Le Coeur de
Fely
(The Heart of Fely)

Article, Interview and
Photography by Diane “Livonn” Adam © 2008
“Fely is a unique and
fascinating artist capturing the spiritual essence of her Cote
d’Ivoire homeland and the world.”
-- Livonn
Leye Felicite Tchaco or "Fely" as she
is affectionately called is a stunningly beautiful singer,
songwriter and performer from Cote
d’Ivoire, West Africa.
Seeing Fely for the first time there is no way to ignore this
striking dark beauty. With her long, lean frame it would be
easy to mistake her for a high fashion model. Fely could easily
take to the catwalk with the likes of Donyale Luna (first
supermodel, cover girl and model of African decent to appear on
the cover of Vogue in 1966), Iman Mohamed Abdulmajid (Somalia)
or Alex Wek (Sudanese). On first meeting Fely, I was struck not
only by her physical beauty but even more so by her inner beauty
that clearly exudes a warm and genuinely sweet personality.
Born in Yamoussoukro, the capital
city of Cote
d’Ivoire, Fely’s family ties are deeply rooted to
the Guro Tribe originally known as the “Kweni” tribe who were
brutally colonized by the French who invaded the country from
1906-1912. The artistically talented Guro Tribe gained
international attention for their colorful Guro mask that
symbolize the spirit of Gu, the wife of Zamble (a supernatural
being who is part of the intricate Guro belief system). It is
apropos to mention that the spirit of Gu could also be
synonymous for the spirit of Fely as they both represent all
that is “elegant, graceful, serene and beautiful’.
In her latest CD release,
Awareness, Fely captures not only the
spiritual essence of
her Cote d’Ivoire homeland but also a deeply profound spiritual
connection to people all over the world. Awareness is a
fine collection of appealing Afro-Pop infused music that offers
upbeat dance songs like “Let’s Go For Peace” and the exquisite
and moving “Afrique Bon Le Wou” (Cry of Mother Africa) which
Fely says is “dedicated to
people of African
decent”. Fely beautifully
performed these songs and more at the 13th Annual
Monterey Bay Reggae Festival on Sunday, August 31, 2008.
 |
|
Fely performing at Monterey Bay
Reggae Festival 2008 |
The
only complaint I had about her performance is that it was just
too short! I really wanted to hear more from Fely that day.
The weather was sunny and bright and the small stage was filled
with Fely’s multi-cultural mix of musicians, dancers, and
singers and was set in the most beautiful location at the
festival adorned with a backdrop of pure blue sky and the
outstretched twisted branches of a singular tree that somehow
made me think of Africa throughout her performance. Fely had
some audience members even join her on stage for a competition
to judge the best dancer which was really a big hit with the
crowd as they laughed and cheered on each contestant. Though
the crowd was a little sp
arse, as many people were pulled
between her show on the smaller stage and the performance on the
main festival stage, Fely never let this stop the fun and
excitement of her performance and, in the end, I could only feel
sad for the people who were not lucky enough to be present for
her performance. Those of you wishing to see a little of what
Fely has to offer can view a video of Fely performing Afrique
Bon Le Wou” (Cry of Mother Africa) at You Tube by following this
link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FCrr_Et7CyY.
Immersed in a world rich in the
traditions of Ivorian music, Fely recorded her first albums
"Amour Perdu" (“Lost Love”) in 1996,
and "Aude a L’amour" (“Ode
to Love”) in 1998. Though she was absent from the music scene
for a few years she came back strong after relocating to the
United States with her daughter and in 2003 released her third
album and first U.S release, De Zere Gnan. Like many
other talented artists, Fely has really struggled and suffered
for her art and the result is a truly rounded and expressive
performer who finds that all important connection with her
audience which distinguishes her as an important addition to the
legacy of African artists. Fely is a unique and fascinating
artist capturing the spiritual essence of her Cote d’Ivoire
homeland and the world.
I feel especially honored to have
been given some time to sit and talk to Fely in San Francisco,
California on October 12, 2008. I was very impressed by this
articulate young lady who speaks fluent French and English, also
a distinction in her musical repertoire (Fely also sings in her
native language of Gouro, and also Spanish). As we conversed
over lunch about her past, her present and what she is working
towards in her future in music, I found Fely to be a complex
albeit straightforward individual who has a lot to say about her
life and music.
