Camac Blog
Nabila Chajai and her musical Madeleines
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December 16, 2024
Nabila Chajai, a harpist celebrated for her breathtaking skill and musicality both as a soloist and in orchestras, whether playing her vintage Erard harp or her gleaming Camac, experienced a lull between projects this summer. In her quest to overcome her natural hesitance towards social media, she devised a series of daily recorded ‘Madeleines’ to share on her social media platforms.
Nabila works on a Madeleine in her home studio
Rather like the delicacy, which originated in France but is beloved worldwide, each madeleine meticulously transcribed, practised, and recorded offers listeners a delicious moment in their day. Now, as we move into December, this project, enhanced by the dazzling illustrations of her sister, Ghizlène, has been refreshed. This time, it includes not only her favourite songs but also those requested by her audience! We spoke with Nabila (while she was busy with the Orchestre du Capitole Toulouse) to learn more about the project which, “allowed me to have real social network communication while remaining myself, show who I was, what I liked and my different passions”
How did you come up with the idea of pursuing this project? Is it about beating the algorithm, which can work against artists?
“For the last few years, I’ve felt the great need to develop my personal projects much more,to be master of my own projects. And to be able to do that, of course, you also need to understand how to present yourself and your projects.
It also seemed obvious that I needed to learn how to use these social networks, which are absolutely not the tools of my generation but the communication tools of our time; I found it very (too) time-consuming and meaningless, in fact, and I couldn’t find my way around.
But this summer, I had a lot of time on my hands. The idea came to me spontaneously while sorting out my apartment: to motivate me in this sorting out, I listened to the songs I liked a lot, and I naturally plunged back into my memories….
But in fact we all have a favorite playlist, and the idea of making a playlist and having real content with meaning, a real, regular, spontaneous and authentic artistic proposal came to me, and the madeleines were born!
What was it like to prepare and share so much repertoire, so quickly and spontaneously?
“The experience was both exciting and challenging. As the idea was born a week before the start of the madeleines, I had almost no arrangements for the non-classical pieces on the list. I made myself a provisional timetable based on the difficulty, and therefore the time that certain pieces would require, to try and anticipate at least a few days ahead.
So the day started at 6:30 a.m., and from 7:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m., I sat down in my local café to write the arrangements. When I got home, I practised from 10 am to 11:30 am and then from 11:30 am to 1 pm. I’d start recording, and since I didn’t edit anything, I could really spend two hours recording a four-minute piece right up to the smallest mistake would occur. Then I’d take a break, and at 3 pm, I’d start to work again for the next day’s recording, starting at 5 pm.
We had to start presenting Madeleine visually, so we had to use editing applications for the credits, which I had designed with illustrations by my sister, Ghizlène Chajai.
Madeleines are individually illustrated by Nabila’s sister ©Ghizlène_Chajai
Another challenge with the traditional madeleines was breaking free from the conditioning of the classical system, particularly after years of orchestral competitions: the pressure to avoid mistakes was immense! Embracing creativity and playing musically by putting your guts into it are risk-taking and well worth a few errors in the process.”
Do you have a favourite Madeleine? I know they’re all your favorites!
“To sum up, when the last Madeleine was recorded, I had a cry of joy and relief at having reached the end of the project and not having given up, as it was very hard to keep up physically and mentally with the work, the arrangements, the recording, the publication, and all that in a very short time. I felt immense happiness.
If I had to choose a top 7, I’d say Portishead’s Glory Box, Bowie’s Life on Mars, Mecano’s Hijo de la Luna, Gainsbourg’s Parce Que, Stevie Wonder’s The Secret Life of Plants, Marcel Khalife’s Asfour….And for the beauty of the shared moment, the last collective “Ya Rayah” by Rachid Taha.”
I hear you’re open to requests for your next setlist… Can you tell me more about that?
“The idea is to take this project as far as possible, in different forms, not just virtual ones. There are already several playlists; the next one will be in December and will be made up of madeleines from people who have followed the project: whoever wanted to send me a list of 3 of their madeleines, I selected some to make up a Christmas list! Each day, a participant will receive “their” madeleine as a gift! The next playlist is also in the pipeline for February, on a very specific theme.
Another important aspect of the project is the artistic collaboration with the artist Ghizlène Chajai, who happens to be my sister. She designed an illustrated madeleine for each track on the 1st playlist. To showcase her work on the networks, we’ve come up with a Madeleine recognition game this month.
The idea, long-term, is to propose an exhibition, invent a new form of concert around these madeleines…basically, we’ll be developing this idea as much as possible, because it’s close to our hearts.”
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