Vibes: Interviews.Features

Corneille Interview

Corneille Interview
By Bren Herrera

The brother hails from French-Canada and looks the part. But his soul and spirit is deeper than most can even imagine. His painful witness of genocide in his native Rwanda and his evolution into a star in France and Canada, make for an incredible story. Melodically written in song, Corneille brings to mind a young Marvin Gaye: thought provoking, smooth vocals and always looking for growth. I was first introduced to Corneille’s music while grocery shopping in St. Tropez. Almost three years later, I had the unexpected opportunity to chat with him about his American debut.

Nu-Soul: Congratulations on your new and first English album. Are you loving all the accolades it’s been receiving?
Corneille: (Laugh) Nice to start over again, but not really. I’m really looking forward to all the good things coming from it!

NS: The album is called The Birth of Cornelius, is it your way of introducing yourself to the American audience or is it something you went through? Or, a combination of both?
Corneille: Well it’s really something I went through personally. Cornelius is actually my birth name and Corneille is what I changed to when I was 7. I’ve never gone by Cornelius, so with this album, I wanted to own what ever I had in my childhood hears, through my original name. It was appropriate to use my birth name. And, it just so happens that it is my new album in the US, so it works.

NS: Did you pull any inspiration for this album, from the last two, which were not released in the US?
Corneille: Definitely. I approach it as an evolution of the last albums I’ve done. It’s never really a departure from my original work. You will find some similarities between the first French album to this English one. I call it an evolution of sorts. The way I treat my vocals and the way I approach my melodies are similar, for sure.

NS: I heard your first two albums in France a few years ago, and I love it. Do you plan on releasing your French albums here in the States?
Corneille: Oh, if the demand is there, for sure! I’ve yet to see how the American public is going to receive this album. But, it’s definitely something I’d like to do. Most of my audience is based in France, Africa and French-Canada, so it’d be interesting to see how Americans react to French music.

NS: I’ve shared your original music with a DJ friend of mine because I think it’s really important to expose us here to other genres and styles of music. Just because you are black, doesn’t mean you have to necessarily perform American soul or R & B.
Corneille: Coming from Africa, we’re so inspired by what’s happening in the West. We don’t cut segments or separate things or genres. Music covers the whole. Stevie Wonder, Sting or Phil Collins would be playing on the same station. That’s how I learned to listen to music. Ultimately, a good song is a good song. That’s how I learned to make music, how to love music. That’s how I paint my music and it’s what’s influenced my lyrics.

NS: Do you find need to share your personal story of having suffered and witnessed the genocide in Rwanda?
Corneille: No, not really. Though the song writing has been therapy for me. My perspective today of the genocide is very different of what it was 5 years ago. My first album was written from the perspective of someone having gone through genocide. And in my second album I had gone through seeing fame. So now it’s like I’m starting from scratch. I’m always dealing with myself. The mission is not to share my pain with others. It’s my way of expressing myself. It’s all a very personal journey.

NS: What about American R & B music attracts you?
Corneille: Everything about American culture was interesting and very appealing to me while growing up in Africa. The grandeur and every artistic form that was coming out of the states, was appealing to me. Somehow, I identified with hip-hop a lot in the late 80s and early 90s, when it became more of a culture. I wasn’t all into the rapping and rhyming of the culture; it was more the singing that attracted me, through the Jackson 5 movement.

NS: So, any plans for a U.S. tour?
Corneille: We’re talking about it, but it’s mainly focused right now on letting people know about the music. In this recession time, we’re being creative in getting the music out!

NS: Do you Twitter?
Corneille: I don’t even know what that means!

NS: Oh my goodness, we have to get you on Twitter! It’s great. It’s a way to get people to follow you and get your music out there! And, it’s free!

NS: What would you like to be doing 5 years from now? How do you want to be know and associated?
Corneille: My thing is song writing. I love to write. I hope to be in a position where I have the opportunity to put my talent as a songwriter and producer in front of other artists. I want to be able to combine those two elements. Creating music from the first lyric and chord to the last step of the process. I’d love to play in the venues I grew up dreaming of, like Radio City Hall.

Download Corneille at Itunes
Purchase Corneille at Amazon

For more information and to purchase Corneilles’ new album The Birth of Cornelius visit his site at http://www.corneille.ca/ or myspace.com/corneillemusic