Livonn: Greetings Fely!
Fely: Hi Livonn! Thank you
for giving me this opportunity.
Livonn: Can you give our
audience a little background on how you got started?
Fely: Well, it’s a little
bit funny because since I was a child I always wanted to sing
and I remember
when I was in the 5th grade I went up to my dad,
actually I had a dream and I was sitting in front of a TV and it
that was so weird to me, I was like wow! But even before that I
alway
s wanted to sing, so I went to my Dad and told him I wanted
to sing and I wanted him to send me to an arts school and he
laughed at me. He laughed at me and was like where are you
going to go with your singing because in Africa people think
that singing is like you know its like something different that
they want to see all the time because only the boys are taken
seriously so not only I’m a girl and also I want to sing for
them its something out of the world. So I took my patience in
my heart you know and even though the opportunity wasn’t there I
always wished and wanted to sing so it didn’t happen to later on
when I got married and then got separated that I sold my car
finally that I had and went into the studio and surprised
everybody.
Livonn: Fely, can you tell us a little bit about your home
land of Cote
d’Ivoire?
Fely:
Cote d’Ivoire is a very nice place to be we have nice weather,
it’s like Jamaica. It’s just beautiful, that’s all I can say.
Livonn: Do
you remember the very first time you performed?
Fely:
This is very funny. I remember when my dad used to receive
guests at home and I would go in my room…actually
when I come from school my dad use to have this friend that use
to come over all the time and one day I came from school and
I
went in my room and changed my school dress and put on a wrap
and I took clay and put water in it and put it on my face and I
came back out and said, “Dad, look at me! I was dancing and
doing acrobats and he said, “Oh my God! We don’t want to watch
this again, I have a guest, just get out of here (laughing). I
was about 6 or 7 years old then but I remember always liking to
perform but no one was paying attention to me. So, I did my
very first concert, a very big concert, as a singer in 1996 in
Cote d’Ivoire at this big place called Hôtel d’Ivoire, it one of
the biggest five star hotels. I played a couple places and did
some tour and right after that is when things went bad because I
had to divorce and my career went down and I came to the U.S.
Livonn: A
lot of people may remember your performance a while back at
Reggae On The River in 2005 where you gave a beautiful solo
performance and also performed with Alpha Blondy who is also
from Cote d’Ivoire and there has been a lot of comments about
your incredible dancing skills.
Fely:
I didn’t even think that Alpha Blondy would call me on the
stage. I opened for him before in my country he put together
this show called Fiesta and I was one of the artists that opened
the art show in 1998 and he was very happy to see me at Reggae
On The River he was actually surprised he didn’t think that I
was here because he said that he didn’t hear from me and no one
knew where I was they don’t see me anymore so I told him I was
here so he called me on stage and I did some dance with him it
was really nice I was a very good experience.
Livonn:
Though you are a singer, I must say that you are an incredible
dancer and I wanted to ask you if the style of dance you did
with Alpha Blondy has a particular name in Africa.
Fely:
Yes, it is a particular style that we have in Cote d’Ivoire
called Mapoka.
Livonn: It’s
really interesting to watch, I love seeing you dance, but Mpoka
seems very hard to master.
Fely:
Yes, you shake your booty and you bend as your shaking it
without moving.
Livonn:
Recently you had an utterly splendid (albeit too short for me)
performance at the 2008 Monterey Bay Reggae Festival in August.
Can you talk about some of the songs you performed?
Fely:
This was a really good show and I really enjoyed it. You know,
it’s really special when you see the audience reacting to your
performance, it’s very touching and I didn’t even know that
there were people crying in the audience. I was told later,
actually one of my supervisors at my work surprised me there, I
didn’t know she was there, her name is Charlene Smith and she
was there with her husband who was crying when I sang, Cry Of
Mother Africa and she told me later that when they got home and
she put the music on (he was arguing with her at the time), she
got out of bed it was around 2 or 3 o’clock in the morning and
she put my CD on and he started crying. When she explains it
its better, I can’t explain it better than she does but its very
touching and I appreciate that and just wish that I get more
shows like this and people discover me more because my style is
new its different and I’m hoping also to secure management soon.
