Elsiane - Mend (To Fix, To Repair)

My dad has his moments, some good and some bad, but nonetheless, moments. Recently he has been touting his “Six Things I Know/Six Rules” speech to my brother and I.

SIX THINGS I KNOW

1. Irrevocable acts.

2. Doing things you don’t want to do.

3. Probabilities and possibilities.

4. Having a sense of urgency.

5. Entitlement: forever dependent.

6. Vision: a place to go with no walls and no goals.

We’ve found that it’s actually quite fun to argue the soundness of each rule, but this is neither the time nor the venue for that.

Probabilities and Possibilities: the rule that captures my pick for today’s chosen track. I first heard this artist on a flight back to Milwaukee, purely by chance. Normally, I plug into my mp3 player and get lost in some random book, but I decided to try out the XM channels and found myself fixated on a 30 minute program featuring Elsiane, a Canadian duo from Montreal.

The obvious initial connection to Bjork/Portishead is hard to ignore, but they really have done something unique throughout their Hybrid album. In the interview portion, Peruvian-born Caplette described her vocals as an ever-evolving experiment in which she was never formally trained on. This in turn allowed her to experiment without the constraints of instruction. It’s what highlights the entire album, placing the instrumental compositions in a subservient, yet somewhat complementary role. This is what partner Stephane Cotto has crafted so well… music that helps to fully emphasize the distinct vocal style of Caplette.

It was truly hard picking one song from the album. But I decided to go with Mend (To Fix, To Repair) because it’s simple and sweet, pretty and elegant. It also showcases Elsieanne’s varied pitches/tones/inflections/contortions and the like.

02 Mend (To Fix, To Repair).mp3