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Rokia Traore

Rokia Traore Books

Singer-songwriter

Rokia Traore, born on January 26, 1974, is a renowned singer and songwriter. Her music blends traditional African sounds with modern pop elements, captivating audiences worldwide.

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Related Quotes

“Going back and forth between Western Arabic and African countries clearly created the various musical backgrounds I could have and obviously influenced my professional attitude, my way of approaching both music composition and singing, particularly phrasing.”

Way Country Attitude Singing Western Musical Various Backgrounds My Way Composition Back And Forth

Author:Rokia Traore

“We need self-confidence in our ability to build Africa. I trust in Mali and I trust in music.”

Needs Self Ability Self Confidence Mali

Author:Rokia Traore

“I used to play guitar for myself and write lyrics and listen to different styles of music.”

Writing Different Play Used Style Guitar Different Styles

Author:Rokia Traore

“I've been in contact with music since I was four or five years old through my father, because of the interest he had in music and all his musical skills. I finally managed to make that my profession.”

Years Father Interest Five Four Skills Musical Profession Contact Five Years Five Year Olds

Author:Rokia Traore

“My father was not able to get all the vinyl he used to listen to with me. He couldn't travel as he did it because of his profession as a diplomatic career.”

Able Used Father Careers Profession Diplomatic Vinyl

Author:Rokia Traore

“The fact of playing an instrument and singing... that I can try to make my dream of singing and becoming a professional musician come true is linked probably to the fact that I traveled a lot, which gave me an open mind and an ability to push my limits.”

Trying Mind I Can Facts Dream Ability Becoming Limits Musician Singing Instruments Traveled Linked Open Mind

Author:Rokia Traore

“Traveling changed my personality and gave me ability to do the music I do and to think in a certain way that everything can be possible.”

Thinking Way Certain Ability Changed Personality

Author:Rokia Traore

“You just have to try before thinking that you can't.”

Thinking Trying

Author:Rokia Traore

“I wanted to come back to the guitar after three albums and almost 10 years. I started to miss this instrument and I wanted to come back to the guitar.”

Years Wanted Three Missing Instruments Guitar Albums

Author:Rokia Traore

“Of course the folk guitar is the one I play very often, but I wanted a more electric sound.”

Play Wanted Courses Sound Guitar Folks Electric

Author:Rokia Traore

“I'm in a state of my life when the essential is very important to me. I don't like long songs with complicated arrangements and breaks anymore.”

Long Important States Song Break Essentials Complicated Arrangements

Author:Rokia Traore

“I prefer simple things - monotone melodies repeating the same things all the time. Because I think life is like that.”

Thinking Life Is Simple Melody Life Is Like Simple Things

Author:Rokia Traore

“We're repeating the same things all the time; there aren't many new things happening in this life.”

Happenings Things Happen This Life New Things

Author:Rokia Traore

“I don't know if it's due to my age, that I'm older now, [but] I love the essentials. I don't like the things around us that are a kind of mirage.”

Ifs Knows Kind Age Essentials Dues Mirages

Author:Rokia Traore

“There are some things around us that are not actually useful. I didn't know that before. It's very new for me to understand. That became my way of writing: I can see also the new myself.”

Knows Way Writing I Can My Way

Author:Rokia Traore

“The interesting thing for me is to put together all my influences and all my experiences I got through my traveling with my father.”

Together Father Interesting Influence Interesting Things

Author:Rokia Traore

“My influences are jazz, blues, European classical music; they are rock music and pop music. So many kinds of music. World music from different countries like India and China. I think that would be a shame not to take advantage and do something... not unique, because I don't have this pretension.”

Thinking World Kind Different Country Would Be Influence Rocks Unique Advantage India Shame Jazz China Pops Classical Music Pop Music Rock Music Pretension Different Countries World Music

Author:Rokia Traore

“You can't be unique any way. Music is made from seven notes. You will always come back to something. Even if you think you are unique, you will come back to something that existed before you were doing what you are doing.”

