#CLOSEUP: CLEO T

Cleo T, a young french songwriter with a great passion for Italy and lover of the Arts and Beauty. We met before her live @2PeriodicoCafè in Rome. 
With she we enter in a world built with the sound of imagies, harmonies and dark romanticism. 
Are you ready to see the best cabaret?

Let's start talking about your connection with Italy, which is peculiar. You are French, from Paris, but your tour began a short time ago from Turin and you've already been in Italy several times. Where does all this tie with Italy come from?

It 'a mixture of several things. First of all, my family comes from Corsica, my grandfather moved to Genoa, but was born in Corsica, and for me it felt always kind of magical to hear him speak in this strange Italian, because in fact it is a very strange dialect. I have this sort of southern roots, that I have some 'forgotten when i was young. But at some point of my life i realized that Italy was calling me. Every time i came here for the holidays I felt at home, and so i started getting interested in Italian culture, literature, painting and Italy is a country that you can not miss when you talk about the history of art and cinema, of which i am also a big fan.

There's a song in your album, “Triste Stella”, which is sung in Italian indeed.

I've written this shortly before recording it... I think you can hear it when i sing it! For me it was a bit 'like a game, even a dream, to achieve my Italian dream. The song is the story of a dancer who expects her boyfriend who perhaps may never come..

Your album was released on December 6, but it was ready exactly a year before, in 2012, what's happened in the meantime?

In music it is hard to break when you do not make that “electro-pop” music. I realized that i could not find a nice way to work as I wanted in France even though I had this label of the nicest people (Macaco Record). So I created my own label, and although it is a lot of work, in this way I was able to find partners in each country: in Germany, England, Spain. For me it was nice to work with people who know their territory, even if it was up to me coordinate everything to publis this record a little 'everywhere, to manage the tour and coordinate the production. It was very hard but it is a somewhat “modern music making”, because now you have to find alternatives to the usual production. It took a long time and now we want to do a second album, maybe next summer! It was important for me to release this album in a nice way, totally independent. I must admit, however, the help of great people like John Parish.

So how did this collaboration with John Parish began?

Well i wanted John Parish from a long time: I fell in love with "To Bring You My Love" and the album he recorded for 16 Horsepower, "Low Estate". I'm not good with technical stuff, you can say that I hate them, I don't care much about them. But with him it was the first time I heard the sound of an emotion, because he is very good at recreating intimate atmospheres, while maintaining a great power of sound.

Can we say that there has been a great empathy between you two?

Yes, for me he was already in the project: the album could not exist without him.

We met in Paris and I started to send him all the demos of the first things I did by myself. It all had a terrible sound, but i sent him anyway. He then became interested in the project and so i asked him to redo some of the songs i had sent him but he didn't have the time, he was overwhelmed because he was recording "Let England Shake" by PJ Harvey, and so on. Then one night I met him completely by chance in Milan, it was around midnight. It was definitely a sign of destiny! He must have thought I was stalking him! (laughs) And a couple days after that day we said ok, let's find a way to do it.

And so "Songs of Gold and Shadow" was born. There is a little 'of Italy, a bit' of France... what can you say about this album?

This album was very important for me because I decided to try to do something by myself, of my own. It is not easy because you have to open and try everything and can be very hard. But for me it was like a trip. I had no idea about the type or genre of music that would have come out because I listen to so many things, I did not want to do things specifically rock or folk, and as a result there is no genre to describe this album. I think I've only wanted to listen to myself and see what came out, without a precise idea. For me it was the most important thing, to be close to me. It is not easy to find yourself!

Behind the imagery that your figure came to recreate there's this sort of Paris cabaret, the Moulin Rouge... Would you say that this is true? The cover of the album is a re-enactment of Klimt, the writing style of the title that is very reminiscent Mucha... Is this a “retro” disc?

I do not know if I can call it retro, but it is a way to give tribute to the artists of the past that have done, said, designed and promoted the Beauty. I tried to incorporate their message and pass it. I don't want just to be retro, i'm trying to find the voices of today and tomorrow. There are artists from the past that inspire me a lot. Today in France arts are very separate: music, painting, literature... for me it's the opposite. This year I have not heard many cd for example but I've seen many shows! These are things that inspire me, and allow me to translate a certain kind of art to another.

This concept also emerges from the video you released, "We All". It 's very artistic, very heavy, well-researched… Are you inspired by something or someone in particular?

There are so many people in this album... there Fellini, Nina Simone, Franz Schubert, there is Elvis Presley, even if you can't hear him but he is a God (laughs), Klimt like you said, there is symbolism, there is the music I hear in Gustave Moreau, one of my favorite painters... It is a very personal journey and, although maybe i should, i'm not trying to make a “beautiful song”.

Why did you choose to cover "Someday My Prince Will Come"?

(laughs) It is not about "Snow White," I do not remember the movie, but it was the song itself, which I find beautiful in all its versions, from Miles Davis to many others. I feel very inspired by the world of fairy tales, the album is one of those, like "Alice In Wonderland". In the forest, seeking the light in the darkness... For me it's a perfect fairy tale. And with these two aspects of light and dark, to whom refer the terms “Golden” and “Shadow”, i offer this incredible hope, because without hope of finding the great beauty, love, the Prince, you can not continue to live but ... at the same time, in this song for me you can feel the total despair. Will never come, of course, the Prince, because it is not real! The reality for me is in the middle between the ideal and the absolute terrible sadness. The beauty has a delicate balance, so I decided to sing it.

