colleen

Back in the US next year

I thought I would perhaps never have the pleasure of writing this news here, but I’m finally going to play in the US again! I’m overjoyed with the news, as over the past year I’ve received many messages from some of you based in the US asking me when I would come to perform again (indeed, incredibly enough considering the lack of press coverage for my music in the States, my blog’s statistics show that the biggest number of visitors are from the US – so thanks for your support! :-)))

Whenever I got these messages, I thought the answer was “Never”, since I was convinced that I needed a performer’s work visa to come and play in the States legally. When I had to get one of these in 2007, to say that it was a stressful experience is an understatement (on top of being an expensive, complicated and lengthy procedure), so the mere idea of having to go through this again, especially now that I live so far from the French US embassy, was enough to make me think playing live in the States was not an option. If you want to have an idea of the extent of the problem, check out this Washington Post article from 2007.

However, incredibly enough (I still have to pinch myself to believe it), there is now a Visa Waiver Program which also applies for musicians, so if all goes well (fingers crossed), I will reach American shores in June of next year, for at least one concert (but hopefully more, and on both coasts!) in San Francisco’s Exploratorium Museum on 12 June 2014 – more info here.

Free remix download on Dublab

As part of Dublab’s MP3 blog, you can now download The Home Current’s remix of ‘Breaking Up the Earth’, released last week as part of the Solar/Stellar (Colleen Remixed) digital EP, here.

Soundwave interview

I had the pleasure of being interviewed by John Cavanagh (half of the Electroscope duo, who among other things helped me tremendously by giving me access to his collection of music boxes and recording them for the Colleen et les boîtes à musique EP back in 2006) and selecting a couple of songs for his Soundwave show on Radio 6 International: you can listen to it today (Monday 30^th September) at 19:00 GMT here (to calculate what time this means for your country of residence, go here).

The show will later be available on Radio Six’s mixcloud, I will post the link to it as soon as it’s available in the listen/interviews section.

Catania concert last week

Last but not least, I’ve just come back from Sicily, where I played one of my favourite concerts ever, in what I would surely rank as one of the top 3 or 4 most beautiful places where I’ve had the chance to play, Palazzo Biscarri in Catania. I’m usually not a fan of over-the-top 18^th century architecture, but to walk through the palazzo, to be able to admire the candle-lit entrance at night, and to actually get to play in the grand salon was an extraordinary experience (not to mention the incredible acoustics – the room was apparently constructed according to specific calculations to enhance the sound). Thank you so much Jacopo Leone of Efestiade/Etcetera for organizing this event so wonderfully and in such a generous spirit ! :-)))

I’m very happy and excited to announce the release of Solar/Stellar (Colleen remixed), a digital EP on Second Language http://secondlanguagemusic.com featuring remixes of three songs from my last album The Weighing of the Heart. I’m usually not a fan of remixing as a concept and as a practice, as I rarely find remixes to be superior or equal to the originals  (I do love the concepts of version and dub in the Jamaican style though, something much more inventive in my opinion – but I digress). However I just had to change my mind when I heard the remixes of “Breaking Up the Earth” by the Home Current and “Moonlit Sky” and “Ursa Major Find” by Comma Period http://comma-period.tumblr.com/

“Breaking Up the Earth” was the track I worked on last while making the album, and bears the mark of what I plan to develop further on my next album: a much more rhythmical, dub-influenced approach. From the start I thought it almost begged to be remixed, and indeed the Home Current took that seed and transplanted it into inventive – dare I say the word? :-) – dancefloor territory. As for “Moonlit Sky” and “Ursa Major Find”, the vocal-heavy remixes of Comma Period sound to me like a far-out encounter between early Steve Reich and a sort of stuttering My Bloody Valentine. I do hope you’ll like them as much as I do!

Visual artist Sougwen Chung http://sougwen.com has made a truly incredible video for the “Moonlit Sky” remix.

http://vimeo.com/75109606

And the wonderful artwork is once again courtesy of Iker Spozio http://ikerspozio.net

You can buy the EP from most digital retailers, including
Boomkat : http://boomkat.com/downloads/797933-colleen-solar-stellar
Amazon : http://www.amazon.co.uk/Solar-Stellar-Colleen-Remixed/dp/B00EP3JXBA
ITunes https://itunes.apple.com/fr/album/solar-stellar-colleen-remixed/id691180277
Spotify http://spoti.fi/16lnJkV

Apologies in advance if some of the links don’t work, I’m writing this post away from home on a tablet using an android app for the first time and well…it’s not easy! :-)

Back into action after a much-needed break this summer!

I very rarely participate in compilations but decided to make an exception for “music and migration iii”, the third and final instalment in a trilogy released by second language, the label that released my last album. The project was launched in partnership with birdlife international who are celebrating their 20^th birthday, and the compilation’s aim is to highlight the problems (usually due to man’s actions) encountered by migrating birds. Find out about the compilation here and about birdlife international here.

I’m going back to playing live in a couple of weeks, first in sicily on 20 september, then for 4 shows in france in october and a show in cork, ireland, on 2 november. As usual you can find all the details in the future shows section (be careful with show times for the poitiers and rennes concerts as they are a bit unusual / attention aux horaires des concerts à poitiers et rennes, assez inhabituels).

If you’re wondering what my concerts sound and look like these days, you can see a video of my show from 13 june 2013 in paris at the collège des bernardins. Thank you benoit!

Here’s a short version (also available on youtube here)…

… and a longer one

More news of a discographical nature soon!  :-)