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Several guest artists lend further sheen to this remarkable album, including Julian Stahl (sitar) and the band’s sonic chemistry is further brought into the light through the expert mixing by Adrien Bolko and co-production from Kévin Sohier. Clearly, there’s lots going on throughout the 8-track, 39-minute album. As their approach is wholly original, it’s hard to draw comparisons, though with Ms. Calen’s soaring lead vocals and harmonies some of the tracks do evoke a late 1960s American West coast pop vibe that transforms into a post-‘80s sound with a nod to Durutti Column and the 4 A.D. label as well as luminaries like the late Jeff Buckley, the band Radiohead and singer Björk. The Madlen Keys cover of Jeff Buckley’s “Grace” has already impressed many on YouTube. The album's lead-off track “The Maze” sets the scene with its ultra-melodic sounds and hypnotic beats. Hearing Ms. Calen’s sing her well implemented English-lyrics seems perfectly matched by the swirling, full-bodied sounds that are further fleshed out by her electric guitars and on various cuts, her appealing multi-layered backing vocals. The combination of Ms. Calen’s voice and guitars intertwined with the same of Baptiste Mottais is quite effective and the synth keyboards of Antoine Geremia is another highpoint. There is even a patriotic sounding track here, with French lyrics, that closes Event Horizon, called “Pensando En Ti”, but the other tracks are all performed in English so the album is sure to reach a wider, English speaking audience. Madlen Keys are also on fire on another track here called “Breathe”, which further informs fans by way of a breathtaking video clip that serves as a good indicator of the Madlen Keys approach to the new progressive rock. On Event Horizon, the music of Caroline Calen and Madlen Keys takes the music world by storm on an album that merges Eurock, heavy rock and electronica. Event Horizon is tailor-made for music fans that appreciate state of the art recording, catchy tunes and proggy vibes, all art forms that form the essence of Ms. Calen’s musical expressions. With the 2023 release of Event Horizon, Madlen Keys appears close to the edge amid a new renaissance of progressive European rock music.
mwe3.com presents a new interview with
Caroline Calen: I've played music since I was 5 years old. I started classical studies in my regional music school, mainly practicing violin and music reading and theory, including composition, and I had the opportunity to be in front of audiences early on, during degrees examinations or live concerts in school. Besides this, I wanted to rapidly express my more personal ideas and feelings through guitar and drum, playing in local rock bands. mwe3: What era of music did you grow up in and what were some of your most memorable musical influences early in your life? I guess you missed out on the Beatles era of the 1960s so what musicians did you emulate or aspire to be like and do you have a favorite Beatles album and other favorite albums in rock, pop, jazz and classical music? Caroline Calen: Of course, as a student in my early years at music school, I listened to many classical music composers. Besides this, I have to say that Corsica has a very vivid tradition of vocal polyphonic music and I grew up in that bath too. And I also heard a lot of folk, rock or pop music at home, as my father loved guys like Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Leonard Cohen, and also major bands of the eighties like Pink Floyd, Dire straits, Supertramp and so on... I then went to more personal influences including Radiohead, Jeff Buckley, Bjork, Nine Inch Nails... And the Beatles cannot be missed, especially the “White Album” but not only, as they wrote such a lot of gold nuggets! My inspiration comes from all these people and many, many others as I try and love to discover new sounds every day.
Caroline Calen: This song could be first and foremost about the mental boundaries we raise between us but also against our own ambitions or aspirations, and maybe an introspection about the inner prison we often build to enclose our minds within what we believe are safe fences, as the idea of freedom can be so frightening at times, dealing so close to death. The melody and arrangement can be seen as a try to picture the paradoxical struggles involving the different faces of our own personality. mwe3: Tell us about your guitar playing and what guitars do you play on the Event Horizon album? Do you practice guitar or do you mostly spend time on writing music and working on the arrangements and how would you describe your right hand technique, for example do you pick the notes with your finger or use a pick? Also, what violin do you play and what devices do you use to alter the sound of the instruments on the album? Caroline Calen: We spent a lot of time exploring sounds for this album, trying amps, positioning microphones, on guitars or violin, on drums too. We had a lot of fun on this with the sound engineer, Adrien Bolko. More precisely about guitars, I usually play a Telecaster but the album gave me the opportunity to try some other guitars, like a Les Paul for the solo part of “Memories Of My Friends”, for instance. My violin is a classical one with a pick-up capsule set under the bridge, as I like the organic rendition it gives to the sound. But sometimes I can't resist using some of my guitar effects with my violin.
