Sometimes it is good to pay attention! We get a lot of music submissions and we can’t get anywhere near to covering them all, but…with the amount of interest that seems to be gathering around this young Dutch artist we really couldn’t ignore…
The single came out on January 9th so it is on all platforms now, and I am a fraction tardy in covering it, but I’m going to share the press release and then deliver my thoughts!
The Press Release:
“With over 42 million streams for her music so far, rising Dutch star Celine Cairo is poised for her international breakthrough with spellbinding new single Panacea, out January 9th – the title track and lead single from her forthcoming third album set for release on June 18th.
Complete with cello, synths and 12 string guitar Panacea is a spine-tingling depiction of life coming sharply into focus. Written after a month-long, solo trip to Asia last year that signalled a rebirth for the singer, Panacea was partly recorded on Wurlitzer piano at Celine’s home in Amsterdam with her partner and co-producer, the multi-instrumentalist Benjamin Rheinlander. India Bourne, a member of Ben Howard’s band, plays cello.
“I wrote Panacea about coming home to myself, after an exceptionally rough time,” says Celine. “The song is about landing in the present moment and dissolving the notion that there is a cure for our human condition. So many people are searching for healing, trying to better themselves. Letting go of that quest altogether made me the freest I’ve ever felt.”
Nature has long been a feature of Celine’s songs, but on the upcoming new album it’s omnipresent – weather, rivers, skies, sunrise, snow, even an abyss, on the edge of which she dances – as a metaphor for freedom, fresh starts and fearlessness.
‘My head is above the water now’ sings Celine on Panacea, an emotional rollercoaster of a song, to capture the sensation of a great weight lifting from her. The song’s stunning video was shot in Norway’s Folgefonna National Park last year. “Mountains, skies, water, clouds – we got a lot of nature in there,” says Celine.”
My review:
The adjective ‘etherial’ slipped into mind when I was listening to this. I remember Enya and Clannad back in the day and Celine moved within this territory. She has a wonderful singing voice, that fairy lightness and emotional depth to bring a vocal alive. Musically, it is stripped back raw, like the landscape of the video, allowing the vocals in the production to drift through the headphones and through the valleys. Although ‘indie pop’ officially, Celine has that folk writer’s story and this song (and her music generally) relaxes you down and allows the problems of the day to wash away, somewhat similar to the lake featured in the video for this one.
Drifting somewhere between dreamy indie-pop and folk storytelling, “Panacea” finds Celine Cairo’s voice floating effortlessly over a beautifully stripped-back landscape of sound. It’s a quietly powerful, immersive listen that invites you to slow down, breathe, and let the noise of the day gently dissolve — proof that sometimes the most healing music asks for nothing more than your attention.
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Stream Music from Celine Cairo here
Artist website here
By Mark C. Chambers