Aside from being a two-time Grammy Award recipient with a musical career spanning three decades, Angélique Kidjo was also named among the '40 Most Powerful Celebrities In Africa' by Forbes Magazine, one of 50 African icons by the BBC, and among the world’s 100 most-inspiring women by The Guardian.
Coming off the back of 'Eve', which won a Grammy this year for 'Best World Music' album, Angélique is moving forward with a new album titled 'Sings'. Working with the Luxembourg Philharmonic Orchestra and renowned conductor and composer Gast Waltzing, Angélique seamlessly blends traditional African music and rhythms with European classical music.
Passionate about more than music, Angélique has been a strong campaigner and activist for many causes throughout the years. She has been a UNICEF Ambassador since 2002, has campaigned with Oxfam and established her own non-profit called the Batonga Foundation, which aims to provide education for African girls.
Strong, passionate and determined, Angélique is as inspirational in her music as she is with her advocacy and activism.
A lot of popular music has roots in Africa (be it jazz, blues or rumba). Is it important to you as a musician to be conscious and in touch with those roots?
Yes! I feel it is my musical mission on this earth. I was raised in Benin, West Africa surrounded by traditional music, but also by Western music coming with the vinyls my brothers would bring home. I noticed the common ground; the hypnotic groove that makes you want to move. I learnt by then about the history of slavery and how the African rhythms travel to the Americas. It inspired me to build a bridge between those cultures that had been separated for hundreds of years.
You also have crossed over into numerous genres in your music. Do you feel that it's important for musicians to broaden and expand their boundaries?
I am getting so easily bored! I can’t imagine doing the same album over and over. I need challenges, I need to improve my skills and discover new music and the amazing people who produce it. Recently I have been working with Philip Glass and that was a real vocal challenge but I loved it!
What other African artists have you been listening to who have impressed you?
I have been listening to so many. During my childhood, Congolese music was so popular with artists like Tabu Ley Rochereau and Franco. Then I discovered Salif Keita with his album 'Soro' which had a lasting influence on me. Then Youssou N’Dour album 'Set' was a favourite for me. Now there are great young artists like Asa who I love!
What prompted you to work with the Luxembourg Philharmonic Orchestra on your latest album?
A new challenge and a love for the strings. Singing inside a classical orchestra is magical. You’re surrounded by a sea of instruments. Beautiful sounds and melodies coming from everywhere. It allows me to explore new sides of my voice. I feel like flying on top of the harmonies of the Orchestra.
You've collaborated with a lot of different artists over your career from Carlos Santana to Josh Groban. Who has been your favourite people to work with and why?
Impossible to say! I don’t say this to be polite: it is true. I’ve been blessed to collaborate with such great talents who share a common trait: an interest and much respect for the culture of Africa. I know it is a bit of a cliche but it is true. Music is a universal language so those collaborations felt so natural, organic. Maybe because as we talked about, Africa is a common source of all modern music.
You've performed all over the world, including the 2010 World Cup in South Africa and the Nobel Peace Prize Concert. What is the most memorable or special concert you've played?
So many good memories! A lot of them in Australia too, at the Sydney Opera House for instance, but also in small clubs when I first came here almost 25 years ago. One of my most important concerts, as I talked about it in my memoir, is my first concert in Cotonou after all these years of exile. My reputation had grown outside Benin, so 20,000 came to see the concert at the stadium. it was such a celebration. I had my whole family around me.
What was it like working with conductor and composer Gast Waltzing?
I learnt a lot from Gast. He is in this very unique position that he belongs to two musical worlds. The classical and jazz. It allows him to be the link between the orchestra and me. The feeling of rhythm in the classical world is so much different than in African music. I had to adapt and the orchestra had to adapt. I feel we found a great common ground, don’t you think? That is the talent of Gast.
You worked with your husband, Jean Hebrail, who has been a long-time producer and collaborator with you on this latest album. Do you feel working with him brings something special and more personal to your albums?
We have been working together since we were music students in a jazz school in Paris, so we breath the same passion for traditional, African music and for multiple ways to modernise it. But also we make sure we always involve new producers, arrangers and great musicians in our collaboration so we can extend our vision to new horizons. Our daughter calls us “partners in crime”! She is right, we’re partners in musical crimes that always go against what people are expecting me to do!
You speak very fondly of your father in numerous interviews. Do you feel he has influenced your humanitarian, philanthropic and activist work?
Yes. For sure. I was lucky to grow up in a very special family with a very special dad. I didn’t realise it at the time. The emphasis on education, on self respect, and on the importance of being open-minded about other cultures was really unique at the time. It allowed me to accomplish my dream of being a singer. Now I want to give back and try to do all that I can so every, little girl on the continent will have the same opportunities as I did.
What motivated you in getting involved with UNICEF as a Goodwill Ambassador?
UNICEF approached me in 2002 and I understood how crucial UNICEF had been during my childhood thanks to the vaccination campaigns. I thought that I could be helpful, being a voice coming from the continent so maybe the message could be carried out with more power. I have to be honest also, and it is true with a lot of humanitarian work, these travels and the people you meet enrich you so much. You have to be aware that aid is going both ways. Let’s make sure the people we are trying to help are not bringing us more, in terms of life experience and wisdom, than what we’re bringing them.
You've done a lot of advocacy work over the years such as founding The Batonga Foundation for educating African girls, working with the International Federation For Human Rights in campaigning for Africa For Women's Rights to name a few. What has been your proudest or most notable achievement in this realm?
When I am meeting some of girls supported by the Batonga Foundation and I see that over the years their confidence in themselves has improved, I feel so proud. It is a small step but maybe one of those girls is going the be president of Benin one day! What are you most looking forward to in 2015? So many great projects and concerts! But you know that my best moments are happening on stage when I’m singing for [and with] my fans! Those moments are so precious to me. It is heaven on earth!
'Sings' is released on 27 March.
Written by Peter Thrupp
Angélique Kidjo Tour Dates
Sat 4 Apr - Brisbane PowerhouseSun 5 Apr - Bluesfest (Byron Bay)
Mon 6 Apr - Bluesfest (Byron Bay)
Wed 8 Apr - Canberra Theatre Centre
Sun 12 Apr - Sydney Opera House w/ Mavis Staples
Fri 10 Apr - Recital Centre (Melbourne)
