RFI Musique: What was your initial contact with the music world and how did you come to realise you had a talent for singing?
Coco M'bassi: Well, I was born in Paris, in the 14th arrondissement, on February 28th, 1969. But when I was nine months old my parents moved to Cameroon and that's where I spent my childhood and early teens. We lived there until I was 14, in fact. I grew up surrounded by music, lapping up everything my parents listened to at the time. Between them, they had very eclectic tastes! I listened to everything from my mother's favourite singer, Miriam Makeba, to Handel's Messiah. My father used to put that on every Sunday without fail. Another of my formative influences was the traditional music in my father's village, Dibombari. And then, of course, there were the jazz big bands like Duke Ellington's Orchestra. And gospel music! One of my favourite gospel singers at the time was Mahalia Jackson. A little later in life I discovered 'makossa' courtesy of Dina Bell and Toto Guillaume and French 'variété' through French music stars like Claude François and Sylvie Vartan. The choir at the local Protestant church also had a big influence on me, I think. My father and my father's mother, his aunt and his brother were all very good singers and I'm sure I inherited my talent from them. I went on to develop my own talent through prolonged and intensive listening to all kinds of music.

What about the very first time you got up on stage?
I used to go round singing all the time, and I mean all the time! They used to organise these singing and dance contests before films in Cameroon. I used to go along to the Cinema Abbia in Yaoundé and I started taking part in the singing contests when I was very young. I used to go along every week – we'd go to the movies every Thursday because we didn't have school that day. I won stacks of T-shirts and crates of Top (a famous fizzy drink in Cameroon). But the organisers ended up disqualifying me because I kept on winning all the time!

You won RFI's "Découvertes" Award in 1996. What impact did that have on your career?
That's right, I won the Gilles Obringer "Prix d'Afrique" (which went on to become the "Découvertes" Award). I never met Gilles Obringer personally, but I certainly heard a great deal about him. I knew he was committed to promoting "Negro" music – and, just let me say, I use that word deliberately here! Friends encouraged me to enter the awards, so I ended up sending off a tape of my songs, but I have to say I sent if off without any great conviction. I was on holiday in Cameroon, six months' pregnant, when I found out I'd been nominated for the award – and then that I'd won!
I didn't realise the full implication of the award to begin with or envisage the consequences it would have on my career. But I soon found out. Thanks to the RFI award, I was soon touring internationally with my group. For the first time in my career I got to play in the United States (at the International Festival of Louisiana), in Canada (at the "Nuits d'Afrique" in Montreal and the Summer Festival in Quebec), in Germany (at the Wurzburg Afrofest and at the World Culture Institute in Berlin) and I even went out to Cameroon to appear at the first edition of the "Rencontres Musicales" in Yaoundé. All that touring helped me improve my live skills and made me feel at ease in front of an audience. As part of the award, I was also able to take singing lessons at the "Studio des Variétés" in Paris.

Don't you think singing contests, and the idea of encouraging competition in music, is a bit paradoxical?
I think that's exactly what I found hard to understand at first. But I have to admit, when a jury of music professionals including Jocelyne Béroard – whom I'm a big fan and admirer of – choose your song, you're over the moon! But, obviously, that doesn't mean that the other people taking part in the contest are making music of any less value than yours.

Why did you end up leaving Cameroon?
Well, I didn't have any choice in the matter! My father sent me to France to continue my secondary education there. The idea was to get me used to the French system before I went on to college. I remember the first day I arrived at the 'lycée' I was surprised at how everyone dressed the same. The uniform was basically U.S. bags and jeans! And I was amazed at how offhand the pupils were with the teachers. I thought the way they answered them back in class was pretty insolent really.

What do you think the basic difference is between Sepia, your debut album released in 2001, and your new opus, Sisea?
I'd say they're like two children from the same mother! Sepia marked the début of my solo career. It was like my first letter addressed to the public and I think it was very personal, very me. The album revolved around my own memories, my own troubles and my own emotions. It was very intimate, really, almost like a confession.
I think there's a much more extensive range of influences at work on Sisea. There's everything from jazz and classical influences to soul and Latino music. And I think my new album's a lot more festive and upbeat, too. Sisea means "approach" and I think, in a way, it's an invitation for people to come closer and find out who Coco really is. On Sisea there's a lot more input from my husband, Serge Ngando Mpondo, than there was on the last album. Serge not only co-produced the album, he also worked as arranger on several tracks.