One of your biggest hits is Henri Dikongué and his two albums, “WA”s and "C’est la vie" that you produced. So, the public would like to know how you met Henri, and how did this Trio with Cathy Renoir came to life?
WA, I think, was released in 95, if my memory serves me correctly… but Henri I knew him more than 5 years before. I met him in a student association. I was already a professional so I worked in Paris. This student association organized cultural weeks in Besançon in eastern France. They often called me to come and organize the parties from my experience. And it was there that I discovered Henri Dikongué who was a student at law school. He had just arrived; he was a little shy at the back of the room, playing a little guitar. But he already had something. This vocal timbre… it was not yet the Henri Dikongué we know but he already had talent and a few songs, like Africa, or Wa that we used afterwards. We lost sight of each other, because he had gone to Paris. There, he had some troubles, there were peoples who wanted to produce his Album, but Henri didn't want his album to sound like the Makossa that was produced at that time, with lots of machines. He had some hard times, but on the other hand his producer had paid him a classical guitar school. I think it’s the best thing he has done for him.
Before, working on the mastery of your instrument was very important, even producers made arrangements for their artists to learn music. Afterwards he came to see me in Besançon, asking me if I could do something for him. I was already involved in another project, "Radio trottoir" with a Congolese musician. So, I told him we will try. We started to record samples and there he understood that working with a pro made the difference, and it is also there that I understood that there was potential in Henri.
Cathy Renoir is a longtime friend. We met at Ray Lema's because she sang there too. She had come on vacation to my house. And we were recording, so I said "Cathy can you help us out ?” she put her voice on it and it worked. She is a very nice person, she agreed to do the whole Album for free. Cathy is really someone who has put a lot of effort into Henri Dikongué; Besides, they still work together I think.
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Flashmag September 2020 www.flashmag.net
Trio Henri Dikongué - Cathy Renoir - Manuel Wandji
Akwa Betote