What would be your description of your sound and approach to making music?

My music is quite organic. There is very little programming and it’s really about the melody and the different instruments playing together. I leave a lot of space for instruments. Each instrument has its moment on my album. I like songs, melodies that are not necessarily simple, but easy to remember. Music has the power to put you in a mood. So I think music should be soothing, grooving but not aggressive, uplifting, not mind numbing, nostalgic but not necessarily sad… It’s just my opinion.

Who are your teachers and the influences to your sound and philosophy?

I come from a very mixed background with French, Latin, Egyptian and Lebanese origins. My mother would listen to Nat King Cole and sometimes play Latin music and dance to it. My father introduced me to Classical and Egyptian music and to Stevie Wonder which later became my idol.
Hearing so many different genres of music at an early age, you understand that music is universal. That it’s not about the style of music or about how many chord changes you have in a song: it’s about the melody and the feel, the soul. This is what makes music so universal.

What is your teaching approach?

I think a student should find an artist they admire and emulate them, not copy them though. Use it as a template and through their own practice, discover their own voice.

What would you share as main point to an up and coming talent like yourself?

Work with passion and dedication and instead of feeling sorry for yourself when opportunities don’t come up, create them.

What is your dream band that you have already worked with or would like to?

I have the chance to be working with Dean Gant (Aka Sir Gant), legendary music producer known for producing Anita Baker’s album “Rapture”. I’ve always been a great admirer of his work. I learn from him every day that I’m in his presence. We are going to shoot a live video performance of 3 of my songs in LA this April and he will be the musical director on this project. This is the first project that we will be releasing together and I’m really excited about it.

Road story: Your best or worst experience

In the middle of a show in a Festival in France, my main musician leaves the stage to go to the bathroom. I have to improvise and come up with something to say to my audience. This day had started stressful already as we were running out of time before the show. My hair and make up weren’t done and unfortunately, going to the bathroom was one of the things that none of us had time to do. I ended up playing the song without him and it was an awkward situation but now when I think about it I just laugh.

What are your favorite venues?

Jazz In Marciac Festival! This Festival is unique in the sense that in addition to its top quality programming, it is a great logistical achievement. The location is beautiful and rich in history. (Marciac is a beautiful bastide from the 14th Century in the South West of France, where I was born.

What’s your favorite recording in your discography and why?

It’s really hard to say but I would choose my song “Lonely Girl” for two reasons. First because it’s my single and secondly because it tells my story, the story of a little girl growing up in the country side.

What do you think is the most important thing you are contributing musically?

Hopefully I’m contributing, in my humble level, to perpetuating the existence of acoustic music played by real people and real musicians. This kind of music is getting rare nowadays.

Did you know…

I was a Tom Boy until the age of 14. If you saw the pictures you would never believe I was a girl! I loved playing with cars, Transformers toys and riding my BMX Bike. I fell so many times I still have the scars on my knees!

The first Jazz-Pop-R&B-Soul music album I bought was?

As far as I can remember…
#1 Jazz – George Benson – Tenderly
#1 Pop – Michael Jackson – Off the Wall
#1 R&B – Anita Baker – Rapture
#1 Soul Music – Donnie Hathaway – Extension of a man

What music are you listening to now?

Recently I’ve been enjoying listening to…
– Sir Gant (& The Invisible Force) – The Journey
– Richard Bona – The Ten Shades of Blue
– George Duke – Duke
– Jonathan Butler – Jonathan
– Etienne – Mbappe Bombay Makossa

What are those desert island picks that you just love?

– Bob Marley – Exodus – Universal/Island Records
– Stevie Wonder – Innervisions – Motown
– Richard Bona – Bona makes you sweat Live – Universal Music France
– Jonathan Butler – Live in South Africa – Rendezvous
– Will Downing & Gerald Albright – Pleasures of the Night – Verve Forecast

And of course I’d take my guitar with so I can write some more songs!

How would you describe the state of jazz-Soul or music today?

There’s a lot of great artists releasing good projects all the time, waiting to be heard. It’s just a matter of who is going to help them promote it. Fortunately, there are Dj’s, bloggers, music lovers doing a great job at playing and reviewing new indie music all the time. A lot of them are doing it out of passion for music and this is priceless for independent artists who can’t afford paying to promote their art. So, yes, the gap is spreading between the highly publicized artists and independent artists that strive to survive.

It’s nothing but a reflection of our society, the disappearance of the middle-classes. And the only way to keep not just music but quality art in general alive is to look out for each other, stay curious consistently and avoid intellectual laziness which makes us an easy prey to the consumer society that sells us derivative products under the guise of promoting a featured artist.

What are some of the essential requirements that you believe to keep jazz-soul and pop music alive?

Value efforts, allocate budgets, elaborate new ways to remunerate artists when their music is being played on streaming services, new radio rules… If artists starve, there won’t be any music. Of course, people will still be creative but they will play their music on the streets!

What are your thoughts on the state of live performances?

Again, it’s no different. The artists with the biggest sales will have the main stage. Fortunately, some festivals receive budgets to help promote independent artists and give them a chance to get heard. Let’s hope that it will last!

What is your greatest fear when you perform or record?

I would say…forgetting the lyrics. It has happened to me many times on stage. But it’s less frequent so I guess you learn by your mistakes!

What’s the magic for you in writing songs?

The magic for me in writing songs is the process of turning all your emotions and thoughts into music. It doesn’t always work, but when it does, it’s powerful. I only picked 10 out of a hundred songs that I wrote for my debut album. I picked the ones I believed were the most “magical” in these terms.

What song would you like to be remembered for recording or performance?

Stevie Wonder once said: “Music, at its essence, is what gives us memories.” I hope my music gives memories to people. I don’t expect to be remembered and I certainly have no power over what people are going to remember. It’s up to them, not to me.

What is your favorite song to whistle or sing in the shower?

Misty…

By day, what do you work on?

I check my emails in the morning and answer a few, then go to the gym and work out. I then come back home and practice my instrument/work on some music a little while networking.

If I weren’t a musician-vocalist-songwriter, I would be a…

I was preparing for a diplomatic career but I got fed up with politics and music was already taking so much space in my life that it was an easy choice. I believe artists are diplomats in their own way. If music wasn’t in my life I would be somewhere in the world, helping NGO’s saving the sea turtles from extinction in South America, protect the Elephants from poachers in Central Africa… there are so many incredible experiences waiting for us out there, so many meaningful and useful things to do!