With over 42 million streams for her music so far, rising Dutch star Celine Cairo is poised for her international breakthrough with spellbinding new single Panacea, out January 9th – the title track and lead single from her forthcoming third album set for release on June 18th.
Complete with cello, synths and 12 string guitar Panacea is a spine-tingling depiction of life coming sharply into focus. Written after a month-long, solo trip to Asia last year that signalled a rebirth for the singer, Panacea was partly recorded on Wurlitzer piano at Celine’s home in Amsterdam with her partner and co-producer, the multi-instrumentalist Benjamin Rheinlander. India Bourne, a member of Ben Howard’s band, plays cello.
“I wrote Panacea about coming home to myself, after an exceptionally rough time,” says Celine. “The song is about landing in the present moment and dissolving the notion that there is a cure for our human condition. So many people are searching for healing, trying to better themselves. Letting go of that quest altogether made me the freest I’ve ever felt.”
Nature has long been a feature of Celine’s songs, but on the upcoming new album it’s omnipresent – weather, rivers, skies, sunrise, snow, even an abyss, on the edge of which she dances – as a metaphor for freedom, fresh starts and fearlessness.
‘My head is above the water now’ sings Celine on Panacea, an emotional rollercoaster of a song, to capture the sensation of a great weight lifting from her. The song’s stunning video was shot in Norway’s Folgefonna National Park last year. “Mountains, skies, water, clouds – we got a lot of nature in there,” says Celine.
As ever, taking centre stage on the song is Celine’s arresting, otherworldly voice, a force of nature in itself. In her teens, that voice won her a competition to perform at New York’s Carnegie Hall and Amsterdam’s Royal Concertgebouw and earned her a place at Amsterdam’s prestigious Conservatory and slots on Dutch TV.
Just before Christmas, she was back on TV for her most prestigious performance yet – to sing at two concerts backed by the internationally-renowned Metropole Orchestra, whose previous collaborators include Jacob Collier and Rufus Wainwright. The broadcast attracted an audience of more than two million.
While Celine’s audience abroad has grown organically, last year it exploded unexpectedly online, with her songs going viral on streaming and social media.
“It’s been crazy,” says Celine. “I posted some videos of me playing live and suddenly they were being shared everywhere. It really has been the greatest gift. The timing couldn’t be better for Panacea. I can’t wait to get started all over again.”
TITLE TRACK ‘PANACEA’ IS OUT JANUARY 9TH, PRE-SAVE HERE
ALBUM ‘PANACEA’ IS OUT JUNE 18TH
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