Richard BodinDrawer opens. CD goes in. Drawer closes. Play… Here I am, drawn back twenty years ago when I entering the world of Cibelle for the first time… Nothing to do with Cybele, the Greek goddess of caverns. Here, we are much more in the realm of the airy than the subterranean…
Sunny Sounds, Dreamy Melodies
The Cibelle we are talking about here is Brazilian. She offers electro-pop infused with bossa nova. A kind of sonic laboratory blending a variety of sounds with sunny melodies. Every song is written by Cibelle herself, apart from a few covers paying tribute to Tom Waits (“Green Grass”), Jobim (“Por Toda Minha Vida”) and Caetano Veloso (“London, London”, “Cajuina”).
Cibelle sings sometimes in Portuguese, sometimes in English, and even in French (“Arrête Là, Menina”), always with a calm, gentle and hypnotic voice. A combination that instantly relaxes you. You lie back and can already imagine the sun caressing your eyelids. You feel yourself travelling, floating…
From London to São Paulo
The album is remarkably cohesive. Every track is a melodic and sonic gem. It must also be said that Cibelle knew how to surround herself with the right people to make this album. Travelling from London, where she now lives, to São Paulo, her hometown, via Paris, Cibelle made some valuable connections that contributed to the success of the album. Producers such as Yann Arnaud, who has worked notably with Air and Sébastien Schuller, or artists such as Devendra Banhart, who duets with her on “London, London”, and Seu Jorge, the singer, guitarist and actor known for City of God and The Life Aquatic, who joins her on “Arrête Là, Menina.”
We also hear the contribution of Spleen, CocoRosie’s human beatbox artist. Cibelle recorded Mad Man Song with him using sounds created entirely by the two of them (with one exception), based on mouth noises, voices, spoons, sugar and coffee cups…
Final Thoughts
The Shine of Dried Electric Leaves, Cibelle’s second album, is therefore a genuine success: a little gem that will appeal to lovers of light electro-pop capable of taking you on a journey.
