CUERPOS CÓSMICOS

[ Inteerview with Camille Motto from Cuerpos Cósmicos by Diego Centurión. ]

BETWEEN DREAM WORLDS THE CUERPOS CÓSMICOS ARISE

We have been listening to songs that amaze us for a long time by a band called Cuerpos Cósmicos. Little by little we were getting closer to the sound of this band and we wanted to see what is behind those beautiful sounds and we found her soul called Camille Motto, and we contacted her to get to know this project and this is what she told us ...

Hello Camille, thanks for agreeing to do this interview

Hi Diego, thank you for the invitation!

The truth is that our mutual friend Nicolás Castello has shown me Cuerpos Cósmicos and I was delighted.

Nicolás is the most. As a person and as an artist, I like him very much! I was thinking about how to describe the feeling I have when I receive messages like yours, and it gives me the feeling that a letter reached its destination. Or as if I finally get to articulate a phrase in some language.

And speaking of language ... If it is true that you live in France. What is your nationality? French or Argentinian?

My ID is French. But the truth is, I

always had the feeling of coming from a fictional area between Argentina and France. Investigating, I found a name that describes that dimension : the « third-culture kids », children who come from at least two cultures and are at least bilingual. The mixture of two or more cultures forms a separate life and language experience, called thirdculture.

But you have a historical connection with Argentina, because in your bandcamp it says "FrenchArgentinian"

Yes of course, my mother is Argentinian and she went to live in France. Therefore, the rest of the family is in Argentina. Oh, and I am also in the process of applying for Argentinian citizenship.

Tell me, how and when was Cuerpos Cósmicos born?

The project was born in 2018: it was the year in which I attended an intensive training in sound techniques. It was also this year I went to Argentina for the summer : I had planned to go write music there. It was important to me that the project be born there. I knew an Argentine musician, Lucas : he was interested in what he was doing and we had already collaborated remotely on some covers and one of his songs, «Gravedad». When we first met I showed him «Rain» and he loved it.

We decided to form a duo, he added backup vocals at the end of the song

and we recorded together the bass at his studio in Córdoba. We lived moments of pure friendship, recording a video clip for this song. “Rain” had a small reputation online, thanks to websites such as Remezcla, The Blog That Celebrates Itself and WhitelightWhiteheat. At the end of the summer I returned to France, and the duo quickly disarmed due to lack of time on both sides. There was a moment of reflection in which I didn’t know whether to continue the project by myself or start a new one. But the idea of simply « abandoning it » made me kinda sad. So we had a chat with Lucas, I asked him if it was okay to continue with the same name despite his departure, and he obviously said yes, that I could continue developing this project further on.

So let's say that Cuerpos Cósmicos is a trip to your own interior ?

Yes, it is a journey through one's own interiority : an exploration of memory, of what existed in a life, but also of what only existed in the imagination : the lacking side we all feel, such as wishes that weren’t fulfilled, moments and memories that could not exist. Hahaha, is it too dark?

Let's say that to make the music you make, there is something dark about your tastes, even if it is very hidden.

Yes, I mean this project is also about the feeling of hope, and making the experience of magic. And I picture this feeling in the dark, it is a light in a dark landscape. This way, I think, hope stands out.

Today I was listening to your EP, released in 2018, which is also your first work. How or where does the name Cuerpos Cósmicos come

from ?

It was all very intuitive : Cuerpos Cósmicos was the title of a song.

When I created the bandcamp in Argentina, we had to find a band name. I carried a notebook with automatic writing and lists of titles : Cuerpos Cósmicos, St Marcel, Petit Prince... Chatting with Lucas, we chose Cuerpos Cósmicos. I just saw an interesting video by Jaime Altozano on this subject: In short, his idea was that you could choose any band name, the name would come to life and make sense with the music. "La Oreja de Van Gogh" is a good example he gives : if you already know the band, it’s its sound that come to your mind, and not the painter and his ear. So in a way, this project could have had another name, the words would have captured the essence of the music later.

But in a way the name of Cuerpos Cósmicos speaks of an ethereality of the stars that describes a world of sensibilities that one later hears in the songs.

Sure, the name is a manifesto in itself. It also refers to a variety of forms, which appeals to me, in order to explore other musical genres under the same name/ project.

Listening to the three songs in the EP, did you think about modifying something ?

