Le Fil [Import]

Camille | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (May 10, 2005)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: EMI Import
• ASIN: B0007DAYBA
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (32 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #140,360 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. La Jeune Fille Aux Cheveux Blancs

2. Ta Douleur

3. Assise

4. Janine I

5. Vous

6. Baby Carni Bird

7. Pour Que L'amour Me Quitte

8. Janine Ii

9. Vertige

10. Senza

11. Au Port

12. Janine Ii

13. PÂLe Septembre

14. Rue De MÉNilmontant

15. Quand Je Marche

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Feel free to add French chanteuse Camille to that extremely select group of adventurous female singer/songwriters that also includes Bjork, Fiona Apple, Kate Bush and Julieta Venegas. Camille makes experimental music, to be sure, but her soundscapes have so much warmth in them that they are also instantly catchy. Her singing evokes the wide-eyed innocence of a little girl hopelessly in love with the world and its many mysteries. The instrumentation is sparse on the singer’s sophomore effort, sustained by a single tone that accompanies the album from beginning to end. A minimalist at heart, Camille uses overdubs cleverly, adding subtle keyboard effects for the creation of hypnotic atmospheres. The songs merge seamlessly into one another, creating a cinematic journey that requires repeated listening in order to reveal its many hidden treasures. Camille is likely to become a global phenomenon on the sheer strength of her unique talent. --Ernesto Lechner

Product Description

US only special edition with 3 bonus tracks 'J'ai Tort', 'Jolie Bruine' & 'Lumiere'. Sophomore solo album from the vocalist who is also in Nouvelle Vague. All 18 tracks are sung in her native French language. EMI. --This text refers to an alternate Audio CD edition.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

38 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Astonishing [Camille, Le Fil], April 12, 2005

By 

jqr "Know what free advice is worth" (Brooklyn) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Le Fil (Audio CD)

This record blows my mind. It is at once catchy, hummable and avant-garde. There are two big "wow" points here. The first is the "string," (le fil), a tone that persists throughout the entire record (and beyond, into secret-track land). This literally ties the entire record together and makes you listen to it as a suite: not that the songs don't stand by themselves, but this persistent note just keeps pulling you into the next one.

The second big thing is that it is arranged almost all a cappella. Yes, there are instruments. But no, the instruments don't take center stage. It's all about the voice, the human beatbox, and the clap. This gives the record a real organic feeling: it doesn't sound as if it was spit out of a hit factory. I am amazed at Camille's self-assurance in making a record like this that relies so wholly on her own voice to carry it.

The lyrics are wry, funny, and thought-provoking, but in my mind are almost completely occluded by the breathtaking arrangements and production.

I am sure many people will browse this CD on Amazon and imagine that it's some kind of folk-song/chanson update, along the lines of Keren Ann, Carla Bruni, or Coralie Clement. It's not; it's more wonderful and inspiring and adventurous than those ladies' music. Incomparable is really the best word to describe "Le Fil."

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Minimalism at its best, August 5, 2006

By 

Leah Bush - See all my reviews

This review is from: Le Fil (Audio CD)

Camille Dalmais is essentially a minimalist, and the revelation of this occurs at exactly 23 seconds. Two lines in, and a choir of whispering voices surrounds your ears. Two minutes in, and you wonder exactly what you've gotten yourself into.

"Le fil" (literally, "the thread") is the single soft tone held throughout the album, tying the songs together. It is a constant presence, weaving in and out of hearing, and extending roughly 30 minutes past the last notes of "Quand Je Marche," (When I Walk) with 30 seconds of French for the very patient among us. The whole is far from monotonous (or even in the same key). It is immediately accessible, thoroughly modern, and thoroughly French. Yes, French music exists that does not have any relation to the accordion.

But despite the title, it is Camille's voice that takes center stage, as she is mostly accompanied by ...herself. Most instrumentation is replaced by vocal noises and samples, and her live shows encourage the audience to join in the experimentation.

The obvious comparison is Bjork's Medulla - but Camille's parameters are far more self-defined, creating more of a complete whole. "Senza" and the three "Janines" are short experiments in sound and rhythm, where her voice ranges from sweet to downright (albeit charmingly) nasty.

Her slightly high-pitched singing is as also striking - it is generally hard to believe that it could have any relation to the arresting gaze of woman on the front cover. However, she is far from shy about putting her concept in front of you; "Ta Douleur (Your Pain)", the first single, is accompanied by thoroughly Gallic vocal inflections (yes, this includes retching, wailing, and burping). The appropriate accompanying video shows the singer being wound and unwound in an outfit consisting solely of a blue thread.

The final three songs on the original French release - "Pale Septembre," "Rue de Menilmontant," and "Quand Je Marche" blend into a flawless finale. Love gained, love lost, and and in the end one walks away.

Fluency isn't necessary to enjoy Le Fil, but an understanding of French definitely makes it more interesting. Many songs are self-contained stories or wordplay. The heroine of "La Jeune Fille Aux Cheveux Blancs" is not a gamine but a murderess, and of course "Janine I" includes the amusing couplet "Why do you call me Don Juan when I have such a tiny...?" (use your imagination).

The only English occurs in a few phrases on "Baby Carni Bird." For the curious, her voice is almost entirely different when singing in English - this is proved by her covers of "The Guns of Brixton" and "Too Drunk To ****" from the Nouvelle Vague project.

Le fil is finally getting a stateside release (it hit the streets in France over a year ago), and is a gem that is definitely worth the time it takes to find.

Recommended: "Ta Douleur," "Au Port," "Janine III."

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The initial arc of a star's flight, June 23, 2006

By 

Peter Prisekin "Dusty Chalk" (Merrifield, VA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Le Fil (Audio CD)

This album is wonderful. First of all, and foremost, the foundation of any album is the music, and this album has catchy songs from beginning to end -- perfect little pop gems that are exactly as long as they need to be, no longer, no shorter. One should be in love with the human voice to fully appreciate this album, as it is used not only for the lead instrument, but percussive, harmonic, and many other instruments -- including "raspberry" as a percussive element -- but personally, the human voice is my favourite musical instrument, and I am very enamored of Camille's, specifically. Her timbre reminds me of a place somewhere between Kate Bush's high young-girly voice, Bjork's fearless vocal gymastics (although, not quite yodeling), and perhaps Mike Patton's sheer insane versatility. The overall production is somewhat sparse, with only the occasional bass, piano, drums and whatnot accompanying her multi-layered voice. She sings in French, so for those of you who feel you must understand the lyrics, this may not be for you. I don't understand French, and I do feel I am missing something, as she strikes me as clever enough to write interesting lyrics with the occasional brilliant turn of phrase, but I guess I will just have to learn French. She's also very adventurous, and without confidence, experimentation can fall flat on its face, but Camille has so much charisma it brings a tear to my eye. I would recommend this album to fans of Todd Rundgren's A Capella, Jean-Michel Jarre's Zoolook, Beth Gibbon's Out of Season, and the works of Les Paul and Mary Ford (e.g., "Mr. Sandman").