Livonn:
You’re style, does it have a name or have you given it a name?
Can you describe what your style is?
Fely:
Its fusion of African with modern and western instruments. Most
of my compositions are in my language but then you see piano,
trumpet, guitar and other instruments, I don’t usually use
African instruments. I really like pop music and classical
music so I combine those and create a special sound and people
really like it.
Livonn: The
song that you just mentioned, “Cry Of Mother Africa”, I know
that you are singing in French but could you translate from
Français to Anglais for our audience?
Fely: “Cry
Of Mother Africa” is actually dedicated to people of African
decent. As I mentioned during the show,
at one point we were all one, we all started out at the
Motherland and even the scientists have pro
ved it today, so what
I am saying is that Mother Africa is the symbolic name of the
continent. So what I am saying in this song is that when the
settlers came in Africa they were greeted very well and the
African people have helped them a lot and in return they wiped
the land and really didn’t do much and as African decent people
have contributed in the world and even today they still remain
behind. So, Mother Africa is crying ‘why are my children still
behind, why are they left behind” so that’s what I am singing
and this song is a homage to the hard work of African people,
big “A”, meaning whether you are African American or from the
Caribbean as long as you have a background from Africa you have
contributed into this world, the prosperity, the happiness of
everybody, my forefathers have suffered to give us this freedom
and a better world today. So this song is dedicated to them.
Livonn:
Beautiful words Fely.
Livonn: I
noticed that as you performed in Monterey, you had a beautiful
blue dress on and in the front of it you had a picture of
Obama. Can you tell us a little bit about what the election of
Obama to the U.S. presidency means to you?
Fely:
Thank you Livonn, this is a good question (and so have your
other questions too!)
Fely:
Well, the dress first of all was sponsored by a local designer
and her name is Maria Calloux and I would like to thank her for
trusting me, believing in what I do and have taken her time to
sponsor me because not many designers can just sponsor an artist
if they don’t know them, they don’t know who they are, so I am
very thankful and grateful for what she did for me. A friend of
mine introduced to me to her and she had this idea of this
really nice colorful dress, she asked me where I was going to
sing and how is the environment so I told her. A
nd
then I told her that I have a painting that I have at home and
the painter is my big fan. I won’t tell you who it is, but I
just want to describe what it is, it’s a portrait of somebody
that I really, really, like and I’m sure maybe you’re going to
like him too, I would like him in front of my chest. (Laughing)
So, she said, OK, bring the picture and let me see and when I
brought the picture she said, “Oh my God! I love Obama too!”
(Laughing) So, we both collaborated so I printed it, actually,
the time was so short, I didn’t have enough time and the
printing place where I went they wanted a couple of weeks in
advance and they don’t do small amounts so I went to an office
supply store and brought those sticky printing paper and printed
it from my computer and ironed it onto a white cotton t-shirt,
cut it out and sent it to her and she sewed it onto the front of
the dress and it came out very nice and people liked it and I am
very thankful. To answer your question, I am an Obama fan. I
don’t support Obama because he is black, I support him because
he has a different way of seeing things and he has different
views and ideas something new that you don’t hear and see all of
the time and I think in today’s world we have to move on, the
world is so mixed, we cannot still have biases and still think
in the past, we have to go forward because of our children, our
future generations. So, I think that Obama’s ideas are really
good for me because myself, I am not a racist, I’m very open
minded and I fit everywhere I go in life and that’s the
environment I want for my child because she is mixed too, half
white and half black and I am black and my parents are Africans
so we need a president that understands this so that we can all
have a better life.
Livonn: Yes,
as they say, “Out Of Many One”.
Fely:
Yes!
Livonn: Fely,
you have a new album release now that’s called, Awareness. Can
you talk about this?
Fely:
Yes, Awareness is my new album. Because I started out very
young and I didn’t have the life experience, everything was new
to me and I was just doing my music for the passion and the
love. As years went by, I discovered things, been through some
life changes, really bad experiences and at one point in life, I
wanted to stop everything, I didn’t want to sing anymore, I lost
self-confidence, I didn’t believe in myself anymore, I withdrew
myself from my family and everybody else so I came here and
started life over again.
