Album review

Corneille

Les Marchands de rêve

Paris 

02/12/2005 - 

Corneille's second album, Les Marchands de rêve, is an exploration of his past and present. The Rwandan-born singer also opens a new chapter in his career, looking to Africa for musical inspiration.

In the run-up to the release of his second album, Corneille has been in demand like never before. After attending a press conference for UNICEF (for which he is a roving ambassador) and performing a live question-and-answer session for a radio news bulletin, he finally squeezed us into his packed schedule, greeting us in an office at UNICEF's Paris headquarters.

At Peace

To say that Corneille has followed an original career path to date is a vast understatement. The singer-songwriter's first-hand experience of the Rwandan genocide, coupled with his committed songwriting and his current success story in the charts, have made him something of an icon for modern times. Corneille's debut album, Parce qu’on vient de loin, struck an instant chord with music fans, selling over 800,000 copies. And given the increasing media buzz around him, the pressure was on to release a follow-up album. Corneille shows no sign of having succumbed to the stresses and strains of life in the media spotlight, however. On the contrary, he comes across as serene, relaxed and apparently at peace with himself, his past and his new role as a public figure.

Corneille's second album, Les Marchands de rêve (The Dream Sellers), is as intimate and personal a work as his first. But, while the album touches on deadly serious issues, it also lets a little light into the darkness every now and then, largely through imaginative innovation in the musical department. Percussion adds an upbeat note to the politically motivated Lettre à la maison Blanche (Letter to the White House). And a guitar strikes up a Congolese rhythm on Iwacu, announcing a return to Corneille's African roots and a reflection on Rwanda's national identity as well as the singer's own. The opening track on the album, Reposez en paix (Rest in Peace), tackles a more painful personal memory, standing as a musical ode to his parents who were killed in Rwanda. But mood and tempo change in the course of the following tracks with 'sexier' material such as Viens.

Corneille claims that he never really "conceptualised" his album at all. "I write songs as I go along in life," he says "Each song is me at the moment I write it. But it is true to say that this album represents a transition for me. Using Reposez en paix as the opening track was a way of opening a new chapter in my life. At the end of last year, following the success of my first album, I found I really needed to sit down and give myself a chance to think. I discovered I was ready to move on to other things and assume my responsibility as a citizen of this world. That responsibility is given to me by life and by my fans."

Corneille has understood that music, combined with high visibility as a media personality, means he can get a powerful message across in his work - and he can extend that message to audiences everywhere, from Europe and Canada to Africa. Les Marchands de rêve is infused with an almost religious fervour, although Corneille insists he's not all that interested in religion. "I'm not a practising believer, but I guess with the new album I'm trying to get everyone to come together around a universal religion." Corneille's faith is placed not in God, but in Man and music, his belief is directed towards the future and the idea of a constructive utopia. "My motivating force in life," he says, "is dreaming of better things!"

Dreaming of Change

Perhaps one of the most interesting aspects of Corneille's new album is his willingness to look back without anger and see Rwanda, and Africa, in a new light. On Iwacu, an outstanding track which borders on the funky at times, the singer tackles prejudice and preconceived ideas in no uncertain terms. "I wanted to paint a brighter picture of Africa," he says, "and get rid of this spectre that's always hanging over the continent, making people see it as a place full of sorrow and misfortune. That's a completely false image for a start and, besides, young people need to hear something else about their homeland. Change only comes if you believe in it and the way I see it, change is only going to come when people open their minds and see things differently. Of course, it's hard to ask people in Africa to change when they're living such terrible things on a daily basis. But it's possible from the exterior and I believe music can contribute to that dream of change. The title of my album says it all really: the 'dream sellers' are those who want to change things."

If Corneille is intent on selling his own dream of utopia, Les Marchands de Rêve is an effective sales pitch. The album is liberally sprinkled with seeds of hope and several songs are devoted to women, "the future of Africa." As to his own personal future, the singer claims he would like to return to Kigali and perform there one day. But concerts are not the only thing on his agenda. Corneille dreams of "just standing up and talking into the mike without singing at all." For the moment he says, he is not ready to take that step. "But I'm definitely going to do it at some point. The only question is when!"

Corneille Les marchands de rêve (Wagram) 2005
In concert at the Olympia, Paris (10 - 15 January 2006)
On tour in France until April 2006

Eglantine  Chabasseur

Translation : Julie  Street