colleen

In the fall of 2002 I released my first record ever, a 7’’ on tiny French label Active Suspension. Around the same time, I sent a CDr of my just-completed first album to various labels: I got a couple of replies, but only one was interested, The Leaf Label, and this is how this whole journey truly started. I had *absolutely* no clue it would lead to this. Not in my wildest dreams could I have imagined all that would happen, and even less that it would last this long. And fingers crossed in the hope that this is still a long way off, but I now truly think this project will die only when I die.

7 albums: 3 made in Paris (2003-2007), 3 in Donosti, Spain (2013-2017), and so far 1 in Barcelona, last year’s The Tunnel and the Clearing, with LP8 well under way. The 3rd record on the table is 2006’s (nearly album-length) EP Colleen et les Boîtes à Musique.

It is my hope (and a plan) that little by little, the albums that have been out of print on vinyl will be reissued in a coherent manner (sadly the last represses of my early albums are now largely unavailable due to a legal dispute with The Leaf Label that led to these albums having to be put out of distribution).

In 19 years, with a large gap between 2009 and 2013, I played 232 shows in 23 different countries, with the US being by far the country I’ve played the most (38 shows) followed by the UK (24) – which makes sense considering I was first on a UK label that also had good US distribution, and my current home is the mighty Chicago-based Thrill Jockey. The full list is on this page.

I did not go as far as counting the number of instruments I’ve played on those albums, but I reckon that would probably be around 20 perhaps? If you are fairly new to my music, you may not know that I’ve changed setup/instrumentation on almost every single album, and that this was once a purely instrumental project. A great place to start if you’re curious is the wonderful retrospective that Bandcamp Daily so kindly wrote last year, which was conducted with my input.

No Oscar-style thanks to end this post, since I regularly thank online and offline the people who have helped me the most. But a massive acknowledgement of the importance of YOU the listeners, both new and old. Some of you have been listening to my music for 20 years now, and what a privilege it is to go through life with the knowledge of this shared journey. And I feel just as happy about all the newcomers. THANK YOU.

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