In Review: Laura Cahen

Photo Credit: Anna Dallas

Laura Cahen travelled from Nancy, Northern France to celebrate the release of her album ‘De l’autre côté’, which came out in January 2025 and was produced in England – her Uk tour completing a full circle journey. Although many different

musicians had a role in the production of this album, the band are playing as a two piece throughout this tour: Laura Cahen and Josephine Stephenson, co-producer, travelling companion and six armed instrumentalist who is the tour sized version of what was 8 musicians in the studio.

Their gig in Bristol was to be played at The Cube, which was the perfect venue to accommodate the intimate nature of the performance. Laura began by introducing herself, in a French accent, before dumbing it down for her English audience, phonetically pronouncing her name: “LOOR-AH”. Apart from the first and last songs, the set consisted completely of tracks from the new album, the context of which was explained in broken English between the

songs: two women who are star-crossed lovers are forced to leave their home due to the nature of their love being socially unacceptable. Through the performance of the album, we are immersed in a journey of love, hate and the search for peace.

One of the first highlights of the set was a song called ‘Fusées’. It began with what could only be described as noises of an extraterrestrial ambience, soon accompanied by soft harmonies that filled the stage and an ascending guitar picking

that reverberated behind the gentle fuzz of feedback, which sounded like the tide of the sea on a pebbly beach. All these subtle but incredibly atmospheric noises created a soundscape that yearned for discovery. This was reinforced by a

countdown whispered in the background until the song was concluded that was very reflective of the message of the album – that these lovers must leave their home and enter into the unknown, like astronauts into space.

The song ‘Quitter la ville’ (Leave Town) explores this idea more directly. This track confronts harsh realities faced by people in homosexual relationships who are forced to show strength in the face of hostility. The two lovers being presented on this album are, in this song, forced to leave their home. The tempo of the song is set by the fast paced kick beat of an electronic drum machine, which could represent the adrenaline rising in this moment of departure. Playful synthesised tones maintain an upbeat sense of promise which is all complemented by Josephine and Laura’s perfect vocal harmonising, hammering home a feeling of hope. In ‘Quitter la ville’, and many of Laura’s other songs, Laura has found a perfect equilibrium between experimenting with synthesised features and more traditional folk-like aspects of

musicianship, which has enabled a unique path of exploration in a sort of minimalistic yet unconventional sound.

‘La Maison’, which means ‘the home’ in English, invoked a deep sense of nostalgia. Running through the record is a theme of being made to feel alien but showing strength in this hardship nonetheless. In this song, however, Laura concedes to a longing for home. The track begins with a clear, warm guitar arrangement that immediately feels more inviting than the other songs which seem to be on their own journey into the unknown.

Cahen’s tentative vocals come in, soon followed by piano notes and then the soft drone of a synthesiser, more reflective than extraterrestrial. A slow and heavy drumbeat enters, providing a heartbeat to the tune, making the song a human

experience expelling the lingering feeling of alienation, as beautiful as it was. ‘La Maison’ and ‘Quitter la ville’ offer a powerful contrast in emotions, one oozing hope and resilience, the other a solemn grounding in reality. This contrast depicts Laura Cahen’s deep understanding of human nature and her ability to represent this

understanding musically.

Language was no barrier in this gig, for Laura Cahen needed only the set of instruments at her disposal and the super Josephine Stephenson to deliver such an angelically beautiful set. This performance invited us into an incredibly personal story made even more so by the sensitive, empathetic performance.