Passionate about music since her earliest childhood, the Swiss-Burkinabe singer Lakna shares a universe rich in her miscegenation and sensitivity. As the release of her second EP Tsunami approaches, she shares a piece of this universe in a sincere and energetic interview. Can you introduce yourself, please? My name is Lakna, I am 25 years old, I am a Swiss-Burkinabe singer. I do… I don't even know what I'm doing… (laughs) I'm always asked to define myself… I do… I do what I want. Tell me about your background. So I come from a family of traditional African music, my father he is a griot. It's something hereditary so my grandmother was a griotte too. And it is people in the village who will tell the past, the historical memories … It's a bit like historians, a highly respected role. So I grew up with music around me, and since I was little I said I was going to be a singer even if no one believed me. And so I had access quite early to piano lessons, dance etc. And then, after a few years I think I started singing on stage, always quite early, at things like the music festival, competitions … It's been 3 years that I tour a little in Switzerland, I did big festivals like the Montreux Jazz Festival. I work with a whole team in Switzerland. Do you have themes that are close to your heart? The amouuur… There are a lot of broken hearts in the EP. There are also a few themes of society, like there is a sound on mental health is Up and Down … Throughout the EP there is a relationship to contrary movements. Moonwalk is going back, Up and Down too, Tsunami is a wave… There's always this trick of going against the current. Any musical and aesthetic inspirations for you as an artist? I listen to everything. Fatoumata Diawara, I can listen to Ninho, I can listen to Angèle… For aesthetics, before I had a very 90s thing and now it's a little lighter. I want the visual to really accompany listening to the song, that we listen to it more than we look at it. What do you think of the evolution of current French-speaking R&B? There it goes well while it was years that there was not much happening. There's a bit of mixing that's being created now. Rap has really helped bring "urban music," even though I don't like the term, back to the forefront. And your EP Tsunami, what can you tell me about it? My EP is an 8-track EP (7 with the intro), the main single is Tsunami, it's a track I've already released that talks about being hypersensitive etc. On the whole EP I worked with different producers but especially Yoann Maeder, who is the producer with whom I co-produce my sounds. So I also participate in the creation of prods it's super important for me, to really find an atmosphere … There I really wanted to leave with percussion a little Latin, a mixture of French song with a little movement, afro etc. I really wanted everything to be mixed, that I work a little more on the text too. The music video for Moonwalk has been available for a few days and the EP Tsunami will be available on March 24, 2023. Follow Lakna on social networks Facebook Instagram TikTok
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