CD - Camille - Music Hole
Remember Camille? She was that French chick with that catchy song Ta Doleur ? You know…that one you sang along to for all of 2006 and then some but never really understood since it was en français. Here’s the clip if you need a reminder:
Well Camille is back with new album Music Hole, which sees her try her hand at producing an album in English (or mostly English) and thankfully, she does it well. During the translation process, Camille remains as delightfully quirky as you’d hope – like a more tempered version of Icelandic superstar Björk- just not as flat out nutso. In fact, one of the first things that strikes the listener about the album is the application of human voices as sonic instruments (much like Björk’s Medúlla). Camille is not afraid to employ some human beatboxing, layered, repetitive vocals or even animal noises – just see Parisian by way of the animal centrepiece Cats And Dogs, which includes not only the aforementioned animals, but also a chicken, a donkey, a dolphin, a giraffe, a specific bird, a non specific bird, a silent puffin and brown, yellow, black and purple cows plus a lady horse to name but a scant few.
On second thought, if you like your singer song-writers nutty, you might just love this album…
It’s the innovative use of voice that actually gives the songs musical depth and ties the album together, much as the use of a single note was a thread through the previous album Le Fil (which means the thread, incidentally).
Most of the songs on the album are built from precious little – body percussion, water percussion, beat boxing, Camille’s vocals and the odd bit of piano. Yet somehow, the album seems so full and rich, which is a testament to the woman crazy enough to include a lip fart synth (it’s in the liner notes!) on the pulsing Home Is Where It Hurts. Tracks like Kfir and Money Note, are strangely hypnotic and so effortlessly enjoyable, and I honestly thought after Kate Miller-Heidke’s Ducks Don’t Need Satellites, that I’d never enjoy a track about ducks as much as I did Canards Sauvages, which sees the ducks splashing about whilst Camille’s voice just floats above the mix.
Whilst the album can be decidedly off-kilter at times, it has more straightforward tracks and these are also delightful. Winter’s Child is suitably dark and delicate, as is Waves, whilst the final track, Sanges Sweet, uses the two preceeding tracks to great effect, giving an overall sense of uplifting promise and joy. After the nuttiness of some of the tracks, it could be jarring, but somehow, it works just right.
All up, Music Hole is a rare delight. It’s nutty, it’s odd in places. But it’s innovative and inventive with a real sense of fun, backed up by consummate skill and a great voice, or rather, voices. Enjoy it as a crazy experiment gone right or the work of a wonderful talent – it’s up to you.
Camille – Music Hole is out now from Virgin/EMI Music.
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philandering
said on the 11th Jul, 2008