Annie-Flore Batchiellilys (born 10 April 1967), is a

Gabon Gabon (; ; snq, Ngabu), officially the Gabonese Republic (french: République gabonaise), is a country on the west coast of Central Africa. Located on the equator, it is bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the nort ...

ese singer, musician, and composer, combining traditional Gabonese forms of singing with jazz and blues.

Early life

Annie-Flore Batchiellilys was born on 10 April 1967 in

Tchibanga Tchibanga is a city in the Nyanga Province of southern Gabon, situated on the Nyanga River. It has an estimated population of 24,000 (2008). The town lies on the N6 road and is home to Tchibanga Airport and a market. It lies near the Ivela Fa ...

, in southwestern Gabon. She is a native Punu speaker.

Career

Her grandmother gave her a taste for singing, but she first worked as a car mechanic. However, she was noticed in a 1988 television singing contest, ''Bonsoir musique'', by Pierre Akendengue, who encouraged her to visit a meeting place and training course that he had created, the Carrefour des Arts in Libreville. She went to France in 1990, initially following different formations, exploring Gypsy and Eastern registers, and jazz, at l’Ecole des Sirènes de Lyon. She then enrolled in singing and music theory classes at Studio Alice Dona in Gentilly, Val-de-Marne, Gentilly. She then found various engagements, in choirs, and also created a duet with the Quebec singer Mario Chenart. She released her first album, ''Afrique mon toit'', in 1997. The album combines the musical traditions that had been transmitted through her family, with jazz and blues. She performed at the Rhino Jazz Festival in Rive-de-Gier in 1999, accompanied by the Italian percussionist Carlo Rizzo. In 2002, she received the title of best female hopeful at the Kora Awards. In 2006, she founded the Nuits atypiques de Mighoma festival, later renamed the Mighoma International Peoples and Arts Meeting. Her stance in the 2009 presidential elections in Gabon led to her being banned in concert in Gabon, and to no longer see her tracks broadcast on radio or television. She was on stage again in Libreville in November 2015.

Albums

* ''Afrique mon toit'', 1997 * ''Diboty'', 2002 * ''Je t'invite'', 2003 * ''Broute bien'', 2006 * ''Le chant, c'est mon chant'', 2008 * ''Live à Olympia'', 2008 * ''De Mighoma pour vousss'', 2011 * ''Mon Point Zérooo'', 2013 * ''À l’angle de mon être'', 2016

Filmography

* ''Sur la route des Anges'', documentary film directed by Cameroon's Jean Roké Patoudem in 2011, on her career

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Batchiellilys, Annie-Flore 1967 births Living people Gabonese women Gabonese singers Gabonese composers 21st-century Gabonese people