French modern classical and indie pop artist Cécile Seraud has released her new album, Psykhé. We asked her the BIG questions . . .
Psykhé follows her albums Shoden and Xaos and is described as a musical love letter to a deceased friend and his family.
Tell us three things about yourself . . .
Love: It is the starting point of all my desires and my first direction. Without it, I wander - or rather drift - like a seashell, without will.
The sea: In reality, the ocean, near which I live. I try to see it every day. It soothes me, lifts me toward beauty, and whispers escape, dreams, and transcendence to me.
Creation: It helps me share the intense relationship I have with life. Through it, I can express all my emotions in the language of the heart. It is my place, my space, my aspirations, and my journey.
How would you describe your music?
It would be a poetic and pared-down introspection that seeks to journey as close as possible to subtle emotions - the very ones our society leads us to overlook. It is also an invitation to a great surge of love, dream, and escape. A plunge into the depths of oneself and into silence, from which one resurfaces healed from the sirens' song and accompanied by the gods of creation.
Who are your musical inspirations?
By chance, most of the artists I fall in love with come from the same country: Iceland - Ólafur Arnalds, Sigur Rós, Jóhann Jóhannsson, and recently, Emilíana Torrini. And when it isn’t Iceland, it’s wild places or cold countries: Yann Tiersen and his island of Ouessant, Arvo Pärt and Estonia…
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Is it really a coincidence? It seems that the music of all these artists gives me the feeling of drawing closer to the origin of the world. It captivates me through its ability to pull me away from everything that distracts the mind from what is essential, to make vast landscapes resonate with the human condition, as if everything were connected - an invisible thread to the naked eye yet united in a shared emotional vibration. Perhaps the vibration of the stars we all come from. Their music offers me the luxury of freedom, of a wide cosmic breath.
What was the first gig you ever went to?
A Steve Waring concert. I must have been about five years old. The singer had come to our small town in Mayenne, in Évron. My parents were quite fond of him, and I remember being chosen from the audience to answer the question, "What is the difference between a camel and a dromedary?" I was a bit intimidated, but I didn’t let it get to me.
What was the first record you ever bought?
I think it was a Sabine Paturel album - J’suis qu’un tout p’tit bouchon and Pierre Bachelet, on vinyl. I was nine years old… Forgive my little-girl tastes. Then came the cassettes.
What’s your favourite song right now?
My favorite song at the moment is Diamonds and Rusts by Joan Baez. It fills me with an intense rush of beauty and freedom
Favourite lyric of all time?
Ma Bohème, by Rimbaud. Its impassioned youth, the transmutation of a reality both simple and free, the vibrant forces of life and of dream that animate this poem possess a timeless modernity and bear witness to the hand of a genius.
If you could only listen to one song for the rest of your life, what would it be?
After long reflection - because your question is a difficult one - while staying within the candour and whiteness of Icelandic peaks, I would choose Svefn-g-englar by Sigur Rós.
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Rock? Ethereal? Progressive? Psychedelic on LSD? I remain very close to this UFO of modernity and poetry, these messengers of Santa Claus and perhaps even of the origin of the world.
Where can people find your music/more information?
People can find my music on all streaming platforms, on YouTube, and can order digital or physical albums on Bandcamp. They can also find all my posts on Facebook by typing my name, Cecile Seraud.
Alan Corr