Hehe, the truth is that I modified a lot. It is a great thing with today's tools: you can make the changes you want, everything is digital. This EP had other songs that decided to eliminate from the project, because the whole vision became much more clear in 2020, in the making of the album. The only song that is really from 2018 is «Rain». But I tend to do these changes only for

the selection of the songs. Otherwise, when I finish a song I'm already thinking about the next one. Making changes infinitely would be like not accepting that there is an end (to everything). I learned to see the end of something as the beginning of something new.

Now I see that with each song I learn new tools, and that is the most important to me. I have a mantra that is: «I can’t wait to make new and imperfect songs." I am interested in making mistakes, exploring them and turning them into personal touches.

DC: Then you release, already in this 2020, before the pandemic or during I guess, the single "Loneliness is a very special place" and you work with Maïwenn Tacher. Tell us about these two songs.

This project was born at the beginning of the year: my friend Lou-Andreas Gonçalves made her first short film, "Rén". She lives in Japan and develops her contemporary artwork. She sent me the script and asked me if I was interested in making the music. I really liked her project: it’s about the relationship between two sisters who are looking for their missing dog. While searching for it, they encounter ghostly presences in the forest, at night. It has some tension and unreality like in David Lynch's work. It was important to have ethereal women's voices. I enjoy collaboration, so I invited Maïwenn Tacher, singer and friend: she took singing + meditation classes and has a very personal way of singing.

Maiwenn is also present in my other music projects for short films.

Tell us about those music projects for short films. Where can we listen to them ?

When I did my training in sound techniques, I sent an email to film students to propose them to be an operator, sound mixer or composer. I have done 5 projects so far, and the only one I have published in my networks is ‘Rén’. I did not think about publishing the other ones because they’re too different from CC such as not to be published, but this is one of my current questions: do we have to publish with the same name or compartmentalize projects? What do you think ?

Obviously, edit under another name, another bandcamp, hahaha. An artist can have several views on music and not everything should be under the same sky (or ceiling)

Sure, I have like 5 or 6 different bandcamp names. This is my question right now, because I'm crafting solar electro-pop now, so I'm thinking about it… At the same time, with the name Cuerpos Cósmicos, we can imagine that there is room for everything: cold and warm planets, small or larger ones…

In May, you released your first album called "Rain". An album full of suggestive and deep sounds where you open a palette of colors as bright as dark ... How was the recording process?

I wrote and recorded all the songs at home (except Rain and White Days), during the quarantine. I had my notebooks, my computer and my microphone. My friend was very present on WhatsApp and we talked about what I wanted to transmit with the album. I realized the energetic power of sound. Well, I already sensed it but I decided to connect on a deeper level with it: I ended up leaving my old notebooks aside, deciding to create new energies. Everything was very

fast, I wrote some of them in 3 days, and then I took some time to make a decent mix, record newvoices, etc. I want to recognize something important here, it is that it was a privilege to be able to do this during quarantine. The album, and all the albums that exist, are also for a good part of them the result of a series of privileges: having time to train, to write, to have a computer and tools…

The songs are arranged in an almost magical order, I imagine you like all the post-production work. Because the result is brilliant.

Wow, thanks !! Yes, there is an order, it goes with the CD album booklet. It’s the point of view of the drawn character, a little girl. It's funny that you talk about the magical order, because this work follows a narrative line inspired by the Rider-Waite tarot, and especially the meaning of numbers in the minor arcana.

So "Rain" is the soundtrack to a story?

Yes, it is an initiation story. I would like to learn to animate, so I would make an album-movie, following the girl in the successive scenes, traveling through diverse universes and planets, flying over snow deserts… Perhaps one day I’ll dedicate my time to this. My inspiration would be Tove Jansson's Moomins.

DC: So now, thinking of "Rain" as a conceptual work: how did you fit the songs into the story or were they based on the story?

It was all a job with and from the subconscious. I knew everything was going to fit together, and that's what happened. For some songs it was evident, like White Days or Universe, and for others like Rain and Emily, it was not very clear, because they are two similar "happy" and genuine stage

songs. So, to make a choice, I referred to the meaning of the tarot cards: each number symbolizes something, for example the fifth refers to a stage of conflict. I knew ‘Strength’ was the fifth song. Strange Magic was the fourth: stability; Plus, I saw a 4 when I was making it.

And when you finished the album and listened to it. What was your reaction ?

I’d say relief!

And how are you with the media issue? The selling of the album to the media.

