We had the great pleasure of meeting Nakhane at Eurockéennes 2018. This sensitive and spiritual being took the time to discuss his latest album with us.
It is with disarming grace and a radiant smile that he receives us under the barnum that is used for press conferences. Simple, pleasant, poised and with this incredible aura that had marked us already last February when we discovered it during a showcase in the Warner studios.
Nakhane was kind enough to give us a few minutes to enlighten us on her first international album: You Will Not Die !
You are a singer, but not only. I read that you are also a writer and comedian. What role is most important to you?
Nakhane : Music. Music because you can do all 3. You can write words, which I love; We can make films with the video clips. You can make these films what you want them to be: something informative, only musical or even a short film. So, that's why I choose the music. Also because music is something that is part of me, of my body. I can sing, no need to learn to play an instrument in a better way… Singing is a talent that you don't earn, you already have it in yourself. We have the responsibility to take care of it, that's why I think it's more important. I have the impression that to be an actor, and even a writer, you need a certain education, it's not something natural… But I still love it and I will continue to do so.
Don't you plan to remake movies or books?
Yes, yes. I plan to make more films, write more short stories. I should be writing a short story, which I should have finished a long time ago… But I was distracted. So yes, I write and read all the time!!
We saw you last February at the Warner studio in Paris. That's where we were able to discover your music and it was "Wow"…
Thank you! I'm going to wear the same suit today. I haven't worn it since that day, because I have 3 other costumes.
I asked myself, what happened to make your career international? Because before we didn't know you…
… I do not know… My manager found me on the internet. He told me he liked my job and wanted to know if I wanted to work with him. I gave him 6 months to find me a good deal. And he did!At that time, I was writing my second album; The songs were pretty good. Now that we've found each other, yes, it's been a great adventure, it's completely crazy, but in the best possible way I mean.I was really lucky; I've also worked a lot to get to this point, but there's something else to play, I don't know what it is… From where I come from, from South Africa, my ancestors watch over me. But even if they watch over you as much as they can, if you don't put all your willpower into the work, nothing happens. So, I will say a combination of blessing and hard work!
I saw something in particular on the second album: the song Fog, was also on the first album . Why did you decide to keep it on your first "international" album?
She didn't have the production she deserved on the first album. I think I grew up as a singer and musician. This song is powerful and I felt that the world had not heard it and that it had to hear it in the best possible way.And I also like the idea – I won't do it on all my albums – like these jazz musicians who re-record songs from different albums, at different times… (You see what Billie Holiday did for example, with 5 different versions of a song recorded from 1928 to 1940)… You know… Because you grow as a person, and your experience is a change, and you sing your songs differently. And your voice changes too! And hearing this change is really interesting!!I'm not the same singer I was when I was 13. That's why I wanted to re-record this song, because I knew I could sing it better!
Your second album is called " You will not die ". Who are you talking to?
You, me… Anyone having a hard time, which means everyone in fact. Everyone has had a tough time in the world. It is often said that "The world is not your uncle's house". No one is there to make you feel good; no one has to make you feel good. I think it's time to take things to heart, to hug, to remind ourselves that, for weird reasons, living is worth it. Because most of the time it doesn't feel like living is worth it. Yet nature is beautiful, snakes are beautiful, trees are beautiful… But for some unknown reason, for me I don't think that's a good enough reason to live. While creating art gives me (I don't like that word but I'll use it in this interview) a purpose…
A reason?
Yes, exactly! It seems black and macabre… But times are really horrible right now : life is going to slap you, but you'll wake up in the morning and realize you're not dead, which means you can change history.
Another sublime song is Presbyteria. What is this song about?
It's about the church I was born into. I was going to a Presbyterian church. Looking back, your family and those who went to church may have hurt you and you realize they didn't do it on purpose. They do the best they can with what they know. The older we get, the less angry we are, because we realize that we too are doing it and we have a little more empathy.That's why I don't believe in innocence. If children were innocent, it would mean that they would not have judgment, and could not do something wrong. So they couldn't have empathy. That's why children judge their parents so harshly… And the older they get, with their own mistakes, the more they begin to be understanding of their parents… Because they understand that they could have made the same mistakes. This song is about empathy and being able to look at people without judging them too much. It always hurts me, but they did the best they could.
About the music and the way you move on stage, dancing seems very important to you. How does this contribute to the creation of your music?
Dancing has always been a way to open certain portals, to invite others, to invite spirits to join us… to hypnotize the crowd. And the body, the movements have always been important to us in Africa. That's also why the first thing the missionaries told us when they arrived was to stop dancing the way we danced… Because it was incorrect! ('s God). When I'm on stage, I call it a ritual: I try to get things through the crowd, get something out of it or get something out of it. When the show ends, I want to be completely exhausted because I would have given everything to the crowd. Because I'm a showman, I'm a priest. If I'm not engaged, if I don't give myself completely, how will the audience react in the moment? That's what I'm most interested in. That sacrifice!!
This young artist, fine, sensitive and full of good words completely hypnotized us on stage indeed and his natural charisma was not for nothing. A real pleasure to swing to the sound of his soft and enveloping voice. An experience to be repeated as soon as the opportunity arises as in Saint-Etienne, Nîmes, Annecy, Angers or Laval where he will perform in October and November !
Find the story of his passage to the Eurockéennes