So are you a big romantic?

(laughs) Yes it's true, and love is very beautiful and very tough at the same time.

For more information:  http://cleotmusic.com/

The 'Lights Go Low' in London for Satellite Stories

Brilliant new electro-indie-pop single released February 3^rd, followed by UK tour

Hotly tipped by the likes of NME, Q, Clash, The Fly, MTV UK and The Line of Best Fit, Finnish indie group Satellite Stories explode into 2014 with new single ‘Lights Go Low’ and a tour of the UK.

Formed of Esa Mankinen (vocals/guitar), Marko Heikkinen (lead guitar), Jyri Pesonen (Bass/vocals) and Olli-Pekka Ervasti (drums), the group have generated a reputation for creating powerful indie pop and the new single is no different.

Previous single ‘Campfire’ sent Satellite Stories to No.1 on the Hype Machine ‘most blogged about’ artist chart. Their energetic sound has led to them receiving comparisons with bands such as Two Door Cinema Club and Tokyo Police Club.

You can hear their second single 'Lights Go Low' here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TFOdvZ7Wf7U

Satellite Stories will be playing on February 11th, at the Old Blue Last in London at 8pm. It will be FREE entry!!

Fatherson debut "I Like Not Knowing" and announce Lonely The Brave tour

Fatherson have been making a name for themselves in Scotland for sometime now - selling out their last Glasgow show, over 500 people singing every word. And that infectious support has pulled them out above their peers, cultivating a dedication amongst their fanbase that trancends the norm. They're a group that are important to those who know, and 2014 - with the release of their debut album and further shows south of the border - will see that importance spread signifcantly.

The band have supported the likes of Idlewild, Frightened Rabbit and Twin Atlantic and today announce that their full length, "I Am An Island", will be coming April 7th on A Modern Way. "I Like Not Knowing" is the first recording from the album sessions to see the light of day, and contains exactly the kind of propulsive, anthemic indie-rock that their fans have come to expect from the band.

Fatherson have also been included in a compilation released in the last week by Radio 1's Ally McCrae called New Moons: Volume 1. They feature alongside other buzzed about groups including Slaves, Laurel and Tall Ships.

The band will also be main support to one of 2014's most widely touted bands, Lonely The Brave, later this month.

You can see them at the following dates:

January
26th     Glasgow, King Tuts *                     
27th     Manchester, Deaf Institute            
28th     Leicester, Academy 2                                 
30th     London, Cargo                                             
31st      Aldershot, West End Centre                      

February

1st        Nottingham, Rock City Basement             
4th        Southampton, Joiners                   
5th        Leeds, Cockpit                                             
7th        Norwich, Open                                 
8th        Cambridge, Junction 2                  

* Ross Leighton acoustic set

PEARLS NEGRAS

Brazilian rap girl gang PEARLS NEGRAS have released their video for ‘Pensado Em Você’, a track from their Biggie Apple Mixtapewhich was unleashed at the end of 2013 to praise from across the globe. The video for the song (translated to English as ‘Thinking Of You’) was shot in the square which is at the very top of the Vidigal Favella in Rio De Janiero where the band grew up and continue to live now, and the break dancers in the video are all close friends of the group.

The bands unique music and lyrics reflect both the danger and the colour of life as a teenager in one of the toughest and biggest cities in the world, with tracks on their mixtape both reflecting the social disaffection and daily protest happening in Rio, and the day-to-day happenings of girls who still wear braces in their teeth.

BLACK SUBMARINE - ANNOUNCE DEBUT ALBUM 'NEW SHORES'

Black Submarine have announced their debut album ‘New Shores’, which will be released on 9^th March via Kobalt Music, with a free track ‘Black Submarine’ available to download now from the band’s website.

Black Submarine are Nick McCabe (ex-The Verve guitarist), Simon Jones (ex-The Verve bassist), Davide Rossi (multi-instrumentalist/string arranger for Goldfrapp/Coldplay), Michele ‘Mig’ Schillace (ex-drummer for Portishead/Santa Cruz) and London-based vocalist Amelia Tucker.

Black Submarine began in 2008, after Nick McCabe and Simon Jones asked Davide Rossi to provide string parts for The Verve’s ‘Forth’. Striking a common vein of pop sensibility and grandeur, the three continued to share inspiration as Rossi came out on tour with the band. The trio enlisted Michele ‘Mig’ Schillace, a longtime friend, and flew to Denmark to record in 2009. Back in the UK, Schillace had been managing Bristolian singer Amelia Tucker, who was an unexpected compliment to Rossi’s vocals, and blown away by her voice, incorporated Tucker as a fulltime member.

After originally releasing their ‘Kurofune EP’ as Black Ships in 2011, the five passed ideas between their home set ups, with Tucker working into the material the band had generated in Denmark and a year later, they reconvened in McCabe’s South London studio.

Mixed by Jim Spencer (Robert Wyatt, Echo & The Bunnymen, Factory Floor, Oasis), Black Submarine’s debut is an 11-track record of spaced-out vocals, deep beats, rolling bass-lines, molten soundscapes, meditative chord sequences and explosive string-arrangements. Sounding like the nether-space between early morning and daybreak, these songs are a transformation of the music that surrounded each member in their early careers, made relevant again by the hybrid of today’s contemporary sound.

Black Submarine Website

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