CleArly CleAr Connie Cottus (left) and Fabien “Fa” Bruneau while recording their debut album at Legend Music recording studio in Phuket.
WORD ON PHUKET MUSIC SCENE: As I opened the door into the studio my ears were greeted by a clear beautiful female voice with a happy disposition singing a contemporary upbeat folky song.
The voice belonged to Connie Cottus, one half of the duo ‘CleArly CleAr’, who emerged from behind a sliding partition after completing the song.
Connie’s voice had reminded me of Dadawa but the song she was singing had a regular rhythm, and when she appeared from behind the screen separating the recording booth, her appearance almost exactly fitted the image her voice had conjured in my mind.
Sitting on the studio’s couch, cradling a guitar, was Fabien “Fa” Bruneau, a soft-spoken French man and the other half of ‘CleArly CleAr’.
Through various twists of fate, the pair have become well known in China, where they regularly perform live to big crowds. Now armed with a record contract, Clearly Clear were in Phuket to record the vocals, guitars and bass lines for their first full album of their own material and had commandeered Phuket-based Legend Music producer Gary Crause to manage their recording sessions and put everything together.
Currently based in Chiang Mai, the pair came to Phuket specifically to record songs at Legend Music for their upcoming 11-track debut album “On The Spurr Of The Moment”. They are now in the process of completing their Album with producer Rob Ascough, in Jakarta and Hong-Kong”.
CleArly CleAr with Gary Crause at Legend Music
Although Connie and Fa found it difficult to put a specific label on their unique brand of music, one thing clear about CleArly CleAr is that they are true musicians who have allowed their lives to be directed by the flow of their music, rather than trying to fit in to any particular genre for the masses.
Their acoustic compositions could be described as a brand of modern folk pop-rock but that would almost be too rigid for their eclectic collection of very listenable songs. Perhaps their music is best described as ‘pure artistic expression’.
For example, the punky pop-rock feel of FuKushima is very different to the soft sounds of Alana.
Before they met and formed a musical partnership in 2009, Connie, a multi-lingual, multi-talented singer and performance artist had been traveling and performing in major cities around the world, recently spending several years touring in China.
Originally from Panama, Connie is well traveled, spending periods of her life in Luxembourg, Brussels, Hong Kong, Madrid, Beijing and Singapore.
“Fa, on the other hand, was born in Versailles and admits to being a country boy who grew up in the French countryside in the Loire Valley. He was anchored in the artistic world in all its aspects at a very young age, expressing himself through theater, poetry, photography and architecture. However, music is hos first love.
The pair formed their partnership when Connie visited France and met Fa. They began composing and performing together, taking it in turns to compose whenever the inspiration comes.
Follow CleArly CleAr on Facebook or visit their MySpace page to hear more tunes.
