About Me
Blick Bassy was born and spent his childhood in Yaounde, Cameroon. At the age of 10 Blick was sent to his grandparents to receive an initiation into traditional customs and culture. Blick’s grandparents train Blick to perform a variety of tasks among which were hunting, fishing, agriculture but also in and with a pronounced emphasis on their musical traditions. For in Mintaba, a small village situated in the center of Cameroon, all activities are accompanied by music and it is here that Blick discovers the Bolobo (chant for fishing), the Dingoma (chant and percussion for the inauguration of Mbombock chiefs), the Bekele (chant and percussion for weddings), the Hongo (chants for funerals), the Assiko (guitar percussion, chant and dance) among others. After two years in Mintaba, Blick returned to Yaounde and it was here that he was exposed to and inspired by the music of International artists like as Marvin Gaye, Gilberto Gil, Nat King Cole whom his parents frequently play at home.Five years later Blick created his first band,Jazz Crew, which played a fusion of African melodies, Jazz and Bossa Nova. Jazz Crew’s talent quickly made it the most solicited band in the city as well as a frequent winner of interscholastic music competitions. Jazz Crew became the youngest group to be invited to play in the first ever Festival sous les Manguiers (Festival under the mango trees) in Yaounde.In 1996 that Blick created and joined another band called Macase. A ten year adventure quickly ensues culminating in two reputed albums: Etam in 1999 and Doulou in 2003. Macase becomes the recipient of many regional and International prizes including the RFI Prize for World Music in 2001, Best Group by MASA in 2001, Best New African Group by the KORA Awards in 2003, the CICIBA Prize in 2003.In addition to his role as lead singer and main composer of Macase, Blick produced and arranged an album for Hip Hop aspiring artist Koppo in 2004. The album, Je Go written in camfranglais, a Cameroonian fusion of French, English and local languages, sold over 200 000 copies, an enormous and unprecedented success for any Cameroonian Hip Hop artist.In 2005 Blick decides to move to France to focus on preparing a solo album. Blick’s forthcoming album is primarily acoustic with a soulful hue and a Cameroonian foundation. Blick’s guitar compositions and warm voice are enriched by the Kora, calabashes and a counter-base resulting in a unique, haunting and subtle sound. It is a sound that brings us deep into the forests of Mintaba.Blick Bassy as a solo artistIn 2005 Blick Bassy decided to be a solo artist. Being a musician of several capacities, singer / songwriter and reknown producer, Blick Bassy quickly seduced audiences and collaborated with the likes of Manu Dibango, Cheikh Tidiane Seck, Rido Bayonne, Gustave Parking, Keziah Jones, Jay Lou, No Bluff Sound, Etienne Mbappe as well as Lokua Kanza who composed the song “Man Nyui†for his first album.Blick Bassy symbolizes the resurgence of a new wave of Contemporary African Music. He is a regular performer in some of the better known concert halls in Paris: La Scene Bastille, le Sentier les Halles, le Canal Opus and most of all le Baiser Sale, the mythic Parisian jazz club where he has obtained a residency.In the beginning of 2007 Blick Bassy releases his first solo album, sung in French, Bassa and English. The album included 12 songs stemming from various influences and fusing the African origins of the singer with Soul, Jazz and R&B resulting in an original, fine tuned, haunting sound.Blick Bassy’s album is the reflection of his travels and cultural encounters: nomadic melodies gone from Africa to meet the world over a period of 16 years. From his Assiko and Bekele memory to his passion for Blues, Jazz and Soul, Latin rhythms, Blick Bassy takes us with him in his musical voyage, his musical mosaic.
