gasandjibio

The singer with a Congolese background released her self-titled début album in 2013 and won the Award "Coup de Cœur Francophone" of the Academy of Music Charles Cros.

Whether singing in Lingala, French or English, Gasandji is an artist who touches her audience whole-heartedly. Her haunting, magical voice has been heard at a number of great festivals including Womad, Cully Jazz Festival and Afrika Festival Wuerzburg where she received the Afrika Festival Award 2014.

She is also a voice, a style (shaven head adorned by just one plait) and a spirit. On stage she exudes an air of class, empathy and finesse. Her band is made up of drums embellished with African percussions, an acoustic guitar and flute. Her sidemen are at her beck and call, attentive and always ready to follow her into whichever one of her many musical worlds, from the most intimate to the most festive.

"Her name means something like: the one who creates consciousness. And that's indeed what she does with her glamorous voice and her filigree songs in which the traditions of her home melt together with soul, pop, reggae and a bit of jazz to an urban style that doesn't deny its origin."

BIOGRAPHY

From MC Solaar to Lokua Kanza
Born in the Democratic Republic of Congo, daughter of an engineer and a mother who passed away too soon, Gasandji is the eldest of a large group of siblings. A dreamy and imaginative child in a family who favours academic studies, she is sent to boarding school in France at 14. She soon starts taking advantage of her free time by getting into the arts, in particular hip hop dancing. With an enterprising spirit, she sets up her own dance troupe ‘Hip Hop Attitude’ in the 90s. She hangs out with MC Solaar and IAM, and starts making music with a soulful edge in the image of her then idols : Erikah Badu, Lauryn Hill. At the turn of 2000, she starts taking lessons at the ATLA jazz school in Paris and enrolls in a gospel choir. Her musical ambitions take shape, she meets Lokua Kanza who becomes her mentor. Her first album is recorded in 2006, later released exclusively in digital format.

She who awakens the consciousness
Filled with disappointment and doubt, Gasandji withdraws to reflect a while, wanting to understand why she has within her this irrepressable need to sing. Then comes the calm after the storm. « I realised that I had a mission with regards to my art. Finding this path allowed me to find my voice. This way I could sidestep the vocal format in order to give my art a spiritual and social dimension » Gasandji is not a trivial name. Inherited from her great great grandmother, it means ‘she who awakens the consciousness’ in the Pendé language. Gasandji realises that she needs to share her identity. During this reflective period she writes down snatches of songs on bits of paper. She’s a hundred leagues away from even thinking about making a record, but she meets some people: the arranger Jean Mba, then the musicians Jean-Philippe Dary, Hervé Samb and Julien Tekeyan. She sees that her project is liked and little by little, ‘Gasandji’, her eponymous album begins to take shape. Eleven songs « born like flowers in the desert ». Eleven songs that the artist doesn’t try to explain unduly. « I tell some stories and when I present them to the audience they become their own ».

A vision
From the 14 year old teenager who left her native Africa having pinched three cassettes from her dad (Georges Moustaki, Otis Redding and a compilation of Congolese rumba), a great artisit is born. Immersing herself not only in traditional Congolese music but also in jazz, standards and classical music, she carves out her own direction in a way that is both personal and original. Whether singing in Lingala, French or English « My first instrument is my body. My music speaks to the heart but passes first and foremost via the feet. » In 2010 without any released material, she lights up ‘les Francofolies de la Rochelle’ with just one song « Maman ne m’a pas dit », taken up in unison by thousands of watching spectators. The following year, she performs at Womad in England. Her record is ready in her suitcase.

The flight
It takes another two years and a meeting with the label head of Plus Loin Music, Yann Martin, before Gasandji sees the release of her record in 2013. Since then, the encouragement from the professional camp has multiplied and the awards have started coming in : Coup de Cœur de l'Académie Charles Cros, Talent Edition RFI... In 2014, Gasandji features on the line up of many European festivals among which Cully Jazz Festival (Switzerland) and the Wuzburg Africa Festival (Germany). Many new projects are spinning around in the singer’s head. She has invited artists who have inspired her to perform duets with her reinterpreting songs from her album. «This album is a first step. I’d like to work with a maximum of people, discover my sound, put myself in danger, push my boundaries. »

« Rêvez! Enfants du Monde » is Gasandji’s other way of working, decidely different from the other. Purveyor of hope, Gasandji is also a woman and a mother. In a society where role models are dwindling, she believes that education is the most important tool. She has decided to engage herself in pushing the youth to evolve. «I’m lucky to be able to open up a dialogue through the music, to be able to tell these young people that they are valuable individuals and that all their dreams are possible.» Workshops, school conferences, concerts with kids, Gasandji is always ready to share the themes that matter to her with all four corners of the world.