulses, on the reflection of a long season of doubts and questioning, but also on my need to let go and abandon myself again. Music came long after, as I had absolutely no ambition to return to the limelight. I had a small recording studio in the Marchan neighborhood and I had already started writing film music, a creative project to which I wanted to devote myself to completely… the current took me to other places and “Windows in the Sky” is a reflection of that.
Alex: Good question, my life in Tangier was rich in experiences of all kinds, all the while being simple and peaceful at the same time, the complete opposite of my life bathed in the heart of eternal chaos linked to the clash of my personal values and those of the entertainment world with which I had to deal daily. I nonetheless believe that after finding myself again as the individual that I am, I needed some sort of renewed balance in my life, and my dear friend and accomplice Jeff persuaded me to come back and spend a little bit of time in Montreal. Music slowly came back and I realized that living between Montreal, which quickly became Virginia, and Tangier suited me magnificently. What followed was even simpler in the end and brought me unsuspected happiness. And several years later, it still is the way of life that makes me the happiest.
About La Maison de Tanger
Alex: Unique, I couldn’t tell, but atypical that’s for sure. In fact, I think that this idea grew in me right from the first moments of my initial stay in Tangier. I stayed at the guest house called Dar Nour where I have been welcomed with extreme humanity by the owners Jean-Olivier and Philippe, who took incredible good care of me at a time when my heart and my soul needed it the most. We then became very close and a magnificent friendship emerged from our sharing. Thus, to have benefited from their values, while being the privileged witness of many other travelers who, like me, found an emotional refuge at Dar Nour, this awakened in me a desire to be able to align my humanitarian values, my deep affection for “the ‘other’ whatever it may be, my passion for music, art and the local spirit, by offering a place that would be open, favorable to discovery and sharing, unifying and which could create a bridge between the colorful Tangier culture and that of the people who would like to immerse themselves in it…
The ultimate opportunity was then presented to Jeff and I at the same time as the uncertainty linked to Covid was raging, when our tours were postponed another time and when Canada, where Jeff was residing at that time, closed its borders with the United States, where I live. We then shared with each other our desire to establish ourselves in Tangier with our friends from Dar Nour, who not only told us that the owners of La Maison de Tanger were considering the possibility of selling their hotel if they were to find buyers wishing to shine over the city and invest in promoting its culture, but who also went out of their way to guide us through the particular logistics linked to the purchase of property in Morocco by foreigners. Other friends also pitched in.
We agreed on the acquisition details at the beginning of March 2020 and became the owners at the beginning of the following month of July, all of it through Zoom calls, since we were unable to travel on site due to the countless lockdowns. Therefore, without the concerted effort of our friends and their relentless will for us to join them in Tangier, it would have been mission impossible, so to speak.
Alex: I would say the courage to take on these follies in fact… It’s what gives the desire to share them with the ones we love and the ones we have the joy of spontaneously encounter while onboard of our respectives journeys afterwards.
Alex: The stigma left by COVID-19 now fading, we first wanted to give back its nobility to La Maison de Tanger, and offer it our different imprints and this without distorting the authenticity of the place, which for us was of an undeniable magic.
Once this important step will be completed, Jeff and I will be able to focus on the implementation of a project that was dear to us, namely the establishment of a limited “cocktail bar” offering mixology focusing on the discovery of flavors of the world and incorporating a vast selection of fine products made up of fine Quebecois gins, award-winning whiskey and Japanese sake exclusively distributed at La Maison de Tanger, as well as certain elements from our personal collection assembled during our tours. We are currently working on the final details and its opening is imminent.
As the hotel is fully booked more often than not, we also intend on opening a second location in Tangier where the experience, although totally different from that offered at La Maison de Tanger, will be perfectly complementary. We have no timetable set for its opening yet, but Jeff and I are currently working on it.
Alex: You might have to ask me this question again in a few months from now. Let’s say that 2024 is already well underway for us… I can’t say more.
Alex: Who knows ? It’s true that I’m there quite often.
Alex : Without hesitation, my address is that of Dar Nour… for its spirit, its atmosphere and its breathtaking view on the bay of Tangier…
Alex: Absolutely!
Alex: It’s always a pleasure for me to share my love for Tangier and the people that make it what it is.