Clementine Blue

Released in October 2021 as a 9 track album and limited edition risograph printed book stocked at crevasse.jp.

The term ukiyo-e (浮世絵) translates as “picture(s) of the floating world”. It is a genre of Japanese art, depicting subjects such as female beauty, scenes from history and folk tales, travel scenes and landscapes, flora and fauna, and erotica.

'It has taken a pandemic and escalating climate emergency for us to appreciate that long-haul travel is (and probably always was) a bit of a privilege. Still, looking through 20-year-old photos I find myself hankering to return to Japan, a truly remarkable and disorienting island of contradictions. However, Floating World, the debut album from French-born visual artist and musician, Clémentine Blue, is a pretty good substitute.

A curated vision of her own solo journey to Japan a few years ago, the project consists of nine pop-leaning synth-based compositions, with an accompanying limited edition zine cataloguing Clémentine’s explorations along Japan’s mountains, ancient forest trails, Buddhist temples and pilgrimage routes.

Fans of Laetitia Sadier’s solo work or Jane Weaver will find lots to love here. Blue imprints the enigmatic essence of both ancient and modern Japan, using a mix of field recordings, sampled local instruments and synths that rain softly over swelling pads and a latticework of organic textures. Blue’s airy vocals express wonder and discovery of the self and our connection with nature. Album highlights include the rumbling, dark, longing for adventure in ‘Black Sea’, as well as the body-positive, porcelain sheen of ‘Shells’ and ‘Koya-san’ – the coolest song about a temple you’ll hear this year.' 

(Trev Elkin for https://www.godisinthetvzine.co.uk)