''C'est la Vie'' is an album by the Cameroonian musician
Henri Dikongué.
It was released in 1997.
The album was dedicated to
Fela Kuti
Fela Aníkúlápó Kuti (born Olufela Olusegun Oludotun Ransome-Kuti; 15 October 1938 – 2 August 1997), also known as Abami Eda, was a Nigerian musician, bandleader, composer, political activist, and Pan-Africanist. He is regarded as the p ...
and
Robert Mitchum.
It was a success on European world music charts, and sold more than 9,000 copies in its first month of release.
[ Dikongué promoted it by touring North America.
]
Production
The album was produced by Gilles Fruchaux.[ The title track was sung in French; Dikongué wrote all of the album's songs, and also played classical guitar.][ Dikongué was influenced by the sound of ]bossa nova
Bossa nova () is a style of samba developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is mainly characterized by a "different beat" that altered the harmonies with the introduction of unconventional chords and an innovativ ...
.
Critical reception
'' JazzTimes'' noted that "Dikongue's musical turf isn’t the dance-driven world of intensely rhythmic West African styles, but a softer melange, grounded in elements of Brazilian influences and a general emphasis on acoustic instruments." Robert Christgau
Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most well-known and influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and ...
wrote that Dikongué is "what happens when Afropop becomes world music—when it targets broad-minded European connoisseurs rather than rhythm-schooled African sophisticates."The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
'' stated that "Dikongue's distinctive style melds classical guitar, Latin-jazz balladry and French chansons." The ''Orange County Register
''The Orange County Register'' is a paid daily newspaper published in California. The ''Register'', published in Orange County, California, is owned by the private equity firm Alden Global Capital via its Digital Fiest/Media News subsidiaries. ...
'' praised Dikongué's "sweetly suave style," writing that he "crafts low-key, folk- and jazz-infused Afro-pop."AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
wrote: "Offering an interesting alternative to zouk and makossa, Cameroon's Henri Dikongue favors an introspective, sensitive and ballad-heavy approach on ''C'est La Vie''."
Track listing
References
{{authority control
1998 albums
Henri Dikongué albums