Caroline Calen: “Breathe” sounds like a liberation scream, an ode to the new hope which may come after we experience a traumatic event or live an oppressing or anxiety-inducing situation. Sometimes, when we see no exit to an issue and feel like drowning, under the yoke of something or someone, it can be necessary to break out the frames and start from the ground. In today's world, many topics would probably deserve such an answer, in personal life as well as in the public or political fields. mwe3: Is there a concept in the “Breathe” video? You, flailing a bit in the bathtub is also very effective! Caroline Calen: In the video clip, Lauren Coda choreographed a Capoeira performance symbolizing the struggle of the weak against the strong, as this Brazilian dance originally concealed a subtle martial art designed by slaves for trying to fight their masters and gain freedom. mwe3: Can you say something about the Event Horizon album title and also about the band name Madlen Keys? Is there a story about how you arrived with the album name and the band name, and how did you put the band together? You have some very exceptional musicians in the lineup and clearly the chemistry of the musicians delivers an impeccable sounding experience for the listeners.
The legend says that the band names comes from a joke about a set of keys we've lost and unexpectedly found one day on the cobblestones around “La Madeleine” church in Paris. Maybe true... It took a lot of time to achieve the present lineup, with Yann Pousset on drums, Antoine Geremia on bass/keyboards and backing vocals and Baptiste Mottais on guitars and backing vocals too, and we are really happy with the outcome on the album and greatly enjoy delivering this sound on stage too. mwe3: Did singing the song lyrics in English come easily to you? I’m glad you decided to sing in English to offer the widest possible audience for example outside of France. I hope you will continue to write your lyrics in English as Madlen Keys is en route as one of the best progressive music bands in the world today. Although, there is an album closing song that you sing in French, can you say something about that song? Caroline Calen: Thank you for very kind words about our work! To me, English seems natural as it's the native language of blues and rock music, and I like the way it sounds as well as the power of raw expression in poetic range it allows in my songwriting. About the French lyrics song that closes the album, I wish to say that it features a small sample of Corsican vocal polyphony, written in Corsican language, and I see it as a kind of tribute to my deep roots and early musical sensations.
Caroline Calen: Actually, we are eager to play our songs on stage and to share this album with widest audience. Making an album represents such a big amount of work, and we want now to enjoy playing music and pleasing people as much as possible. But don't worry, we are already working on our next songs...
I thought I could be someone in your eyes
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A vital new music discovery from France comes by way of the progressive French pop-rock band Madlen Keys. The band’s cutting-edge sound is commanded by the irresistible pop-rock revelations on their album debut, Event Horizon. The album makes a splendid introduction to the electric and acoustic guitars, violin, arrangements and multi-layered vocals of French songstress Caroline Calen. Exuding confidence and an elegant stage presence, Ms. Calen is supported by a band of skillful musicians, including Yann Pousset (drums, percussion), Antoine Geremia (keyboards), Baptiste Mottais (electric guitars) and Grégoire Lozach (bass). On Event Horizon, Madlen Keys radiates a kind of musical ESP and, topped off by creative album artwork, the CD is quite glistening sounding.
mwe3: Can you tell us where you’re from originally and a few things about your background in music? Are classically trained and what instruments did you study early in your life and did you study composition as well? How easily did you take to performing music in front of live audiences early in your life?
mwe3: The first two tracks on Event Horizon “The Maze” and “Breathe” are two of the strongest cuts on the album. The lyrics to “The Maze” are particularly impressionistic. Can you say something about the meaning behind the lyrics and what inspired the song? The melody and arrangement are very uplifting. Is “The Maze” an inspirational song at the core?
mwe3: “Breathe” is also getting a lot of attention and it also features a great video. Is “Breathe” about finding brand new vibes and starting over? You sing about breathing where nothing thrives. Is the song about facing stark realities and starting over at some point? 
Caroline Calen: I like the idea of exploring the limits of the universe, performing a kind of tightrope walking on the edge between the known and the unknown, the light and the dark, the sane and the insane, and, in my mind, the “Event Horizon” is the ultimate symbol of all these inner or outer thresholds of no-return.
mwe3: Being that Event Horizon is the first full length Madlen Keys album, I hope you and the band will release more albums in this vein moving forward. What are you hoping musically for in the coming months and as we move into 2024?