Laura Cahen - De l’autre côté

Following a brief hiatus, Laura Cahen is back! With her latest album, De l’autre côté (On the Other Side), she crafts a hauntingly poetic exploration of love and freedom. Released against a backdrop of a world in turmoil, this cinematic journey unfolds across ten tracks, adorned with grand, retro folk-pop stylings that highlight a period of bold creative transition for the artist.

Building on the success of her previous records, Nord (2017) and Une Fille (2021), Laura has further refined her craft on this new project, weaving together poignant narratives of resilience and desire while addressing increasingly pressing themes such as environmental collapse and political oppression. 

Unexpectedly, Margate served as a central hub for the project. Collaborating with producer Mike Lindsay and multi-instrumentalist Josephine Stephenson, whose credits include work with Damon Albarn and Arctic Monkeys, the team drew from the rich influences of the 1970s, taking inspiration from iconic figures such as Joni Mitchell and Brigitte Fontaine to imbue the record with a revitalising new sound.

On De l’autre côté, Laura delves deeply into themes close to the heart: female empowerment, LGBTQ+ rights, and environmental justice, all delivered with an elegant flair. Tracks like the melancholic “Fusées” and the metaphysical “Les Astres” showcase her storytelling finesse, shaped by literary influences like Margaret Atwood and voices from the world of cinema such as Jane Campion and Christopher Nolan.

Ahead of the release of the record, we caught up with Laura and Josephine Stephenson to dive into the making of De l’autre côté...

Photo Credit: Laura Cahen by June Tamo-Collin

Your album draws on themes of love and chaos. How have your personal experiences living through these times shaped the narrative of the record?

LC: I never really plan what I’m going to write before doing it, but I guess I’m always talking about what I’m going through at the time and what’s around me. When I started writing this album, I was in a state of emotional turmoil, and the world was what it was – on its way to where it is today, which really upsets me. These preoccupations found their way into the songs, but I then managed to create a new story out of them.

How did your collaboration enthuse you both and in turn influence the direction of the album’s sound?

LC: I was really happy to work with Josephine because she’s such a great musician, incredibly talented. I loved her work with Ex:Re and 12 Ensemble and knew she would bring sophistication to this album, with very fine and classy arrangements and a contemporary classical touch. She’s a great singer and multi-instrumentalist too, and I also just really trust her opinion and taste, so I knew it was going to be great having her in the studio.

JS: I was so excited when Laura invited me to work with her on her new album. I loved her previous one so much and felt a lot of affinity with her melodic and harmonic writing, so I was touched to be invited to take part in it. I’d never really been implicated in the making of an album in this way before – from scratch – and it was a really wonderful experience. As a contemporary classical composer, I spend a lot of time in a silent room imagining what an orchestra will sound like, so being in the studio and able to shape the sound right there and then was really gratifying. I hope I was able to bring a bit of an edge to some of the writing, but really, it’s Mike (Lindsay) we’ve got to take our hats off to for the overall sound.

Comparing De l’autre côté to your earlier albums, Nord and Une fille, how would you describe the evolution of your musical style?

LC: There’s a great difference in sound to each of the albums, which surely influenced the style – or maybe it’s the other way round? Nord was very rock, and I was singing with this big operatic voice at the time. For Une fille, which I made with Dan Levy (The Do), I went to the other extreme and made everything digitally (apart from acoustic guitars). De l’autre côté is kind of the middle ground between these two extremes. We’ve kept some of the electronic sound of Une fille but used only analog synthesizers and effects. I have also simplified the way I’m singing – it’s more pure, honest. I guess each album is a reflection of my personality at the time. 

You’ve cited filmmakers like Lars Von Trier and Christopher Nolan as inspirations. How did these cinematic references influence your approach to songwriting and production?

LC: I have quite cinematic visions of songs as I write them; vivid images are constantly evolving in my head. In terms of production, we tried to match some of these images, sometimes with sounds and arrangements that could be described as cinematic and even pretty epic – I’m thinking of songs like Les ombres or Puisque tu pars, with the strings and various synth parts. In terms of writing, I remember the emotional shock that Von Trier’s Melancholia created in me, which inspired me to write a lot, especially hopeful songs, as in the film there really is no hope at all!

Photo Credit: Laura Cahen by June Tamo-Collin

De l’autre côté tackles complex topics like the climate crisis and transhumanism. What do you hope listeners take away regarding these issues?

LC: When I’m writing, I’m not expecting anything or thinking about whether my words will have an impact or not – I just need them to come out. If they do have an influence on people, then I would be happy, but I don’t claim to change the world with my songs. Having said that, if the songs can plant seeds and make people think, make them want to slow down and/or protest, then that would be amazing.

Women are the primary inspiration behind this project. How important is it for you to center the female voice in your music?

LC: Really important! As a woman who loves women, I am very concerned with equality and feminism, and it is natural to speak from my own point of view. Also, because I have this platform as a female singer-songwriter, it seems important and necessary to do so. I also like to include other women in my various teams—whether they are musicians, video directors, or technicians – because we are still the minority, and it’s good to provide role models for young girls and show them it’s possible to do these jobs.

You emphasised the use of physical instruments and analogue synthesizers. What drew you to this approach?

LC: I wanted to use physical and analogue instruments because I love how they sound – warm, organic, and timeless. That’s what drew me to working with Mike, because I loved the sound of the albums he made with LUMP. I also like the small accidents that these instruments can bring, as well as their human-ness.

JS: Working with these instruments was also great to give us a framework and some creative constraints!

Tracks like “Fusées” and “Les Astres” carry distinct emotional and musical tones. Can you walk us through your creative process for these songs, from initial idea to final production?

 LC: I started writing the lyrics for Fusées while walking in the streets of Avignon one night. Some months later, I began improvising on this 7-beat guitar riff. I suddenly remembered the lyrics and wondered whether they could work together. And they did! I asked Josephine to help me place them in a melody above the riff, and then she added the second synth part, which made it sound like a Steve Reich piece.

JS: That really felt like a "Eureka!" kind of moment. Once we’d found the chord sequence and the melody, the song was born in just a few minutes. We then took it to Mike, recorded our parts on guitar and synths, he added a beat and some bass, and there we had it.

LC: We put the final touches by adding some sampled voices, real drums, and the strings. For Les Astres, the process was a little less fluid, more piece by piece. I started again with the guitar riff, sang along to it, found the first words and tune, but it took a while to settle on the chorus. Josephine helped me with that, as well as with the middle 8.

 JS: This one was less obvious, also in terms of production. We tried a lot of different things before getting it right. Even for the string arrangement, we had different versions. And then, in terms of the mix, it was also a bit of a challenge, as we packed a lot of stuff into the same frequency areas. But we’re really happy with the final result!

The album invites listeners to cross metaphorical thresholds, from love to dystopian landscapes. What does “the other side” represent for you personally and artistically?

 LC: It represents the unknown, physical or metaphysical – the things that are hidden from us and are mysterious, that we want to discover: like a better place across the border or the sea, a lover’s heart, or even our own subconscious…

De l’autre côté By Laura Cahen is out now via [PIAS] Recordings. Please see above for details of her upcoming tour.