Customer Reviews

Songs From the Cold Seas (Zazou, Hector)

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

A sublime, atmospheric collection which includes superb recordings from Iceland's Björk, Finland's Värttinä, Japan's Tokiko Kato, and much more. Unfortunately I don't have the CD sleeve with me (I just packed all my belongings and moved to Iceland from the U.S.), so I cannot comment on specific song titles. However, having just listened to the varied and pristine beauty of the songs on this collection, I wanted to take a moment to recommend this CD to anyone who loves somewhat more unusual or peculiar music, world music, or music that sets a mood. The majority of the music here is relaxed and surrounds/envelops you in its waves. It is perfect for today, a windy, rainy day in Reykjavik, when it feels like Iceland is a raft adrift in the North Atlantic, ready to be engulfed by the ocean at any time. (Of course, this imagery is best accredited to José Saramago's book The Stone Raft, something I also highly recommend.) If you can find it, I would also recommend Hector Zazou's Sahara Blue-out of print.Very surreal, musical and verbal treatment of the poetry of Arthur Rimbaud. Hector Zazou's interpretation of Rimbaud with a variety of different artists lending their talents, including Lisa Gerrard of Dead Can Dance and renowned composer, Ryuichi Sakamoto as well as French actor Gérard Dépardieu and Bel Canto's Anneli Drecker collaborating on what is probably the best part of this collection, "I'll Strangle You." This is an experimental sort of collection, and it is definitely not for everyone, and even for me (I like it), it is only for certain moods. It can be grating and sometimes feel very hollow and even boring. It is out of print and might be difficult to come by.

I first heard this album whilst staying with a friend in Aberdeen, planning an ice climbing trip to the Canadian Rockies in February 1998. Martin had been telling me for some time that it was on his all time favourites list and listening to it, with snow at the window and a good whiskey in hand I could see why.

Needless to say I now have a copy and it is one of those albums that operates at so many different levels, it can be as melancholy or uplifting as your mood allows . We all need to be able to hide in some corner of our mind when having a bad day and for me it is the track Long Voyage added with some recent sailing around the Outer Hebrides that does the trick.

It's hard to categorise Zazou. He tends to make concept albums with a dazzling array of guest vocalists and musicians, and he's a bit like a French version of Peter Gabriel, crossed with Enya, but with more of an edge. 'Cold Seas' uses a mixture of electronics and ethnic music to illustrate a journey around the arctic waters of the northernmost Atlantic. It's all about atmosphere - in this case, stark and cold, with a vivid impression of a boat gliding through ice floes. It reminds me in places of Philip Glass' 'Glassworks', a similarly icebound venture.

This was quite popular in the UK at the time, mostly because of Bjork's presence as a guest vocalist - as with the majority of the album, her song is not sung in English, which just adds to the impression that we are not in Kansas. The Suzanne Vega / John Cale contribution bobs along, with Cale deadpanning his section of the vocals, and it's nice to see Siouxsie Sioux getting out and about.

The packaging fits, too - it has lots of stuff about the individual artists (which is useful for broadening your horizons), and the text on the back cover is silvery and only visible when held up to the light - which is nice.

i bought this when it came out simply because i saw that jane siberry was a featured vocalist on one song. i KNEW i'd love that one; what i didn't know was that i'd love the whole thing. it's music for those times when nothing else will do. it's soothing, yet somehow a bit unnerving--in that mystical, fun way. it is both sad and hopeful. i've used it on nights when i'm so alone i'd give anything for the touch of a loved one. i've used it when i am with a loved one. i've played it outside under a star-filled sky. simply stated, it's just incredibly beautiful. all the pieces are inspired and wonderful, but "the yakut song" by lioudmila khandi is one of the most exciting pieces of music i've ever heard. it still shocks me though i've heard it thousands of times. every music lover should have this cd. i mean it. get it.

Atmospheric, varied, and well constructed pieces featuring vocals from leading performers. A great companion to another release: Sahara Blue.

North is cold but this music is very warm, like the hearts of the people who sing in this cd! This is the one! When my friends ask me wich album is my alltime favorite I always answer Chansons Des Mers Froids (I prefer the original title instead of Songs From The Cold Seas) by Hector Zazou. The great thing about this cd is that when you listen to it YOU REALLY TRAVELL to those special places, far from everything. How many times can you say that when you listen to a record?
By the time I bought this cd, back in 1995, I started to buy cd's from Hector Zazou, Lena Willemark and Ale Moller, Varttina, Wimme, Catherine-Ann McPhee, Jane Siberry and, of course, Bjork, John Cale and Suzanne Vega...
It's a long long journey that you wish never ends... with a great sound!

Kudos to Hector Zazou for choosing so well . I can travel lands I have never been to . Music can be such a unifier, we all have so much in common.

My favorite track on this CD is "adventures in the scandinavian skin trade" which sounds so native american but is scandinavian! It feels like the spirit of a lone wolf howling a farewell to his mate on some snow covered barren land... it goes straight to my heart.

It's great to be able to hear so many of the worlds best when your pocketbook does not allow you to buy all their CDs.

To the moderately tropical ear of a born and raised Texan, this set of pieces evokes different moods indeed, and welcome ones. I have liked Zazou since picking up Sahara Blue and Glyph, and am always wondering what he will produce next: I have come to expect the unusual and unique, inevitably very well produced. This album does not disappoint, with songs that are like new ideas, offered to entice, interest, enlighten, etc! The only reason I gave four stars rather than five is that these songs are new enough to me that I have little to which to make comparison. I wait for Zazou to top it!

A very intense collection of music inspired by the icy reaches of the North Seas. The vocalists and moods are very different, yet flow into each other for a holistic listening experience. I particularly liked tracks by Wimme Saari and Catherine Anne MacPhee. Highly recommended.

This by far one of his more adventurous collaborations. His style is unique and tepid though stillburning with the knowledge and nuance of the Pop world. A true inovator in the since that no detail goes untouched and no artist with whom he collaborates unmoved by his since of style and grace on the boards. A rare find in pop music today.