Moving to Dubai at age 9 and then the Congo, they were two completely opposite countries. But that brought me to music and taught me things that I never would have learned otherwise. And it was always about the rhythm in those two countries - that's why I love them.
I could never imagine ever in my life that I'd be on the side of The Louvre.
My mother is half-French, half-Malagasy, so I've been listening to African music, like Malian and Congolese music, since I was a child.
When I was little, I was listening to the Beatles, Bob Marley, Janis Joplin, and stuff. I had a big soul music culture, and not so much a French one.
Music is like my secret garden. It's where I heal myself from every pain that I feel. It's like a therapy.
I just write about what makes me sad, and then when I write, I hear myself. It's like therapy, where I write something sad and then I make it happier or hopeful.
Cultural appropriation is a big problem, but the thing is, I didn't invent my life. I really lived in Africa.
When I was nine, I was passing by a drum class and saw them playing and I was moved. That's why I started making music.
I think it's hard when you're a woman because the music industry is way more masculine than feminine, so you have to make your own space and fight for it.
Making music you can dance to is very important to me.
I was always playing with whatever I could get under my hands, making rhythm with it, which was natural for me, because my parents were listening to a lot of African music.
I've been to India, Jordan, South Africa, Namibia, Senegal, Australia, Madagascar, Oman, The States, and a lot of countries in Europe, just to visit... I wanted to make music to connect all of these influences, and make a multicultural music with these experiences.
Going to the U.A.E. for the first time was a real cultural shock. Everything was different. People didn't speak my language, it was all new, a huge change. But I loved it.
I quietly work with my computer on the tour bus, and then I wait to make my more natural rhythms when I get home.
When I like an artist, especially a female artist, I really try to support.
Sometimes people stop me on the street and they say 'when are you going to make the next 'Zanaka' and it's what I really didn't want to do.
I want to have Congolese influences but also influences from Dubai and Abu Dhabi and France. To mix everything up.
When I travel I always try to see shows from a local group, and with the Internet it's important to have a global vision of music.
For me to have the opportunity to learn the darbuka and the tabla in Dubai, it created my own thoughts for music.
My music would be very, very different if I haven't traveled.
