Coco, why did you decide to call your first album Sepia?
Well, for me Sepia is a very evocative title. It conjures up images of old photos, old memories and the past. And I very much feel that my personality, the kind of person I am today, has been forged through the things I've lived through. As a person, I'm the sum total of all my past experiences. So that's where Sepia comes from.

Your music revolves around an extremely sophisticated mix, drawing inspiration from several different sources…
The main source of inspiration for the style I play is the traditional music of Dibombari. That's the village my father comes from, it's on the coast, not far from Douala (Cameroon's main port). The music's known as esewe. It uses a beat that actually sounds a bit like ragga, but the scales involved are penta-blues. It's not really the same thing as traditional Malian music, but there are certain similarities nonetheless. Anyway, I've basically mixed esewe with Latino rhythms, jazz, soul, funk, gospel and R'n'B. I'd say my music's got at least 40% African roots, but as we use instruments like the piano and the double bass, it leans towards Europe too. And you shouldn't forget - there's a very strong classical influence to this sort of music too.

Would you say that comes from a simple love of fusion on your part or is this constant mixing of sounds more of an obsession?
Well, you have to remember that the traditional music played in Dibombari and the surrounding region is actually the result of a fusion process which began a long, long time ago. When the Germans arrived in Cameroon in eighteen hundred and something, their first port of call was the Douala region, so our traditional sounds have been absorbing different influences and experimenting with different types of fusion for ages!

Is that where the classical influences on your own album come from?
I think it's partly to do with the fact that the Germans who introduced classical music to the region were Protestants, so people in the Douala coastal region ended up being deeply influenced by the German Protestant mentality. Even Protestant hymns and church music had a lasting influence. So, yes, in answer to your question, I think this feeling for classical music really goes very deep. Take me, for instance, I spent my entire childhood listening to Handel!

Your songs tend to revolve around universal themes such as the family, love and religious faith. Do you ever feel that such themes are maybe a little too standard?
Well, I think it's fair to say that my songs revolve around simple things, but the things I sing about are really important to me, especially my family. But then maybe it's not quite so straightforward. In the world we live in, 'family' has actually become a little difficult to define. I'd say I sing about basic human values which affect the way society evolves.

What about the song Muto?
"Muto" means "woman" in my language. You mean, why did I write this song? Well, the answer to that is, I honestly don't know! (Laughs). Maybe one of the reasons behind it is that I think life's pretty tough for women. I mean, let's face it, places where women have absolute freedom regarding their choice of profession and their education are not exactly in the majority in this world! And I think that's a shame. I'm not about to get up and join a 'liberation' movement or anything, because I don't feel myself to be a slave - not when it comes to men, in any case - but I do think women's lives could be considerably improved. When you think of how women are treated by the Taliban or even in certain African countries sometimes, you can't help but think that men should be made more aware of what they're doing. The song Muto is directly addressed to women. The message in the song is "Know that you've got value, that you were put on earth to do productive things". In my mother tongue I use the word "to give birth", but that doesn't just mean "give birth to a child", it can also mean "give birth" or create things in the intellectual sphere. Women should be able to walk with their heads held high and know they're not there to be … raped or women should be conscious of their own value. I believe that a woman who respects herself inspires respect in others - and that's the basic message of Muto.

Do you feel that your past career as a backing singer has influenced the way you sing or compose your material in any way?
Well, it's difficult to say really. It's hard to pinpoint in what proportion I've been influenced by a certain singer or type of music. I've had harmonies buzzing around my head from childhood onwards, thanks to the music I listened to with my parents and all the other singers who've influenced me in the course of my career. There's people I've worked with like Salif Keïta, but I've been influenced by a lot of other singers I've never worked with - people like Myriam Makeba, for instance, and lesser-known Cameroonian singers like Toto Guillaume. But it's definitely true to say that my style has also been influenced by the work I've done as a backing singer and my past involvement with the "Chorale des Chérubins de Sarcelles" (a choir in the Paris suburbs). And I've been told I don't go about writing my songs in the same way as other people. In fact, all the musicians I work with have told me that! I don't know what that's meant to mean, but it's true that in my case I generally start off with the vocals.

But then that's not exactly a coincidence …
No, my experience is that things often get triggered off through the vocals. I'll get a melody line running through my head after a certain event or meeting someone and then I start trying to fit a bass line round that. But it's always a case of coming up with the vocals first.

Given that you've been living in France for over 18 years now, isn't it a bit strange that your first album's being released in Germany?
Well, no-one's exactly been rushing to sign me up in France! I did the rounds of all the record companies, with recommendations from various people, but nothing ever came of it. People told me they liked my voice but my music would be hard to sell. Basically, that meant they wouldn't make any money on me in the short term and they weren't prepared to make a long-term investment on someone launching her solo career at the ripe old age of 32! And it didn't exactly help matters that I refused to change my style in any way.
But I had no problems with the German label with whom, incidentally I signed a licensing deal for the album - because I financed the production side of things myself with my husband and a mate. The German label accepted me exactly as I was. They didn't want to change anything in my personality or my music. So when it comes to releasing my first album I feel it was France that refused me, not me who refused France!

But what about French record labels who'd seen you perform backing vocals with some pretty major stars. Weren't they at all interested in taking you on?
No, you know what the problem was? They said to me "OK, well it's obvious you've got a good voice … but why don't you try doing a bit of soul and R'n'B in French or try your hand at rap? That would sell a lot better. There's definitely an audience out there for that." Or they'd suggest I reinvented myself as a 'variété' singer, because they had these "really great guys" on hand to write the material.

So does that explain why, despite your having won RFI's "Découvertes" contest in 1996, we've had to wait so long for your debut album?
Well, negative reactions from record companies was one of the reasons it took so long to release my first album. But I don't think things are ever completely down to chance and somewhere down the line I think I really needed that time to achieve a certain maturity in my vocals. And I've also been busy having children. I had my first baby in 1995 and the second child the following year, so I've not exactly had a lot of spare time on my hands!

Interview: Soeuf Elbadawi
Translation: Julie Street

Sepia, Tropical Music/ Night & Day.