| Corneille - ‘Les Marchands De Rêves’
If asked, Corneille will tell you that this new album is actually his first, and that it marks the start of his musical journey. Not that he is disowning his real first album – far from it – but he believes that his second piece of work more accurately represents the man that he is today.
Corneille hasn’t really changed but he’s not quite the same either.
Today, he says he feels "free to be himself". He dares to say who he is, a young African from Rwanda whose life is split between Montréal and Paris. A man who knows where he’s heading.
If you listen to his 14 new songs, you will also agree that he sounds much more mature. The deeply moving songs ‘Reposez en paix’ and ‘Sur la tombe de mes gens’ are subtle tributes to his dead family.
Other songs deal with his first love, his mother and the streets of Kigali.
With his inspiration coming from such a faraway place, providing such emotion and sincerity, Corneille has formed an emotional bond with his public... whether they come from smart districts or the suburbs. Corneille's lyrics seem to affect all of us!
Corneille has grown as a person and now also reflects, "I grew stronger with the love of my family and those who listen to my songs."
He sees a future that he couldn't imagine a year ago!
“I'm feeling fine and content,” he says. “Rwanda is in me and always will be, but those roots are driving me on, and inspiring me to achieve even more."
Recently, Corneille went back to Africa and he sings about it in the song ‘Iwacu’ which means ‘our house’ in the language of Kyniarwanda. Last January, he was invited to Dakar by Youssou N'Dour to perform in a stadium in front of 19,000 people. He felt a deep longing for Africa: "its sounds, its rythms, its smells and colours." Not to mention its people.
When Corneille speaks of people, he means women. Women are a constant reference on his album: wives and mothers, lovers and sisters.
"They are the heartbeat of Africa and the whole world," he says. Women soothe, forgive and promise hope, and they never cheat.
Corneille is convinced: God is a woman!
Corneille is a real find. An artist we thought we knew quite well, he now reveals himself to be, above all, a good man. Someone whose new songs are able to take you on a journey full of possibilities. So the man and the artist share the same message: "Always tip the scales on the side of life."
The album
Corneille has written all of the songs on his second studio album, and decided to give his recordings a more "organic" sound than the previous one.
"At first, I wanted it to be minimalistic. All of the songs were composed for a solo voice, a guitar and a few drums... then I began to build upon that, picking up musical influences and sounds here and there."
These influences include zouk, ndombolo, afrobeat, bossa but also reggae and ska, soul music and jazz. All these musical influences can be heard in Corneille’s music, emphasising his maturity and his musical skills.
Corneille also deals with his personal doubts about eventually returning to Rwanda, a country he still associates with chaos. The album also reveals a more loving Corneille. Generally discreet on such matters, he unveils his feelings with two songs ‘Viens’ and ‘A vie’.
Today, Corneille has all he could wish for, even though he worries about no longer appealing to a public that discovered him and has loved him so much.
But, as he says: "The most important is that people feel the same love they experienced with my first album."
Corneille’s life in brief:
1977 – Corneille Nyungura was born in Fribourg (Germany).
1984 – Corneille went back to his roots in Kigali (Rwanda).
1997 – Corneille settled down in Montreal (Canada) and created the trio O.N.E with Gage Pierre and Gary Martin.
2003 – His first album, ‘Parce qu'on vient de loin’, was released.
2004 – The single ‘Parce qu'on vient de loin’ was the most played song on French radio and sold 900,000 copies in France.
2005 – Corneille became a UNICEF ambassador for the special campaign ‘Unite for the children against AIDS’ and he released his second album ‘Les Marchands de Rêves’.
More details here: http://www.corneille.mu/ |
