From Jamiroquai to Erykah Badu, the youthful tunes of Bonnie Banane

Before migrating to Paris for her cinema studies, the deliciously eccentric singer grew up in Brittany between the funk-rap-new jack sounds of her father and the “diverse” discotheque of her mother. Memories.

Lhe soundtrack of singer Bonnie Banane’s childhood, raised in three different homes, varied depending on where she lived: from African-American music to trip hop, including Dario Moreno. She tells us about the musical favorites that marked her youth.

Where did you spend your childhood and in what environment?
I spent my childhood and adolescence in Brittany, shared between my mother’s home, my father’s home and with my grandparents. Each place had its own rules, its own views on the world and on education. I considered school a necessary step. I didn’t really feel at home there. Neither geek nor popular, a little shy and lonely, I knew that I would not keep any class friends in my future life. Outside of school, I did classical dance. I also liked going on rollerblading expeditions alone, beyond the areas allowed to me, to explore the surrounding area. After my baccalaureate, at 17, I entered film school at Paris-VIII University.

Did your parents listen to music?

My parents were very music lovers. My father listened to a lot of African-American music, funk, rap, new jack swing and R’n’B. When he woke up, he often put on live music from Stevie Wonder, Prince or Earth, Wind & Fire. My mother had a motley nightclub. She loved Massive Attack, Neil Young, John Lee Hooker. I remember the day she came home with the CD Mama’s Gun by Erykah Badu. His tastes were strange and unexpected. At my grandparents’ house, we listened to Henri Salvador, the Red Army Choirs and Dario Moreno. Every Sunday they watched Luck with songs.

What is your favorite song from your childhood?

Many songs marked my childhood, but if I have to choose one, it’s Thriller, by Michael Jackson, for the music video that scared me, for the dancing, for his voice and for him. I discovered it when I was 4 or 5 years old, and it was a big revelation. My father liked him a lot, my brother was a fan. We found ourselves around his songs, they united us. Just like those of Stevie Wonder. As a teenager, I listened endlessly Songs In a Key of Life, the libretto in hand, deciphering all the words. I learned English like that. I also had a real passion for Purple Rain, by Prince. First for the album, then for the film that my father allowed me to watch on my 16th birthday. I played the DVD five times in a row during the night. It’s a really bad movie, but it’s my favorite!

What was the first concert you attended?

When I was a child, we went to the TransMusicales in Rennes every year with my father. But the first concert that really marked me was that of Jamiroquai at Liberté, in Rennes. I was 8 years old. I have incredible memories of it. The bassist had little lights embedded on the neck of his instrument, Jamiroquai was doing a handstand on stage. I was amazed.

Did you learn music as a child?
I took piano lessons when I was little. I can’t say for how long, I don’t really remember. I forgot everything. At 23, while I was going through a six-month period of great solitude that I had chosen and enjoyed, I began to compose sounds on the computer and write texts. A few months later, I returned to the Paris Conservatory of Dramatic Art, where I learned vocal technique in lyrical singing classes. During the first year at the Conservatory, I spent all my free time with a producer friend who had offered to work with him on my songs. After a year, we had the material for an EP. He asked me to come up with an idea for a music video for the single (Muscles), et Sexy Planet was released in 2020.

Do you remember the first song you wrote?
The first songs I wrote were all in English. I composed on the computer but I very quickly realized my technical limits. The first song that came out was called Muscles.