I was lucky that a French DIY record label, Choléra Cosmique, proposed to make the CDs: I sent them everything and they carried out the physical project. We already sold half in a month, and it's a limited edition of 50. Some of them already are in Germany, the US, Brazil, China and France. It can still be found in Bandcamp, either on Choléra Cosmique page or mine. Concerning the media, they simply discover it online: I am always enchanted when reading a review about it or blog post. I never send my project to anyone, be media or people, so the discovery feels better on both sides. I don’t like to actively push my project to the people, I don’t really know why.

The songs that are on the 2018 EP are repeated on "Rain", have you remixed them or modified them again? Even the cover is the same, which caught my attention, was it on purpose?

From the beginning the project was to make an album that develops a whole story, with stages and an evolution. I already knew that this cover contained what I wanted to develop in the first journey. When I published the EP in 2018, I didn’t think there would be listeners, it was to see how bandcamp looked like, discover the site and make tests with some demos.

In the end, there was quite a lot of listening, but that never made me hesitate to do what I wanted to do and publish it again with all the songs and an album format. This is the good thing about being independent: I do whatever I want and don't follow the rules, because I don't even know them! The songs took various forms: White Days evolved (in fact, I have about 15 proto-versions of White Days, up to some from 2014). I did Rain's mix again for the album, and mostly learned some basic mastering principles during these 6 weeks. I see this first album as the starting point for my exploration in the world of sound. I know it’s far from perfect, but I needed to start somewhere, and this is it.

I imagine that in those two years of work, not only did the songs change but also yourself, internally.

Yes, everything changed! I moved from Paris to a smaller city, the band, which was a duo, evolved into a solo project, and at one point there were almost no Cuerpos Cósmicos due to daily life needs (work, studies). I had to put in extra energy for the project to be reborn. The obsession to continue writing an initiatory sonic tale allowed me not to abandon, and to release this first album to the world. I also have to say that Choléra Cosmique (the label) catalyzed its birth, giving me a due date and expecting something from me. Surely without them, nothing would have gone public!

It is an initiation to the art of Cuerpos Cósmicos, a portal to your own world, because for what you

tell is a journey in which you are the protagonist, although we are talking about a drawn girl. Pretty autobiographical, right? Because for you it was an initiation too.

Yes, clearly. At some level it is autobiographical, but it has its share of dreams and adventures that I discover as I write. It is something to make me travel in the first place. It wouldn't be interesting if I didn't discover news, if I didn't surprise myself.

Are you working now on something new or is this pandemic blocking you, such as it also happens to many people?

For now, I'm following Violeta Castillo's song clinic! There are two weekly zoom meetings, with writing exercises. I wrote my first songs in Spanish and French. Something will surely come out this summer. The pandemic has had me extremely distressed by the estrangement it creates between humans, and how technology and

screens became essential. Here in France, everything is returning to «normal», I go out everyday to go to work, and the period of isolation at home seems far away.

Beyond these clinics and new songs, what immediate plans do you have for Cuerpos Cósmicos?

Now, I don't have, I simply relax. It’s nice sometimes to stop thinking in terms of productivity.

And to close and thank you for this late night that you are doing for this interview, I’ld like you to tell us where we can find all the music of Cuerpos Cósmicos?

All of CC's music can be found on the bandcamp: www.cuerposcosmicos.bandcamp. com and also on youtube, soundcloud,

Spotify, etc... Thanks to you Diego for the interview !

THE SONGS

The 9 songs on the album I was inspired by the Rider-Waite Tarot for the narrative plot: The tarot interests me above all as a support for the psyche projection, and because it presents a set of universal archetypes. I referred to the Minor Arcana, which deals with the experience of the world by a subject. My subject is a girl, drawn in the album script, that crosses universes.

1. White Days

Start, or re-start. A potentiality that depends on us to let flourish.

2. Rain

Encounter, friendship; When you perceive something.

3. Emily

Joy, desire and creativity; celebrating something.

4. Strange Magic Stability, solidity, balance and calm.

5. Strength

Conflict, crisis: the arrival of an external element that breaks the stability of the 4.

6. Warm Embrace

Overcoming the conflict. Between memories of the past and dreams of the future.

7. Silver Snow

Go to the bottom: contemplative work isn’t enough, You have to know how to defend yourself against attacks; Otherwise, the job will be incomplete .

8. Paris

Free expression: there is no longer any obstacle to stop us. Exploring our inner world without fear of straying.

9. Universe

Achievement: 9 is the last number in a digit. The series has ended. Overcoming internal contradictions.

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