BLICK BASSY: MUSIC IS MY EVERYTHING...

Blick was born in 1974 to parents of the bassa tribe of Cameroon and grew up in Yaounde, the capital town where the dominant languages are English & French.

By the age of 17, he created his first music band named the Jazz Crew with their sound being a fusion of African melodies, jazz and bossa nova. With this, they quickly became a very sought after band in town.

In 1996, he went on to form a new band called Macase. During almost 10 fruitful years together, Macase released two acclaimed albums, Etam (1999) and Doulou (2003), as well as picking up various regional and international awards, including the RFI Prize for World Music (2001), Best Group by MASA (2001), Best New African Group by the KORA Awards (2003) and the CICIBA Prize (2003).

In 2005, Bassy decides to leave Macase and moves to Paris where he starts working with Manu Dibango, Cheikh Tidiane Seck, Lokua Kanza and Etienne Mbappé. A few years later he signs to the World Connection label and he finally gets to do work on his solo album, Léman which is in stores in the UK monday April 20th.

As a promotion of the album launch, Dulce Camer caught up with the man himself for a little chat and here below is what he had to say.
Happy reading y'all!

DC: Your Song “Nlela”, what language is it sung in?
BB: It is sung in the Bassa language.

DC: What does it talk about?
BB: It talks about, erm, the importance of the older generation. They are the guide, they have the knowledge and we have to respect them. They know how life is and that is why we have to be respectful towards them.

DC: Are all your songs sung in this dialect? Why?
BB: Yes. Because I am from the Bassa tribe and it is very important to sing in our dialects as you know in Cameroon we have 260 dialects and 2 national languages. If we don’t keep our languages in song especially, they tend to disappear. Another reason for me singing in my dialect is that it brings a new intonation in the melody.

DC: Living with your grandparents, what did you learn from them?
BB: I learnt my traditional Bassa music such as assiko, bolobo, hongo and many other rythmns. I also learnt the real way to speak my dialect and other aspects of my tradition. As well as fishing and hunting in the forest.

DC: Your mother taught you to sing, how does she feel about your career today?
BB: My mother passed away some years ago so she didn’t get to see me use this music.

DC: oh, so sorry.

DC: You were with Macase, a group you formed and won many awards with, how does it then feel to go solo?
BB: Mmmm, now it is nice because I do what I really like. When you are in a band it is not the same as you have to respect the ideas and opinion of the other band members. Now I am the one who decides what I want, what I record and no one can tell me otherwise. It is better for me now.

DC: You recorded your new album in Bamako, Mali – tell us about that experience!
BB: It was my first time there and I decided to record there because my album is a mixture of Central and West African music and I decided to use the Kora, Ngoni, Camele Ngoni which are traditional Malian instruments. I also needed the Malian feeling in the album and it made sense to be there to experience it. I worked in Salif Keita’s studio with his producer Jean Lamotte.

DC: “Léman” the title of your new album means “mirror” in English. Why that title?

BB: I chose this title because this album is the view of my personal life. No one can lie to themself and when you are in front of a mirror, it is a reflection of yourself.

DC: Who is the person behind Blick Bassy, tell us!
BB: [he laughs] I am a worker and music is the first thing in my life, I have a big passion for music – let’s say I am crazy about music. I am a very patient man. I don’t like people without ambition and I am very passionate about Africa. I want to use my music to change the perception of Africa.

DC: What does music mean to you? Explain.
BB: Music is my everything and I feel very lucky to have music in my life as with music nothing can touch me, it is like my layer of protection – I thank God for this music he has given me. It can be hard for my loved ones as music takes a lot of my time but you cannot achieve anything in life without sacrifice and dedication.

DC: Why are you so proud to be Cameroonian?
BB: In Cameroon, we have everything you can find in Africa. We have many different people, our country is rich and it is a very beautiful country. We have to promote the pride in our countries.

DC: What difficulties did you face moving from Cameroon to France?
BB: I missed the food, the weather, the friendship and the joy and peace you can have in Cameroon.

DC: When will we be seeing you in concert in the UK?
BB: For the moment, my agent is still trying to book me gigs. I cannot tell you when but I shall let you know.

DC: Have you, Muntu Valdo, Richard Bona and the Cameroonian Godfather of Jazz, Manu Dibango ever thought of having a gig together? That would be a gig to remember, don’t you think?
BB: Yes I think it is a very good idea but for the moment we have not spoken about it.

DC: You grew up in a house where you were one of 20 siblings, how was that like?
BB: It was great but sometimes it was difficult. Today I miss that!

DC: Did it teach you anything?
BB: It taught me to share.

DC: What advise would you give anyone who wishes to make it in the music industry?
BB: I would tell them that the music industry is very complex. If you want to have a chance to become a musician, you have to work very hard, be serious, by this I mean be very professional and be very ambitious too.

DC: Describe the feel / tone / messages of your album “Léman”
BB: This album is a personal view of my trip. It shows where I have gone from being with my previous group Macase to now. There are different messages in this album, one of AIDS, Hope, the idea of working together and it also shows a differerent country through my mixture of traditional Malian instruments and my Central African influences.

DC: Thank you for your time
BB: You are welcome, thank you for your call.

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DC: Dulce Camer

BB: Blick Bassy

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The new album Léman is in stores tomorrow 20th April from Amazon (UK), HMV, Play.com (UK). To grap your copy, click here:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Leman-Blick-Bassy/dp/B001PU6U7G/ref=sr_1_2/278-1665134-5232702?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1240060707&sr=1-2
http://www.play.com/Music/CD/-/13/38/-/9005632/Leman/Product.html?searchtype=genre

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To get more info of Blick Bassy, go here:

http://www.myspace.com/blickbassy2
http://www.worldconnection.nl/blickbassy

Many thanks for checking the blog, keep reading and watch out for something new on DC tomorrow! You may be lucky, *wink* *wink*!

Stay sweet and have a fab coming week.

Dulce

xxx