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Interview with
GRACE BARBE

(6th August 2023)

Interview with Dave Bruce

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Multi award-winning Grace Barbé hails from the sunburnt Indian Ocean islands of the Seychelles, where a colourful history of slavery, pirates, coups d’etat and coconuts have produced a unique Kreol rhythm, language and culture.

Drawing from the diverse culture of the islands, Grace’s music fuses the tropical rhythms and dances of the slaves with psychedelic rock, afrobeat, reggae and pop.

In performance Grace’s trio conjures a bewilderingly huge sound – Barbé sings over her own complex polyrhythmic bass lines to Mauritian drummer Hardy Perrine’s authentic island grooves while guitarist Jamie Searle adds a dense layer of Afro-guitar sorcery.

Grace has been enticing audiences to get up and shake their coconuts since the release of her debut album Kreol Daughter in 2009, with appearances all over India, East Africa (Sauti za Busara Festival, Zanzibar) and the Indian Ocean (Sakifo Festival, La Réunion), as well as at Australia’s leading music festivals, including WOMADelaide, WOMAD New Zealand, Byron Bay Bluesfest and Woodford Folk Festival.

Amongst the numerous accolades under her belt are an ARIA nomination for the third LP FANM:WOMAN and 13 WAM awards for “Best World Act”.

Get ready to shake your coconuts!

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Have you always wanted to be a musician? When did you get the song writing bug?
I didn’t really start writing songs until I was a teenager when I was inspired listening to Bob Marley’s Legend album.

How would you describe your sound? Why do you think fans resonate with your music?
The sound is Afro Kreol, it fuses the tropical rhythms and slave dances from the Indian Ocean Creole islands with psychedelic rock, afrobeat, reggae and pop. Fans resonate because its happy, feel-good music and they can get up and shake their coconuts!

Which artist’s music and/or performance, past or present, inspires you today?
Fela Kuti

Your new single ‘Breaking Down’ has just been released! Describe its origin and evolution.
Breaking Down was recorded back in 2007 during the sessions for Kreol Daughter – my very first album –  and up until now, it was only available on a very rare CD single. It was engineered and mixed by Jeremy Allom, who also mixed Massive Attack’s Blue Lines and produced by my long-term musical partner Jamie Searle. Even though I was so young when I wrote it, Breaking Down has a message that’s still very much relevant to today’s universal challenges and struggles. Lyrically, it touches on the reality of where humanity is heading so it felt timely to re-release now. It’s a regular in my reggae band Crucial Rockers sets.

Is there an EP or Album on the drawing board?
There’s definitely an album on the drawing board. Timing is unknown as yet, but there are definitely new works on the way.

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Any tours or events coming up soon? What are you looking forward to, and what can the fans expect?
I’ve joined The Cat Empire on bass and vocals and we have Australian and North American tours coming up over the next few months.

If you could perform with any music artist, Alive or Dead, who would you choose? And why?
Bob Marley, Tony Allen (again because I have performed with him at Perth Festival)

What piece of advice would you give to an artist starting out?
Practice, practice, practice. Get a good team, be patient, be consistent and play as many gigs as you can. Observe what established artists are doing and learn from them, ask questions.

What is the best thing about performing to a live audience? What’s been the career highlight so far?
Joining the Cat Empire and opening for Tony Allen at Perth Festival.

Finally, a few questions for some quick answers –
FAVOURITE:
Place to visit – Seychelles, my home.
Venue to play – Mojos, Fremantle. Classic, iconic gig venue.
Food – Kale Salad
Drink – Red Wine
Tattoo – I have a couple

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Follow GRACE BARBE
Instagram – Twitter – Tiktok

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AMNPLIFY – DB