Album Reviews

French minimalist acoustic musician Colleen has established an unlikely strong international cult following in the wake of releasing four full-length albums, three of which were available in limited edition vinyl.

More importantly, she has been touring, playing this contemplative, delicately drawn music live, before audiences of, I imagine, young people, many of whom probably haven’t spent much time with classical music. She has upcoming shows in Paris, Singapore, and Tokyo among other Japanese stops (mid December 2007 through January 2008).

les ondes silencieuses her latest, features viola da gamba (precursor to the cello) and a small harpsichord known as a spinet, along with acoustic guitar. If you’re familiar with the American ensemble Rachel’s Music (and you should!), you’ll have an inkling of an idea of what Colleen is trying to establish on a smaller, more intimate scale, at least esthetically.

You can learn more about Colleen and her music, and actually listen to this record on her myspace page: http://www.myspace.com/colleenmusique, though of course the sound will not be nearly as fully developed and evocative as it is on this vinyl LP.

129 people chose to check out tracks from les ondes silencieuses online the day this review was written, with more than 86,000 in total listening to it since it was issued. Of the four available, the mist-covered and haunting “past the long black island,” is the most popular, with 16,403 plays. Even as a downloaded file it should lower your blood pressure while stimulating your thoughts.

The recording, like Colleen’s music, is intimate and pure, but not nearly as spare. The title tune, played on the viola da gamba has the emotional draw of Elgar’s Cello Concerto with much less fuss.

There is a spare deliberateness to much of this music, and if you’re reminded of a music box’s plucked spines, you won’t be surprised to find that Colleen has released an EP made with music boxes Colleen Et Les Boîtes À Musique.

Spend some time with this record and you’ll emerge from the experience calm, clear and optimistic.