Ifs Thinking Way Made Music Is Unique Notes Seven

Author:Rokia Traore

“I don't think I'm unique or that I'm trying to do something unique, but I feel it is something I would like to hear. This kind of music I would like to listen to but I can't hear very often.”

Thinking Feels Trying Kind I Can Unique

Author:Rokia Traore

“Everybody does music from his culture and his experiences with his culture. There are not so many people who are interested by the music coming from different countries and different cultures and trying to make music from that, from all these experiences.”

People Trying Doe Different Country Culture Different Cultures Different Countries

Author:Rokia Traore

“I think about all these influences and musical cultures, then the opinion of the audience is of course important, but when I'm working on an album or a new project, I'm not all the time thinking about what the audience will think about it.”

Thinking Important Culture Courses Opinion Audience Influence Projects Musical Albums New Projects

Author:Rokia Traore

“The most important thing is to be happy myself with what I am doing.”

Important Important Things

Author:Rokia Traore

“Of course I am stressed after I finish working on an album about what an audience will think, if it will be successful or not.”

Ifs Thinking Courses Audience Successful Albums Being Successful Stressed

Author:Rokia Traore

“An artist who doesn't have any audience is not an artist.”

Artist Audience

Author:Rokia Traore

“Sometimes there are painters or very famous artists who start to become artists after they are dead because an audience or a public know about their art after they die.”

Knows Art Sometimes Artist Dies Audience Painter Famous Artist Very Famous

Author:Rokia Traore

“In general, in painting sometimes people like Picasso or somebody are not very well known in the beginning, sometimes they become well known just before they die, or sometimes after they have died. I think these people start to be artists after they've stopped existing.”

People Thinking Wells Sometimes Artist Dies Known Painting Died Well Known

Author:Rokia Traore

“When you have a chance to be an artist with an audience in your lifetime, you have to say thanks to your audience. That's a great thing. That's the best thing that can happen to an artist.”

Happens Artist Chance Audience Lifetime Great Things Thanks Best Things

Author:Rokia Traore

“When you are able to make a living with your job as an artist, that means you have an audience and you have to thank this audience.”

Mean Able Jobs Artist Audience

Author:Rokia Traore

“Without an audience, all your dreams will not come true at all, because you need an audience to write new songs and continue to do music.”

Needs Writing Dream Song Audience Your Dreams New Songs

Author:Rokia Traore

“For me, each time I'm on stage, each time I'm working on a new album, it's like a dream. I can't believe it's happening.”

Believe I Can Dream Stage Happenings Albums

Author:Rokia Traore

“The audiences are really different in general. Even in the same country or in the same city, from one venue to another, the audiences can be totally different.”

Different Country Cities Audience Venues

Author:Rokia Traore

“American audiences don't react in the same way as European ones to African music because, I think, Europeans listen to this music through all the festivals that exist here.”

Thinking Way Audience Music Is Festivals African Music

Author:Rokia Traore

“You can be a star here in Europe and not be known at all in the United States.”

States Stars United Known United States Europe

Author:Rokia Traore

“It's a great experience just to understand that finally being well known is not the most important thing.”

Wells Important Known Important Things Well Known Great Experiences

Author:Rokia Traore

“At the beginning of the tour, I arrange the live show exactly like the album, but of course from one audience to another, from one venue to another, it can become longer.”

Shows Courses Audience Albums Venues

Author:Rokia Traore

“I can introduce new parts because when you are on stage in front of a very happy audience or people who love what you are doing, you are able to do extraordinary things that you yourself didn't think you could do before.”

People Thinking I Can Able Audience Stage Fronts Extraordinary Introducing Very Happy Doing You Extraordinary Things

Author:Rokia Traore

“I can change the arrangements on stage while I am playing or singing, doing signs to the musicians to change things because the audience is dancing or singing with us. That's the interesting part of the live show, actually, because everything is possible and everything can change.”

I Can Shows Interesting Audience Stage Musician Singing Dancing Arrangements

Author:Rokia Traore

About the Author

Born: January 26, 1974
Known for: Singer-songwriter
Quotes: 37

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