On July 18, a large natural fan ended the Montreal heatwave in a matter of hours. But it was very hot at the concert by Franco-Cameroonian Valérie Ékoumè, because the lady knows how to turn up the heat during her performance. And not just about!
As the singer told my colleague Frédéric Cardin in an interview, she likes the way Montreal and other parts of Canada welcome her. And she returns the favor. After fifteen minutes, she had the crowd in her pocket and could make us dance and sing to her heart’s content. The former collaborator of Manu Dibango and Youssou Ndour is now flying high on her own wings.
The singer, sometime keyboardist and drummer, is surrounded by two musicians in red suits with elephant-head masks, a guitarist and a drummer with a no-holds-barred attitude, using pop-rock techniques as much as Makossa, Bikutsi and Esséwé rhythms. We’re immersed in pulsating Afro-pop, as evidenced by his latest album, 2022 Monè.
But it’s Valérie Ékoumè, with her powerful yet nuanced voice and stage presence, who reigns over the crowd like a queen. But a benevolent and committed sovereign, notably against inequalities in Africa.
She sang a beautiful ballad, which she then translated into French. It tells the story of a family of African migrants who lost a child on their illegal immigration journey. An Italian woman, who took in the little girl, managed to find the family and give the child back to them. “It’s a beautiful story, isn’t it,” Valérie told us.
On stage, the musical arrangements are less subtle than on record. But the trio’s incredible energy makes up for this. I went to the front of the crowd to see that the party was firmly underway. Once again, a multiracial, multigenerational crowd dancing their hearts out.Some of Quebec’s nationalist politicians would do well to pay a visit to Nuits d’Afrique. There was a crowd there, overwhelmingly French-speaking, who perhaps spoke another language at home.
During a break, a Quebec woman of Haitian origin confided in me that, following certain recent statements by Quebec politicians, a racist space has opened up. That she sometimes hears people spitting when she’s out and about; she doesn’t think it’s a coincidence.
Nuits d’Afrique is an antidote to all that. So is Valérie Ékoumè.
