World Music Central's interview with the increasingly popular
singer and world traveler
Lhasa:
World Music Central's interview with the increasingly popular
singer and world traveler
Lhasa:
How did growing up in different places and countries affect your music?
It was growing up in different places and on the road, but also growing up without television and for many years without school, so we were pretty isolated from the culture at large both in Mexico and the States. And this was a choice that my parents made. They were interested in who their children were and at the same time forced us to deal with complex situations very early. They lived by their ideals as much as they could.
As adults my sisters and I all became traveling performers with very high
standards as far as not
bullshitting ourselves and other people and trying with all our might to do work
that's really alive,
charismatic, brave, and beautiful.
When did you realize you wanted to become a singer?
I always, always sang constantly, from the time I was four. But I decided to be
a singer when I was 12.
Why do you think an album in Spanish by an artist based in Canada
became so popular in countries such as France?
France is incredibly supportive of the arts; the government, the record
companies, the theatres, the
media, the audience, the record stores are all so used to music that comes from
all over the world. So when
my album came along there was a place for it. It was easy for people who might
be interested in it to find
out about it and find it. So it was like having the wind in my sails, my music
arrived in France and found
its audience, which turned out to be bigger than anyone expected. In other
places sometimes we've had
to get out the oars and paddle. But that's ok too.
Your previous album was only in Spanish. The new album has songs in
French and English. What motivated you to sing in
other languages?
I live in three languages...In a way, the question I ask myself is, why was the
first album in one language? And the answer is that singing in Spanish gave me
courage, gave me guts, helped me to get off the ground. It helped me in a lot of
ways; the
language, the whole world of images and memories that I associated with Spanish,
my childhood. Also, singing in French or English I would have immediately found
myself in a "market". Because I was singing in Spanish in Canada, I seemed to be
coming out of nowhere, and I was allowed to find my own voice. Now I feel I've
found my own voice, and I can sing in
English and French too.
Many modern musicians are digging into their roots. Are you planning
to work with Mexican or other Latin musicians in the future?
I don't know yet what I'll be doing for the next album. I do have the lifelong
dream of singing with mariachis. But you know, my roots are very tangled! I have
Lebanese, Panamanian, Polish, Russian, French, Scottish and Spanish blood. So I
consider I have been digging into my roots already. Working with mariachis would
be like choosing one root and unraveling it. But really I would do it because I
love Mexican music so much and it would be like flying to be backed up by
mariachis. Still I guess my priority is to make my own music, whatever that may
be. There'll be time to make cover
albums when I'm 70!
What other artists do you listen to?
Right now I'm listening to Devendra Banhart who is a wonder of the world in my
humble opinion.
Also recently I discovered Cat Power, who is amazing.
Camarón, the great
flamenco singer; Oum Khoulsoum [Um
Kulthum] the
Egyptian virtuoso;
Anouar Brahem, the Tunisian ud player who writes beautiful
poetic simple and profound
music...Nina Simone...Radiohead...Bob Dylan...Fairuz, the beautiful gentle and
passionate Lebanese singer...Simón Díaz from Venezuela, who is another wonder of
the world...
You've traveled and moved quite a bit. Where is your home now?
Montréal.
[Read a review of Lhasa's 2004 CD, The Living Road and buy The Living Road and her previous CD La Llorona].
World Music Central
http://www.worldmusiccentral.org/article.php/20041122204851214