Musical duo Okali – Cameroonian singer Gaëlle Minali-Bella and French multi-instrumentalist Florent Sorin – released their debut EP this month, the result of years of experimentation in blending the sounds of their two countries, as they told RFI.
Having left Cameroon for France at the age of 12, Minali-Bella describes the EP as "a return to her African roots". Okali, she explains, means "pay attention to others".
"It’s the name that I used up until I was adopted, and it’s coming back to life today."
Minali-Bella provides vocals in English, French, and the Cameroonian dialect Eton, while Sorin takes care of the beats, in a musical style that mixes African music, trip hop and dub.
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Reconnection
Minali-Bella's native tongue, Eton, is associated with the Beti ethnic group. Growing up with her French adopted family, she says she progressively forgot how to speak it, but that it came back to her once she started making music.
"Music helped me rediscover my dialect, my origins and, inevitably, my history and my childhood memories," she said.
"It felt natural to sing in all of these different languages that I had heard since I was a child. So it wasn't a conscious decision, it came from the heart. I don't express myself the same way in my dialect as when I sing in French or English. The feelings aren't the same. But that's precisely what blending cultures is all about."
She recalls that music has always been a part of her daily life, beginning when she was a little girl in Cameroon.
"I discovered Western music once I arrived in France. A sort of melodic fusion occurred, adding to my Cameroonian musical background."
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Pushing the boundaries
For his part, Sorin says he is inspired by the trance-like patterns found in Afrobeat and Jamaican reggae.
"I've had the opportunity to go to Africa, to Cameroon a few times. That experience really struck me."
The duo's other musical inspirations are wide-ranging – from the Bristol trip hop collective Massive Attack to Icelandic singer Björk, by way of Radiohead, Tracy Chapman, Cameroonian musician Manu Dibango and metal band Tool.
They will be touring France and Switzerland this summer – just don't expect to hear exactly what you hear on the album.
"We love having free rein in our interpretations on stage," Minali-Bella said. "On CDs or vinyl the music is fixed, but live we like to push the boundaries a bit.
"I don't always do the same vocal versions, I don't always use the same structure. That's what's so great about it."
