Introducing Anielle Deojee

Anielle n’est pas une inconnue de la diaspora Créole Mauricienne de Sydney. On la voit presque que a tous les rassemblements et événements de la communauté et dans les bals accompagnant ses parents des son jeune âge. Nous l’avons vu grandir et suivi son parcours dans le show business. Anielle est une fille très simple qui a un sourire spontanée. Elle connaît comment " batte ravanne" chose qui est rare parmi les filles Créoles en Australie, même rare a Maurice. Le lancement de son premier CD est une consécration de son attachement à sa culture Créole et c’est avec un immense plaisir que nous l’introduisons à nos lecteurs.

Anielle let’s talk first about your musical background.
Music has been in my family for generations, my grand-pere France Jemon was a sega singer in the times of Roger Augustin and Serge Lebrasse. My Dad’s older brother Jean-Claude Deojee is also a known musician who created Stage shows and musicals in La Reunion and now does music in France. My Parents are both musical, my mum and Dad have sung with the Immaculate Choir of Port Louis since they were teenagers, my dad played bass guitar in bands before immigrating to Australia, similarly my mum has appeared on recordings and sung in concerts with my Grandpere. ‘mo papa raconteur, mo tan mama raconter…a la mo aussi raconteur…’ to quote a famous sega…. I have been in music since I was very young. Singing at school, in French and English Choirs, I participated in a vocal group with my cousins and sung at RSL clubs, shows and festivals, I did musicals and dance shows organised youth groups and when I turned 14 I started performing and singing sega, with the Launch of Sega Down Under which is still going strong after almost 12 years. When I turned 18 I started to sing with the well known group ‘Torrid Zone’ and ‘Gervais Koffi and the African Diaspora’ I have done session recordings for African musicians who have recorded albums here. In short, I love music and have been doing it my whole life.

You did you primary and secondary studies here in Australia and this being all in English, growing up in an Anglo-saxon environment, how comes that you are so entrenched in your culture ?
I was born in Mauritius and came to Australia with my parents and younger brother when I was 5 years old and therefore did all my schooling here. My dad has a large family and with many of his brothers and sisters here, the Creole tradition of partying and being with family on a regular basis was how I was brought up. My mum’s parents also came to settle in Australia two years later and being with my Grandmere and Grandpere helped to keep the traditions close to our hearts. Family is very important to me, and at 27 years old I can say that I am still very close to my family. Sega has always been part of my life and my family loved getting together and singing and dancing sega for as long as I can remember.

Give us an insight of your involvement in music/show business....in Australia.
I am proud to have been performing Sega in Australia for over 12 years, with Sega Down Unda, we have performed for various international functions, festivals, RSL Shows, Club acts, private functions, a lot for the Mauritian Community dances and corporate functions. I have studied various types of Dance, and have had the privilege of performing with various groups including, a Hula show called Pacifica Sway for 2 years, I taught south American Salsa, Samba and Merengue for 5 years with a company called Toucan Dance, I do African dancing with Gervais Koffi’s band, I did soca and Calypso dance when I was involved with the West Indian association of Australia. I have on many occasions performed singing with Clayton Davis, a famous Jazz and Calypso singer from Trinidad and Tobago established here in Australia. I also took over performing with Marceau Camille on behalf of my Grandpere, doing the Mauritian Segment of Marceau’s international show that is well known in the RSL clubs. Most recently for about two years, I have been involved with a Sydney based Sega band Jalsa Creole. I was given the opportunity to perform at the World Music Festival representing Mauritius in Adelaide in March of last year. Overall I am grateful to have been singing and dancing -which is something that I love doing-, for such a long time and on a professional level. I love bringing the Mauritian Sega and Creole ambience to people in all parts of Australia

You are launching your first CD in August in Sydney, can you please drive us along the history and what does it mean for you?
The CD Project is like a dream to me, if you can imagine someone who has loved Sega all her life goes to Mauritius on holidays and is given the opportunity to record a Sega album with the biggest selling artists in Mauritius! I was introduced to Mario Justin of group Zotsa through Lindsay Morvan, a close family friend who I was staying with while on holidays. I had written a Sega (half in English and half in Creole called ‘Hi Cherie’) that I wanted to record and asked Mario if I could work with him on this project. At the same time Mario was given the project of recording a reprise album and was looking for a female vocalist to be lead on the recording, he had heard me sing at a birthday party at Lindsay’s house and asked if I would sing on the album. Without hesitation I agreed and felt extremely honoured to have been asked. I spent one week in the studio, it felt as though I was living there… I would sometimes arrive at 9.00 am and Lindsay would come and get me at 10.30pm. It was a great experience; I enjoyed watching the musicians at work, and the creating process. I felt a little nervous singing in the presence of Nancy Derouger- who is a great Sega singer and has lots of experience and who I think is unreal- and the musicians of Zotsa. I wanted to well because I knew Mario had trusted me. Overall it was a surreal experience and something I will cherish my whole life. The CD has a mix of ambience sega’s, romantic sega’s and I’m honoured to have ‘Hi Cherie’ (the sega that I wrote with the help of my dad) also on it.

The launch of this CD must be quite thrilling, where do you go from here ?
The launch I am organising for the 18/08/07 is a reflection of the excitement and enthusiasm that I felt recording the album. I want to share the music and its ambience, with the Mauritian people here in Sydney and (even non Mauritian people) who share my passion for Sega. The launch will be like a ball, I am putting together a band of professional Local Mauritian artists who have worked in the industry a long time. I am also creating a Dance show with ‘Typique’ style sega as well as some modern things to make it new and different and I will be selling CD’s for anyone interested in purchasing it. I’m hoping people will come and support the launch, and my aim is to make it a night people will enjoy and remember.