Colleen

Cécile Schott, from France, made her debut as Colleen with 2003's Everyone Alive Wants Answers. Released in 2003 on England's Leaf label, its dreamy and ambient but melodic material was based around heavily treated samples from her record collection. The album's reception led to performances, but she found herself uninterested in relying strictly on a laptop, so she incorporated instruments and effects, in addition to loops. As a result, 2005's The Golden Morning Breaks took on an organic sound relative to her debut, with several acoustic instruments (including guitars, old pianos, mallets, and even toy instruments) treated by effects. Her third proper album, 2007's Les Ondes Silencieuses, was preceded by an entry in the Staalplaat label's live series Mort aux Vaches, as well as the EP Colleen et les Boîtes à Musique (which was made with music boxes). ~ Andy Kellman, Rovi