Growing up in a coastal town just east of Marseille, the sea defined Caro’s childhood. “The landscape is a big inspiration for the album in terms of mood,” she notes. Across the expansive 14-track project, songs ebb and flow in intensity, ranging from washes of ambient synth to busier beat-and-bass tracks that buoy Caro’s ethereal vocal melodies. The form of the album is more akin to a journal filled with scribbled diary entries; moments in time that capture a single idea or emotion. “The title is ‘Heartbeats/Heartbreaks’ isn’t necessarily a romantic idea,” she explains. “It’s more the idea that it’s okay to be super sensitive. Good, even. If your heart breaks, then your heart beats. If you’re willing to take a risk and be vulnerable, you also find truth and beauty, even in the sadness. I’m a very sensitive person, I don’t mean that in a fragile sense, but the only thing that really matters to me is to be in touch with my emotions and to exchange emotions with the outside, that’s what I find exciting.”
Caro’s upbringing in the remote stillness of coastal France has also deeply shaped her relationship to creativity. “I value the fact that I grew up in that bubble because as time stands still there, it really feels like a dream most of the time and I’ve been infused with that,” she explains. “I also feel like an outsider having grown up in a place where there’s no cultural industries, and I like that very much. I didn’t know the difference between a songwriter, a producer or a composer as a kid so I didn’t build these boundaries in my head”
With a musical upbringing that ranged from classical piano and vocal training to a keen interest in music production, Caro’s solo artist project is remarkably self-sufficient. “I’ve always written songs on my own, on the piano and then the computer when I was a teenager,” she recalls. “Some tracks on the album are a few years old or have been rearranged into new songs. I recently had a clearer idea of how to put everything together and now it makes sense to me as a whole.” Despite some more experimental tendencies, the project is a pop one in essence, influenced by many different genres: some beats more inspired by R&B and hip hop, others more singer/songwriter and even some inspired by emotive film scores. The project also signals a turning point in Caro’s self-confidence as an autonomous artist. “I needed to get to the point where I could just do things without questioning my impulses, without needing someone else to lean on and with the intent to do what I wanted whilst accepting the imperfections of the work and of myself. I love the DIY ethos and I am very attached to singularity.”
A founding member of the neo-shoegaze outfit Planet 1999, Caro — alongside bandmates Charles and Alex — were the first full band signed to PC Music, where they released their debut ‘Devotion’ EP. Lauded by the press, including Dazed who praised their “taste for sharp, melodic songwriting and, crucially, emphasis on emotion”, the EP cemented both the band as a key rising group to watch and their label as a powerhouse of talent. As Planet 1999, the group also collaborated with Charli XCX on her album Charli and supported labelmate Hannah Diamond on her French tour.
‘Heartbeats/Heartbreaks’ is out on PC Music in spring 2021