Livonn: When
was it that you came to the U.S. from Cote d’Ivoire?
Fely:
I came here in 2000 after a very bitter divorce, with my
daughter. Thank God that I was able to get her custody. I
didn’t have any support from anybody, and when I say anybody, no
family support, no ex-husband support so I started life all over
again along with my daughter and it was a very new experience.
In Africa, you have a maid, you have family around, you know,
but here coming to a new world along with your daughter to a
very different system and you have to learn the language, it was
very challenging and like I said, I lost all confidence in
myself, I didn’t want to sing any more, I didn’t believe in me
basically. But what I learned is that once you are born an
artist, when something is in you, there is no way you can get
around it. I never stopped writing and at one point I started
writing poems and I thought, well maybe if I don’t sing, I’ll
write poems and I discovered this place call International Café
on Haight Street in San Francisco. Listen to this now, I use to
go there because they have spoken-word and my accent was really,
really heavy back then right? I had this beautiful poem in
French that I translated in my way in English and I volunteered
to go share my poems call L’arbre de Vie (The Tree of Life) and
the other was called Sacred Amour (Sacred Love). So, I
performed a couple of my poems and the host who showcases the
artists there, I think he heard me sing one time, he came to me
and said “You know what Fely, can you do anything else other
than poems” and I said, Yes, I use to sing and he said, “You
know what I think I want to hear about your singing”. So, one
day, I met with him outside and there was a guitar player there
named Steve and we did something real quick together and he goes
“My sister, I think you should stick to singing” (Laughing) and
he said, “Are you sure you want to be a poet?” (Laughing)
Livonn:
(Joins in the Laughter) He put you back on the right direction!
Fely: (Still Laughing) He then
asked me did I have any other songs, and that’s when I started
to tell him about myself, what I do and that yes, I am a singer
and he told me to never lose faith, if this is what you are,
this is what you should be doing and he encouraged me to keep
singing and that my poems are beautiful but you are in America
and when people don’t understand what you’re saying it is hard
so he helped me gain more confidence and then I started going
there more often and met other musicians and I formed a band
with five musicians, a drummer, a guitar player, pianist and
other instruments and it was very new to them. They liked my
music but they were not familiar with it and for them, maybe it
wasn’t not going to go anywhere so we stuck in there but they
didn’t…I don’t know because if they didn’t believe in me they
wouldn’t be playing with me but they had other goals so they
didn’t stay there with me so my only challenge was that I have
to have musicians who really believe in what I do and like what
I do so that we can have a band and move forward. So, since
those musicians went in their different ways so I stayed alone
and kept working until I found a producer and collaborated with
and that’s when I recorded my third album, De Zere Gnan.
It was a very good experience and I started gaining more
confidence now. So, I am very happy that I came here, this
country has been good to me and I am very thankful. So, my
message in my songs are for peace, unity and awareness so this
is what Awareness is about that you can never deny who
you are no matter what you went through in life you should
always hope for the best and keep doing it because you don’t
know, maybe the future holds better things for you. So, that’s
what this album is about.
Livonn: Fely, you have some shows
coming up this month.
Fely: I have two shows coming
up in San Francisco on October 28 at Mojito (1337 Grant Avenue,
SF 94133) and on October 29 at Biscuits & Blues (401 Mason
Street, SF 94102). I hope you and everyone can come to see me
perform.
Livonn: I
do really look forward to seeing you perform again too! I want
to thank you Fely for taking time out of your busy schedule to
talk to me and wishing you all the best in your career.
Fely: Thank you so much Livonn!
And a quick message, if anyone is out there is a hard working
person who would like to try something different and would like
to work with an international musician, I am looking for a
manger, promoter and booking agent.
Livonn: Yes,
and you can contact Fely via email at
info@felymusic.com
and for more information on this talented artist go to her
website:
http://www.felymusic.com
or her My Space page at
http://www.myspace.com/felymusic.
Fely: That’s right! Merci
Beaucoup Livonn!
Livonn: Merci Beaucoup Fely!
Blessed Love