Chantal Passamonte / Mira Calix (1970-2022) :: A Remembrance

It is fair to say the frequency in which Chantal’s selflessness and kindness always shone was palpable, leaving everlasting impressions on friends to fans and artists alike. A true loss to the community in many spaces, who will undoubtedly be remembered for their joyous passion, curious enthusiasm and kind nature.

“Take me to the sunshine…”

Last week saw the untimely passing of Chantal Passamonte, also better known to many as Mira Calix. Gathering our thoughts and composure we at Igloo want to express our profound gratitude for her work in the many spaces she touched and inspired, be it music, art, activism – you name it, whatever Chantal was involved in, she maximized all her efforts there to create something unique and wonderful. What we would also like to pay tribute to is her human nature as we share accounts from friends and fellow artists that were fortunate to connect with Chantal over the years.

Most will be familiar with her music released on Warp from as early as 1996 all the way up to last year. A dense back-catalog expressing a mixture of vocal sound design practices, along with broken percussion and otherworldly droned out synthesis tipping on an orchestral note.

For those reading that might not be fully up to speed on Mira Calix releases—we highly recommend the classics, One On One and Skimskitta—the prior featuring varied mixes and editions from earlier EPs. As with deep-diving the discography, sometimes it is just best to start from the beginning and take the journey the artist took themselves. Mira Calix’s trip is filled with rewarding triumphs from the early releases all the way through to Utopia, and her final release a̶b̶s̶e̶n̶t̶ origin.

What we see in progression is thought-provoking themes as Chantal began incorporating expressions from other fields she had delved into over the years. Commissioned works include opera, installations, dance choreography and video art.

Dialling into all of these styles, she performed a̶b̶s̶e̶n̶t̶ origin / freedom of movement at Tate Modern’s Tate Lates in the autumn of 2021 on the run up to the release. The album explores the theme of collage and it’s borders with one of the biggest questions of our time—who gets to cross them? A choreographed piece included dancers and mezzo soprano Rosie Middleton, who not only sang to the morse code sound design, but signaled using the International Code Flags system for Man Overboard.

mira calix at tate modern from mira calix on Vimeo.

Supporting act from that evening Elsa Hewitt spoke to Igloo and reflects on her interactions with Chantal:

“I shared a dressing room with her and all her dancers at the Tate and left a t-shirt which she accidentally took home. I went looking for it and traced it back to her, I didn’t want her to go to that much effort but she very generously posted it back to me a week or two later along with a kind message or two. The first time I met her was backstage at the Village Underground where her and Kirk Barley were supporting Plaid. So personable and curious. She followed us both on Insta and has remained a friend since then. It’s rare to meet someone so open and respectful and ultimately loving, especially in those environments. She was a rare and beautiful human and it’s truly sad that we’ve lost her so early.“ ~ Elsa Hewitt (Avant-garde pop artist)

Photo Credit: Nancy Brown

“Kevin Foakes aka DJ Food shared their thoughts and some early photos via Ninja Tune and has allowed his words here, “Thinking of my friend Chantal Passamonte today, known as Mira Calix to some. We shared a house together in the early 90s and did ambient events under the Telepathic Fish name for several years along with fellow housemates David Vallade and Mario Aguera. Above is the only photo I have of the four of us together, outside the house in East Dulwich, about to load the van up and set off for Amsterdam to do the Triple X festival in 1994. We started our careers in that house, she with Warp and I with Ninja Tune and naturally went on our own forks in life, occasionally bumping into each other over the years at gigs and galleries where she was doing something when she moved into that sector. She brought people together, helped them, organized, she was a force for good in the world. I can’t believe she’s gone. My thoughts go out to her family, friends and partner, Andy.” ~ Kevin Foakes aka DJ Food

Photo Credit: Kevin Foakes

“Originally a conversation had started over a mutual love for PJ Harvey, over 3 yrs or so ago and then messaging ensued threw Instagram DM’s. I’m sure I had initially bogged her down with random questions about music production and her experiences with working and releasing music for Warp, but eventually just random stuff about music mostly. What I found most endearing about Chantal is she tried her best to always respond, and even if it wasn’t an immediate one, she always answered, and apologized for not answering sooner. Eventually in mid 2021 I asked Chantal if she would mind sending me some vocal samples / interview snippets for personal and collaborative efforts, and she didn’t hesitate… For some, this very small gesture wouldn’t mean much, but for me that one exchange was very inspiring and very impactful….” ~ OSSA (Electronic artist)

 

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Radio broadcasts have also gone out too—on the weekend Kayla Painter transmitted a one-hour special on Worldwide FM asking about her influences she had to say:

 

“Mira contributed such an awful lot to the experimental and electronic scene, the arts world, and was a force of good to everyone I’ve ever spoken to about her. To say she contributed to the scene doesn’t really do her justice, she paved the way for people to throw the rules out the window, she made meaningful art, powerful art, and her approach was unique and admirable. As a fellow woman in the electronic/experimental world I have known about Mira’s work since I started out, having her as an inspiration from my early days opening up a DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) made me feel it was possible and fine to create work regardless of where I’m from and the fact I’m a woman. More recently I’d become friends with her and we began talking about what it means to create great art, and how to continue being an artist in today’s challenging world. Talking to her first hand about her approach but also about issues that we face due to the government only ever made me understand her art more. She was a genuine person who was honest, kind and down to earth, and knowing her from role model to friend was a great privilege.” ~ Kayla Painter (Electronic artist & Worldwide FM host)

It is fair to say the frequency in which Chantal’s selflessness and kindness always shone was palpable, leaving everlasting impressions on friends to fans and artists alike. A true loss to the community in many spaces, who will undoubtedly be remembered for their joyous passion, curious enthusiasm and kind nature.

Chantal Passamonte, 1970-2022