Colleen – The Union Chapel, London 16/03/08

It all feels very much a formal occasion this Sunday evening in the Chapel. Whilst the lights are dimmed down, candles flickering all around above on the balcony. The crowd are hushed, frightened to make even a clap once a song is complete as to disturb the ambience. And the opening “acts” could have you mistaken that you’ve accidentally walked into a Christmas vigil or some private function.

The Vox Cordis Vocal Choir open proceedings with their deeply powerful repertoire from the great polyphonists of the sixteenth century to more modern classics such (a particular piece by John Tavener) and The Elysian Quartet followed to play beautifully considered pieces written by Max De Wardener.

Only when Colleen (also known as the Paris-born, Cécile Schott) takes to the stage does the evening take a more relaxed direction. This is quite simply because her music exudes a warmth, comfort and soul and you can’t help but feel touched. You watch her, almost transfixed, as she solely intertwines an assortment of instruments (reflecting her deep love of acoustic sounds and devices such as cello, guitar, clarinet, music-boxes and wind chimes) together with the help of sample loops and pedals. She begins her set with a simple cello line, which eventually swells into a gorgeous melodic dissonance.

She picks two tracks from her incredibly magical The Golden Morning Breaks. The delicate ‘I’ll Read You A Story’ which chimes and glistens over lethargic guitar plucks and repetitive strums which rises and circulates before floating back down. She ends the evening with the surging sound-scapes of ‘Everything Lay Still’. A 10-minute opus that expertly displays her knack of amassing dazzling sonic creations but also underlines her faultless predilection for crystalline moods and feelings.

What differs her from the support acts is the fact this music she orchestrates feel incredibly personal. Whereas the openers were obviously specialists in their respective fields, it felt ultimately cold and detached. Colleen offered a more human method. She connoisseurs in tugging the heartstrings with her instinctive waves of organic noise and textures. She even made a charmingly exchange of words with the crowd, claiming this gig was “like playing Wembley Arena for me”. You could almost feel the collective sense of pleasure spread throughout the crowd like some Devine energy was being radiated. It was pure awesome majesty and splendour.

Links
Colleen [myspace]