Le Bain: Tell us about the night you fell in love with House music...
COLETTE: When I was in fifth grade, I used to do my homework and listen to the Hot Mix 5 on the radio. I remember listening to White Horse and thinking it was cool that someone wrote a song about a horse (so young and innocent!). At ten years old I didn't understand the real meaning of the lyrics, but ultimately the track is what grabbed my attention.
Colette Hotwire
When was the last time you experienced that same feeling?
I tend to fall in love with music on a daily basis. Even though I strictly play House, I keep my ears open to all genres. A song that recently stopped me in my tracks was Odesza's Keep Her Close. I was really drawn to the vocal textures, it's a gorgeous song.
You started your music career in the mid 1990's in Chicago, a period of time which was very prolific for dance music. What are your best memories?
Going to Gramaphone Records to search for vinyl. You'd hang out, talk shop, and just be silly for hours. It was more than a record store, it was family. At that time the only way to get your music was to dig for it. Nothing was better than the moment you finally found the record you were looking for.
Colette Live from Austin
Do you sing “This is our time, the feeling is right” on Best of Days, the opener of your last album (2013), which Billboard described as an ‘anti-nostalgia’ song. Musically what is your best reason not to be nostalgic in the beginning of 2015? What are you looking forward to?
All irony aside, it's the ten year anniversary of my first album Hypnotized and I wanted to celebrate this project with some new remixes. I perform live mashups of the Hypnotized songs in my sets and thought it would be fun to give them a proper rework for 2015. So it's a slight dash of nostalgia (laughs).
What is a recent work of art that really inspired you lately?
I have a 3-year-old and we are constantly drawing on the sidewalk. The fun thing about hanging out with little kids is they have no fear and are open to express every feeling. If you're ever feeling frustrated get a bunch of chalk and draw like a maniac all over the sidewalk. It's crazy fun.
