Lily Chou Chou
All About Lily Chou Chou

Ether = lit. pure air, sky. - cosmic, according to a past physical theory, a very light, transparent, and impenetrable substance, which, occupying every part of the universe, serves as a medium for the propagation of energy. The purest part of space, beyond the Earth's atmosphere. [Italian language dictionary Gabrielli]

Well, the music of Lily Chou Chou (pseudonym of the Japanese singer Saylu, who wrote and performed under this name the pieces of the superb film "All About Lily Chou Chou" from 2001) is ethereal, Lily Chou Chou herself is ether. Indeed, it is rare nowadays to find someone who can penetrate the listener's soul, transforming it into atmospheres and suspensions. The voice is crystalline, surprisingly beautiful and angelic, perhaps even beyond the conception of angelic. Lily's voice is unique.

No, I'm not exaggerating. When you dive into the world of Saylu or Lily Chou Chou, you get lost, because it is music that comes from within, requiring only a brief and intense glance to enchant. Just seemingly trivial phrases like "I See You, You See Me, I'm In You And You're In Me" are enough to understand that this is art: a true love story between emotion and music, where the two human arts merge into a single melody that flows into the whispers and torments of this interesting woman, who is an angel, who is ether.

She speaks to us of eroticism, without being vulgar, and tells it in a poetic and dreamlike way, as if she were a child discovering the magic of love for the first time ("Erotic"), she shows us that love does not require concentration but only experimentation: just recognizing oneself in the beloved's eyes to find that spark from which everything is born ("Experiment Of Love") and finally, she tells us about sadness and desolation without becoming depressed ("Wings That Can't Fly") and lets us savor her wonderful world made of neon lights and rarefied atmospheres ("Arabesque", the spectacular opening of this soundtrack album).

Ether, neon. Lily is the woman of the senses: she makes us experience them all. Even taste and touch: with the arrival of "Erotic" you can even touch that flesh of desire, feel the warm surface of a human back, while you can taste an intense strawberry flavor on your tongue. With "Gilde" you penetrate into the sand with its oriental atmospheres, with its flavor of almonds and chocolate.

In short, it is music for the senses, which cannot simply be a background, but aims to be (and succeeds) music that goes beyond the rules themselves. Moving.

Recommended for those who love music that can fully engage.

(even Tarantino was enchanted, convincing the Japanese girl to record the unreleased "Wounds That Heal" under the pseudonym Lily Chou Chou for the soundtrack of Kill Bill. A prayer of not even three minutes that tears the heart and throws it away. Tears and blood. Ether)