I often choose music on a whim – it could be the cover (the superb Pathfinder by Beggars Opera for example) or the title (667, The Neighbour of the Beast by glam metal merchants Wig Wam) or, on this occasion, because the artist shares the last part of her name with my maternal grandmother who was a very special lady.
That is how Halo Maude ended up on my radar and, I’m happy to report, that it is a worthy addition to my eclectic collection. The artist, a multi-instrumentalist, singer and producer previously known as Maud Nadal, is as comfortable switching instruments as she is languages. Maud is French and happily uses both French and English in her songs to add emphasis, emotion or contrariness as the situation dictates.
Now, this isn’t rock by any measure; it’s a heady mix of electronics, pop, and ageless psychedelia. As Maud says, “For me, music contains what words cannot. It is its power to shape these things, and it’s what I hope to find while taking random bits, here and there, from the pitch of each note, their texture, their timbres, massaging and mixing them together until the sound resembles what is inside me.”
The opening and title track is a glorious mix of fragility and discord that fascinates and will draw you in too if you give it a chance. ‘Terres Infinies’ is jangling guitar pop with 60s overtones and a sensual French lyric that, I may not understand but fell in love with. (The title means Infinite Lands.) “Catch The Wave’ is a synth-led pop masterpiece, but with a simple complexity that stands it apart.
Then there is ‘À Te Voir’ which recalls the misty rooftops of Paris in the 30s – in my imagination at least, the title means To See You. ‘Iceberg’ is delivered in multi-tracked vocals with little instrumentation and comes across as a melodic French nursery rhyme! Intriguing. The album closes with the flute-led disco/pop beat of ‘Entends-Tu Ma Voix’ with a genius (fretless?) bass line and a coruscating vocal and means Do You Hear My Voice.
Well, Maud, I certainly hear your voice and, although a long way from normal fare here on RAMzine, this album has a fascination and attraction I just had to share. So, if you can put the rock on the back burner, Halo Maud will provide a soothing yet challenging backdrop to almost any activity.
Celebrate is available now via Heavenly
