Ambre Ciel

Event Information

Gondwana Records is delighted to release still, there is the sea – the debut album from Canadian composer and singer Ambre Ciel.

Ambre Ciel is a composer, violinist, pianist and singer who hails from Montreal, Canada and is a purveyor of dreamy, expansive, spacious pop music that draws influence from the contemporary classical influenced artists such as Agnes Obel, Patrick Watson, Sufjan Stevens and Thom Yorke. As well as the impressionist world of Debussy and American minimalists such as Phillip Glass and Steve Reich, and in addition mentions ‘music that breathes’ from such artists as Gyða Valtýsdóttir, JFDR, or the collaborative work of Jónsi and Alex Somers.

Ambre, who sings in both her native French and English, hails from a family of singers and artists: ‘I started my journey learning violin at six and began experimenting with pedal effects and looping melodies later on.’ University followed with a focus on composition and recording. ‘That’s when I started exploring composing and songwriting more deeply – both the world of sounds in itself and songs built mostly with layers of violin and voice. It was also during this time that I returned to my “first” instrument, the piano, which opened more harmonic possibilities.’

For Ambre, her debut album still, there is the sea, represents a beginning, a first and she says imperfect attempt to create this other world that was living in her mind. She has crafted a beautifully refined ‘pop album’ making a lot of space for strings arrangements and other acoustic instruments, as well as her own beautiful voice. ‘On a personal level, I was searching for silence. I had just finally moved to a quiet apartment in Montreal and for the first time, I had all the time and space to hear silence and create, being solitary and living in the intangible world of possibilities.’

The enigmatic title of the album, still, there is the sea, came to Ambre when she realised that water was a subconscious but recurring theme throughout the album in terms of melodies and lyrics: ‘eau miroir’ refers to how the water can be some kind of mirror, ‘cycle’ embodies a cyclical, perpetual movement, ‘atlantis’ refers to this inward looking quest and distancing from the world, ‘sometimes’ has sounds from rain and storm, and refers to a storm happening inside someone’s thoughts. ‘The water element can be very thin, fragile, but it’s always in movement and can resemble a larger and massive current, expansive, and I wanted to move between instrumental and song with this fluidity and was interested in finding ways to create something that could still feel cohesive. It also reflects this entire season of solitude and silence, how to me creating music represents this access to an underworld closer to the realm of dreams, that can be deep, surreal, rich and very grounding too.’

The songs and compositions on still, there is the sea, also aim to offer a way of coping with what is going on in the world, an escape from the horrors of war and climate change. An attempt to create beauty and hopefully offer escapism and to engage with the world in a way that is meaningful and authentic. ‘Music is mysterious and powerful. You don’t always know how you feel and then just by improvising at the piano there’s a transfer operating and the opaqueness of your emotions translate in a music that can be as emotionally complex and inherently constructive.’ It is a quality that appealed to Gondwana Records label boss, Matthew Halsall, whose own music offers similar spaces for escape for the listener and indeed for Ambre, who was first drawn to the label via the music of Hania Rani, it felt like a natural home. ‘Gondwana has its own distinctive identity, their artists have their own eclectic influences and I think this is how original work happens. When I discovered the other artists on the label, I felt a resonance with lots of music influences that I recognised and felt that I would have a lot of space to grow and evolve as an artist.’

While still, there is the sea is very much Ambre’s own personal statement and artistic vision as a composer, arranger and producer, Pietro Amato, a member of Bell Orchestre and The Luyas and a french horn player for Patrick Watson and Arcade Fire, offered support and experience (and an extra pair of ears) as co-producer and Owen Pallett (Final Fantasy, Arcade Fire) gave assistance with the orchestral arrangements Ambre wrote for the FAMES Skopje Studio Orchestra conducted by Sasho Tatarchevski. And deeply sensitive musicians such as percussionist Stefan Schneider (Bell Orchestre, The Luyas), clarinettist Guillaume Bourque and a string trio made of Marilou Lepage, Sebastian Gonzalez Mora and Julien Siino all brought their unique voices to the record.

This then is still, there is the sea the debut album from Canadian composer and singer Ambre Ciel, at once dreamy, spacious, self-contained, fragile, mysterious but open and honest and we’re delighted to share this gift with the world and invite you to join this wonderful artist on the first steps of her artistic journey.

This show takes place at Low Four – a recording studio situated on Deansgate Mews in the Great Northern warehouse. This intimate venue features a fully stocked Cloudwater bar.

AGE RESTRICTION: This is a 14+ show. Under 16s must be accompanied by an adult.