Camille

Camille makes me want to be in France dancing playfully in my apartment with a baguette in one hand and a Pinot Noir in the other while singing at the top of my lungs. I want to take French classes again so that I can know all of her French lyrics (because I like some of her English songs but prefer the French more than the others).

I first heard her a couple of years ago when Invisible Children used her song "Assise" (sitting) in one of their promo videos. I remember watching the video repeatedly because the song was so mesmerizing with its unique percussion, minimal instrumentation and the trademark B-note tone that is a thread throughout her second album Le Fil ("The Thread").

Other Camille songs don't disappoint. She's creative and artistic, playing with song and sound much like Lenka or Björk. If her work was a painting, I'd call it naïve art. Her sound is often simple, playful and youthful, though her subjects are not. One of my favorite is Pâle Septembre, which references Sept. 11, 2001.

Rumor has it her live performances are trés bien, aussi!

Here's a quick mixed tape playlist of songs I like. I'll add links to tracks as I find them:

Assise, Le Fil, 2005
Paris, Le Sac Des Filles, 2002
Janine 1, Janine 2 & Janine 3 (less than 1 minute each, but they're hot; 1 is my favorite), Le Fil, 2005
Pâle Septembre, Le Fil, 2005
Vous, Le Fil, 2005
Home is Where it Hurts, Music Hole, 2008
Pour Que L'amour Me Quitte, Le Fil, 2005
Ruby, Le Sac Des Filles, 2002
Elle S'en Va, Le Sac Des Filles, 2002