22 — Friday, August 28, 1998 — North Shore News Parisian melting pot fused w From pag: Va Mina is from Togo and Yoruba is from Nigeria and is also spoken in some parts of Benin. She moved to Paris in 1983, ‘Where she was exposed ta musicians who would think nothing of bring- ing together African, Caribbean and French styles. Salif Keita and Manu Dibango lived in Paris at the time too. She enroiled in a school for jazz in Paris and eventually married Hebrail, a musician and songwriter. Her third album, Aye (Lite) yielded Agolo, a big hit for dance floors around the world. The disc was recorded in part at Prince's Paisley Park Studios in Minneapolis. Sore snippets from a recent conversation with Kidjo: On Lilith Fair — “I love the concept. Let’s put it like this: the music business is a macho business. “You can’e say it’s not cruc. Most of the time the female artists sell as much as male artists but they don’t get the attention a man will get. Why? Why should it be like thar? If we don’t do it for ourselves, nobody is going to take care of us. - We're not going to exist. It’s sad that thing: are like thar. We are part of the world and we are taking it. Without us there would be no men, you know that,” On Sarah McLachlan — “She is a very, very nice person, it’s not to say that to please her, but you can feel it. What she’s doing, she believes in é. She believes that it is the right thing to do wid it’s the time to do it. She committed herself to that and I really respect that.” On what she wonild say to critics who are having trouble wit! how she’s mixing musical mediums —~ “J have nothing to tell them because it is only racism. It’s only a very narrow way of secing things. Most of the time people think that African artists will sound a way. They don’t know anything. “Most of them don’t even real- ize that Aftica is a continent. Should I judge an artist because he “comes from America and sings in English and does a music a certain type of way? “People forget that rock ‘n’ roll comes from the blues. Who brought the blues to America? The slaves, People should hav some information before zclling me what T should do. don’t ll any artist m WARD MUSIC that comes from the western world how he should sound. It’s a com- plex of superiority because they are from the western world. [have my freedom of choive and nothing is going to take it away from me. If I'm happy with it, let them not fis- ten. Let them forget I exist.” On spiritual life and music — “The thing is — inspiration, Philip Glass used to say, is from the domain of the unknown. It is so true, because you don’r know why you were inspired to do one song and not the other. “Things that you want to express you have an idea of them bur you don’t know how to put them together until it comes Why is that? you don’t know. 7 don’t know. T have been writing songs since I was 13 vears old and I sull don’t understand it and Pm never going to understand it. “Music has tu deal with honesty, with generosity and with loving. If you don’t have thar, don’t even try. Don’t even start. Leave it alone. You can fool yourself, but you can’t fool the music and you can't fool the people. Peoples’ feeling is not something that you can play around with. People know.” On how she matches language to song — “ti depends on the inspiracion, what I want to say. The language just goes with it. My native lan- age is much more like a warrior lang).age, more rhythmic. It’s more to express conviction, something that really has to get to peoples” hearts and ict them move. “Yorulsa can do both, express a love song like a fighting song. Mina expresses sorrow, sadness and at the same time gets you to the point where you can convince yourself.” Qa when she first met Branford Mossalis, who she’s worked with a couple: of times —. “T knew Branford since 1991. It was in Paris. I was at the show of a group called Toure Kunda (from Senegal). “I had an appointment with a friend of mine who is a DJ with a radio show called Radio Nowa in Paris. He came with Branford. “He introduced me and I said, “Ya, you’re a musician, what do you play?’ He goes, ‘I play saxophone.’ I go, ‘Do you play good?” He go, "Ya, I play some.’ I said, ‘OK. Pm looking for a sx player for my album. Will you play with me?’ He says, ‘Oh ya, of course.” But I say, ‘! ' is the best value for vour band and - string instrument All cent applies to purchase, ailtheame needs © Great selection of new and new instruments, PIENESS orld rhythms don’t know if I have enough money. I have < small budget. If vou are too expense, I can’t pay you.” Aad he goes, *Let me listen first. $f I like it 1 will plav for you. Don’t talk about moriey because you