''Chansons des mers froides'' ( French: Songs from the Cold Seas) is a 1994 album by French musician

Hector Zazou Hector Zazou (11 July 1948 – 8 September 2008) was a prolific French composer and record producer who worked with, produced, and collaborated with an international array of recording artists. He worked on his own and other artists' albums, inclu ...

. Zazou enlisted several singers for the recording, such as

Siouxsie Sioux Susan Janet Ballion (born 27 May 1957), better known by her stage name Siouxsie Sioux (, ), is an English singer and songwriter. She came to prominence as the leader and main lyricist of the rock band Siouxsie and the Banshees, who w ...

Björk Björk Guðmundsdóttir ( , ; born 21 November 1965), known mononymously as Björk, is an Icelandic singer, songwriter, composer, record producer, and actress. Noted for her distinct voice, three-octave vocal range, and eccentric public per ...

John Cale John Davies Cale (born 9 March 1942) is a Welsh musician, composer, and record producer who was a founding member of the American rock band the Velvet Underground. Over his six-decade career, Cale has worked in various styles across rock, dr ...

Suzanne Vega Suzanne Nadine Vega ( Peck; born July 11, 1959) is an American singer-songwriter of Folk music, folk-inspired music. Vega's music career spans 40 years. In the mid-1980s and 1990s she released four singles that entered the Top 40 charts in the ...

and

Jane Siberry Jane Siberry ( ; ; born 12 October 1955) is a Canadian singer-songwriter, known for such hits as "Mimi on the Beach", "I Muse Aloud", "One More Colour" and "Calling All Angels (Jane Siberry song), Calling All Angels". She performed the theme so ...

among others, and native singers of the

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. Zazou approached

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with merely the title and the concept of songs from the

. He travelled three years for the record. He was accompanied by cameraman Philippe Roméo as he recorded traditional folk songs in and from

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(

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Scandinavia Scandinavia is a subregion#Europe, subregion of northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. It can sometimes also ...

and

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. He incorporated the shamanic incantations and lullabies of aboriginal people such as the Ainu,

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, Nanai, and

Yakuts The Yakuts or Sakha (, ; , ) are a Turkic ethnic group native to North Siberia, primarily the Republic of Sakha in the Russian Federation. They also inhabit some districts of the Krasnoyarsk Krai. They speak Yakut, which belongs to the Si ...

. "I didn't want to work like an ethnomusicologist and just go to Sweden and come back with a song." Zazou explained the process at the time of the album's release. "I was more interested in giving a poetic image of the North, which means that some elements are true; some are not true. It's my portrait of the cold seas." The only original composition, "The Long Voyage", was written by Zazou as an expression of gratitude to his record company for granting him complete artistic freedom on the project. The song was released as a single and featured several remixes, including one by

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and by Zazou himself. As lyrics no longer exist for the traditional song "Annukka Suaren Neito" Sari Kaasinen of Varttina wrote lyrics based on the folk tale of the young girl Annukka who wants to marry a man who lives in the ocean. The song "Adventures in the Scandinavian Skin Trade" was remixed by

William Orbit William Mark Wainwright (born 15 December 1956),"William Orbit." ''Contemporary Musicians''. Vol. 30. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale, 2000. Retrieved via ''Biography in Context'' database, 7 May 2017. Available onlinvia ''Encyclopedia.com'' known ...

but never released.

Contributing musicians

Ainu Dancers of

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, Budgie, Barbara Gogan,

Mark Isham Mark Ware Isham (born September 7, 1951) is an American musician and composer. A trumpeter and keyboardist, Isham works in a variety of genres, including jazz and electronic music, electronic. He is also a prolific and acclaimed composer of Film ...

, Lightwave, Sakharine Percussion Group,

Brendan Perry Brendan Michael Perry (born 30 June 1959) is a British singer and multi-instrumentalist best known for his work as half of the duo Dead Can Dance with Lisa Gerrard. Early life Perry was born in Whitechapel, London, England, UK, in 1959 to a mot ...

(of

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), Noriko Sanagi, Marina Schmidt,

Guy Sigsworth Allan Arthur Guy Sigsworth (born May 1960) is an English record producer and songwriter. He has worked with many artists, including Seal, Björk, Goldie, Madonna, Britney Spears, Kate Havnevik, Imogen Heap, Bebel Gilberto, Mozez, David Sylvian ...

, Sissimut Dance Drummers, recorded music parts for the album.

Track listing

#"Annukka Suaren Neito" – Värttinä #" Vísur Vatnsenda-Rósu" –

#"The Long Voyage" –

#"Havet Stormar" – Lena Willemark #"Adventures in the Scandinavian Skin Trade" – Wimme Saari #"She's Like a Swallow" –

#"The Lighthouse" –

#"Oran na Maighdean Mhara" – Catherine-Ann MacPhee #"Yaisa Maneena" –

Tokiko Kato is a Japanese singer, composer, lyricist, actress and activist. She was born in Harbin, Manchukuo, to Japanese parents and graduated from the University of Tokyo. She worked as a visiting professor at Josai International University. While b ...

#"Iacoute Song" – Lioudmila Khandi #"Song of the Water" – Kilabuk & Nooveya

References

1994 albums Hector Zazou albums {{1990s-electronic-album-stub