Ask the DJ: Cleo T – 10 Songs That Have the Colour of My Dreams

Parisian musician, Cleo T., has announced a London show at Red Gallery in Shoreditch, ahead of the release of And Then I Saw A Million Skies Ahead, the follow-up to her 2013 album debut, Songs Of Gold & Shadow.

Out this March, via Motor Entertainment, ATISAMSA promises to be more than music – more of a multidisciplinary, synesthetic work of art, where eleven breathtakingly diverse compositions form the soundtrack for an interactive, integrative experience in which song, dance, painting, analogue instrumentation and digital video art seductively find one another. Art for all one’s senses.

In the meantime, check out the video for ‘Look At Me I’m A Horse’ from the upcoming album, and indulge yourself in Cleo’s playlist of songs that have the colour of her dreams…

1. Antony and the Johnsons – ‘Hope There’s Someone’

“BLUE – To me blue is the colour of the dream, it defines a space suspended in time where sounds resonate in a immaterial and poetical dimension. When I record piano I always look for a « blue sound ». And when I close my eyes I like to dive into the blue. This song for me is this perfect moment, suspended somewhere in space and time, abstract yet extremely emotional.”

2. Tom Waits – ‘Alice’

“SILVER – The music of Tom Waits is like a house or a bar where I go quite often in dreams. The song crystallises this atmosphere of an ancient glory, a lost splendour, that shows in every detail of a rough and dusty reality. I think we all have our own « paradiso perduto » described by Dickens in its Great Expectations, mine is silver like « Alice ».”

3. Clara Rockmore plays Tchaikovsky – ‘Berceuse’

“WHITE – I’ve always considered dreams as a connection with a kind of « au-delà », something beyond. My mother and grandmother used to read tarots and interpret dreams. This dialog with the unknown has a big part in my  life and I consider art as a hand stretched towards the unknown. I play the theremin (a little) as I find something magic in this voice coming from nowhere. Clara Rockmore is amazing, she’s a bit surreal, as some kind of a medium. White is this space where invisible can be seen or resound.”

4. Neil Young – ‘Dead Man Guitar Solo #1’

“BLACK – I love electric guitars, especially Neil Young’s guitars. This soundtrack is one of my favourite. It’s about all those unexplainable travels you can do with your mind. It’s powerful, grounded and opens a wide soundscape as well. It’s wild and poetical which is a state I find truly inspiring, as the intense Noirs by Soulages.”

5. Lana Del Rey – ‘Honeymoon’

“PURPLE – This song reflects the glamour of dark romanticism which I feel close to. Oscar Wilde used to say that Life imitates Art, and in a way I think this mood in music or cinema influences our way of experimenting some realities. Sometimes I wake up with a feeling close to « Mulholland Drive » : purple, unexpected, terribly intriguing.”

6. Shigeru Umebayashi – ‘In The Mood For Love « Theme »’

“RED – I like those moments of synaesthesia, where sound and colour, words and images, everything connects. The intensity of the playing in this piece builds up a whole decor, in a very symbolist way. I’m quite a symbolist person, and I take my inspiration from those kind of memories, a colour that has a meaning, a word that has a melody. I seek for those in dreams, in travels and in art.”

7. Louis Armstrong – ‘What A Wonderful World’

“YELLOW – And yes sometimes, dreams are only about a state of joy, of peace where you could float just like seated on the strings of the track. I take a lot of strength from dreaming, and having Louis speaking of beauty opens a whole yellow, vibrating canvas, where you can get free energy and positive thoughts.”

8. Cat Power – ‘Maybe Not’

“PINK – Pink is a strange colour, I like it as much as I don’t. It has the naive and immense power of childhood’s wishes, of the most simple aspirations. This song reminds me of the essential dreams I can have, that are always tainted with a slice of sadness. As if we knew from the start they would get lost with life. This feeling of intense hope struggling with melancholy is an expression of beauty to me. And this song’s a perfect example.”

9. Amadou & Mariam – ‘Sabali’

“GREEN – Sometimes you just take things as they come, and you realise this simple feeling can turn everything into beauty. I do really work on my dreams so they feed me with this feeling of « absolute », of « all is possible ». This song is a three-minute piece of Love, Hope, Joy, a celebration of life.”

10. Georges Delerue – ‘Le Mépris (Thème de Camille)’

“GOLD – I love movie scores, especially from the 50/60s, especially from France and Italy. They connect with « great » feelings, they turn everyday life into myth, everyone into icon. Godard, la Nouvelle Vague, Italian Neo-Realismo are all important inspirations in my work. They tell us to dream our life a bit more and to bring this life into our art. This moment where both melt to create beauty is a radiant gold. And I am a gold digger.”

And Then I Saw A Million Skies Ahead is due for release on March 10th via Motor Entertainment.

Cleo T. plays Red Gallery in Shoreditch on March 17th; tickets available HERE.

Cleo T - And Then I Saw A Million Skies Ahead

Website
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram