LYCORIS (vinyl)

Description

The first encounter with Wysteria's music immediately resonated as an obvious choice for Stéphane Grégoire, founder and artistic director of the label ici d'ailleurs. Spotted by Matt Elliott during a concert in the Grand-Est region, the sincerity of her lyrics and the voice of this young artist from Nancy captivated and impressed many listeners. It must be said that Wysteria radiates when she is on stage. Behind a fragile and sensitive figure hides astonishing strength. From a family of artists, Cyann is only 19 years old and already seems perfectly at ease with her art and the industry's codes. Her first album "Lycoris" will be released in 2024, preceded by two EPs, the first of which will be in November 2023. A multi-instrumentalist, Wysteria has been a music hyperactive since a very young age. She started by learning the harp at four, then the violin at seven at the Nancy Conservatory. Curious and passionate, Cyann then taught herself piano and acoustic guitar, two instruments that are now central to her creative process. A singer and composer, Wysteria juggles influences and references, inheriting a light folk and a more modern chamber pop, evoking both Joanna Newsom and a certain Billie Eilish. While Cyann is naturally gifted at composing, she is also an excellent lyricist. Weightless, often melancholic, sometimes more joyful as on "You're Lying", the songs that make up the album "Lycoris" remain coherent through their themes. Thus, love and doubts ("Love"), relationships with others and existence ("Alone with people"), and the anxieties of her youth ("Addiction, Mom") are frequently explored subjects for Wysteria. Comfortable in both English and French, her lyrics are also a tribute to nature and life. On this first album, all tracks are sung in English except for the magnificent "Jasmine", one of the essential tracks of this debut album, enhanced by the mixing and arrangement work of sound engineer David Chalmin (Gaspard Claus, Shannon Wright, The National...). The most fundamental elements are thus successively evoked: fire ("flamme"), rain ("Rain"), wind ("Love") are inexhaustible sources of inspiration for Wysteria, who often manages to associate simple images with complex and intimate sensations and emotions. "Lycoris" is not a sugary pop album full of artifice; Wysteria's high-pitched vocal lines are always drawn with a plaintive yet deeply authentic tone.