Blick Bassy

Blick Bassy is a singer, songwriter, guitarist and percussionist from Cameroon and France. Born in 1974, he grows up in Yaoundé, Cameroon’s capital, in a large family with 20 siblings. He is part of the Bassa ethnic group and sings in Bassa, which he uses to draw on proverbs, oral tradition and the specific intonation of the language.

Early life and musical formation

As a child, Bassy spends two years living with his grandparents in Mintaba, a village in central Cameroon, from the age of 10. There he learns traditional customs, hunting, fishing, agriculture and local musical forms. He discovers styles including Bolobo, Dingoma, Bekele, Hongo and Assiko through daily life and work, and he later says his mother is a major influence on his singing. He also listens to Marvin Gaye, Gilberto Gil and Nat King Cole, and wants to combine Bassa musical traditions with other influences.

Early bands and Macase

Bassy starts his first group, Jazz Crew, at 17. The band plays a fusion of African melodies, jazz and bossa nova and becomes well known in Yaoundé. In 1996 he forms Macase, which is active for almost 10 years and releases two albums, Etam and Doulou. Macase also receives several awards, including the RFI Prize for World Music, Best Group at MASA, Best New African Group at the KORA Awards and the CICIBA Prize.

Solo work and Léman

After leaving Macase in 2005, Bassy moves to Paris and works with Manu Dibango, Cheikh Tidiane Seck, Lokua Kanza and Etienne Mbappé. He later signs to World Connection and records his first solo album, Léman, in Salif Keita’s studio in Bamako and in Paris. The album is co-produced by Jean Lamoot and Jean-Louis Solans. It brings together music from Central and West Africa with bossa nova, jazz and soul, and uses kora, calabash, double bass and guitar to create a soft but rhythmically driven sound. Bassy describes the title as meaning “mirror” and frames the album around memory, displacement, Africa and the loss of language and culture.

Language, themes and style

Bassy treats singing as central to the meaning of his music, with melody shaping the words rather than the other way round. He says Bassa is important because it carries proverbs and deeper meanings, and he uses it to address cultural change, migration and the experience of being African in Europe. Songs such as “Africa”, “Masse” and “Bolo” reflect these themes, including the tension between leaving home and preserving identity.

Touring and performance context

At the time of Léman, Bassy appears live in Europe and at festivals including Musiques Métisses, Afro-Latino, Festival Mundial and Afrika Festival, and he also supports Salif Keita in the Netherlands.