Sayon, with 'Dougna' you're presenting your third album to date. If I say it's your most serious album up until now, would you agree?
Sayon Bamba: "Yes and no, I also did some deeper songs on my other albums, but it's true that on 'Dougna' I really wanted to dig a little deeper. In daily life we often avoid talking about certain issues rather than confronting them and trying to find a solution. I'm not the young girl I used to be anymore, my children are growing up and that means I'm starting to worry about their future and questioning myself at the same time."
In the beginning of your career you joined Les Amazones de Guinée, a band that amateurs of African music will certainly know. For those who might not recognise the name, could you tell us a bit about the band and its importance in Guinean musical history?
Sayon Bamba: "Les Amazones de Guinée is a band that didn't only play an important role in Guinean musical history, but was also hugely important for the emancipation of Guinean women in general. They breached quite a few taboos for women and made us realise that taking a stance and speaking up did not make you a bad woman. I grew up with their music and was very surprised when they called on me when they were looking for a new singer. I guess you could say I was thrown in at the deep end, but I was overjoyed finally being able to sing the songs of Chantal Taiba (Kru singer from Ivory Coast, born in Tabou and nicknamed "the queen of matiko", red.) and Chantale Goya I loved so much. When I joined Les Amazones de Guinée, other Guinean bands also started noticing me and after a while I also started doing backing vocals for people like Yondo Sister (soukous singer, red.) or Charlotte Mbango (makossa singer from Cameroun, red.). For a young girl of sixteen or seventeen years of age, that's not nothing of course. Above anything else this period made me realise that this was what I wanted to do with the rest of my life."
In hindsight your time with Les Amazones de Guinee was rather short-lived. Why did you decide to leave?
Sayon Bamba: "I'm a very adventurous spirit, and even though I was having a blast with Les Amazones de Guinee, things changed when I met a young juggler and fell head over heals in love. I have to add that at that time I was also active with the Guinean National Theatre and that's how I got in touch with Générique Vapeur, a French theatre company that wanted to take the theatre back to the streets. In Guinea and a lot of other African nations people can't really afford luxuries like going to the theatre, so to me their approach was very hands-on. I could practically smell the adventure in what they were doing and the fact I fell in love with one of their jugglers made me follow them home to Marseille. I still did a couple of gigs with Les Amazones de Guinée after that, but in the end I realised I had to follow my own path. Also, if I would have wanted to continue with Les Amazones de Guinée, I would have had to become a gendarme at one stage and that was something I wasn't prepared to do. I had other battles to fight; I wanted to spread my country's culture and inspire people to visit Guinea. When Guineans talk of their country they will often say: "To outsiders Guinea might not be an attractive country, but once they get the chance to experience it they're hooked." To get people interested in visiting a country, you have to introduce them to its culture, its music and the goals and convictions of its people."
Did your decision to migrate to Europe influence the sound of your music in any way?
Sayon Bamba: "Sure, but I was never really interested in just playing African music; I've always wanted to create an exchange between African and western music. Original African music has been done already. I say that with the utmost respect, because I still listen to that music on a daily basis and to me some of these records are near to perfection. In my own music, though, I like to welcome elements from various cultures; not so much to create a hybrid mixture, but more a kind of musical dialogue. Listening to my music one should be able to distinguish a strong Guinean influence as well as a lot of elements from other styles I like. I want to be more than just another greeting card from Africa."
Now that you're concentrating on your musical career, have you abandoned the theatre completely?
Sayon Bamba: "No, theatre is part of my life. It's a great invention, because it allows the artist to say whatever he wants without having to fear the reactions from the audience. I've established my own theatre company and, even though things are a bit on hold right now because I'm focussing on my music, we still launched a new play recently called "Le Temps De L'Abandon" ("The Time Of Abandonment", red.). I've always gone back and forth between music and theatre and I'll continue doing that for the foreseeable future. I've never aimed for the big stages, though, it's on the streets I'm most happy."
Your second album was called 'Mod' Vakance'. Is that how you perceived your time in Marseille?
Sayon Bamba: "There's a whole story behind 'Mod' Vakance'. At the time when I recorded that album, I was at a turning point in my life. I had recorded my first album, 'Chansons Des Rues Et Des Maquis' (2005, red.), as a sort of musical heritance for my children, but with 'Mod' Vakance' I wanted to affirm my womanhood and more importantly my choice to be a woman that didn't necessarily correspond with the cliché that exists of an African woman or a western one for that matter. With the album I wanted to free myself from the guilt society burdens us with. I wanted to express myself freely without being held back by the restrictions of being a woman. In short, that album was a cry for the liberation of women worldwide."
Why did you decide to exchange the sunny Mediterranean for the wetness and grey of Brussels?
Sayon Bamba: "It's true that when I tell people I moved from Marseille to Brussels, I often get remarks like: "You crazy woman!", but in all honesty, Conakry is even sunnier than Marseille and that didn't stop me from leaving either. You have to be curious in life, especially if you're an artist, because you just can't allow yourself to be repetitive. One shouldn't shut the rest of the world out; there's so much to discover out there that it would simply be dumb not to travel. To me Brussels equals a great adventure; I'm an absolute stranger here, so I don't even have the time to get bored. I try to take advantage of my situation by exploring all the wonders this city has to offer and believe me there are quite a few."
During your years in Marseille, you always worked with the same group of musicians. Have they followed you to Brussels as well?
Sayon Bamba: "I'm still working with the same musicians from Marseille, yes, but at the same time I'm slowly trying to integrate some new members into the band. At this moment it's a bit of a fifty-fifty situation. Marseille will always remain close to my heart, but because I constantly keep meeting new people, nothing is etched in stone where the band is concerned."
A name you've always quoted as one of your biggest influences is that of Miriam Makeba.
Sayon Bamba: "I'm certainly not the only one that has been influenced by her. Only those who refuse to recognise her greatness or who have forgotten their origins, will not consider naming Miriam Makeba. I'm convinced all African women who are shining on stage today know and respect her name. She symbolized the dream of so many African girls. Miriam Makeba was a woman who commanded respect, a strong character behind a golden smile."
Even though you made a career for yourself on stage, you also hold a degree in maths and sciences. What did that scholar education bring you in life?
Sayon Bamba: "Oh, quite a lot actually! Mathematics is something else; it's a very exact and rigid form of science. I'm quite philosophical and free-minded in nature, so for me mathematics were like an anchor I could hold onto whenever the craziness of the performing arts was becoming too much. I had the chance to have a father who told me: "If you want things to change, you have to be ready and able to change them." I never aimed at getting a Masters degree in mathematics, though; I'm a bit cowardice in nature and I was afraid I would always be using that degree as a safety net. I felt I had to dedicate myself fully to the arts and that's exactly what I've done up until today."