First recognized for its “gourmet programming”, the Montréal en Lumière festival also offers a disparate buffet of musical artists. To discover, the voice of Shay Lia, undoubtedly the most popular Djiboutian musician, except that “there, no one knows me, since the country is such a different cultural bubble”, nuances the neo-performer-composer-performer. R&B revealed thanks to his collaborations with Kaytranada. In concert Friday at Studio TD, she will present material from her first album, Facetspublished last fall.
It is exciting, this self-published album in which my friend Kaytranada and collaborators Andrés Rebellón, GuiltyBeatz and Majid Jordan participate, among others. A pop song that touches on neo-R&R, nu-soul, electro, with a touch of new dance pop from Africa like amapiano, a genre that appeared less than ten years ago in South Africa, in the rhythm and the atmosphere very close to deep house.
This album “is truly the trip of a naturally curious singer-songwriter. The kid I was who listened to sounds on YouTube on the way home from school, when I was in Djibouti and there were camels outside. I didn’t even understand English, but I would watch videos of Usher rehearsing a performance, not understanding a word he was saying. It was YouTube that nourished me, since there were no concerts in Djibouti. And what comes out of that is all this R&B that I listened to when I was little, that I regurgitate in English, obviously, because that’s what I listened to. »
Born in Toulouse, Shay Lia grew up in the capital of Djibouti, an African republic in the service of which her father, Dileita Mohamed Dileita, made a career. The statesman was first a diplomat and rose, from 2001 to 2013, to the post of prime minister of the small country of less than a million inhabitants, located on the Horn of Africa, wedged between Eritrea (to the north), Somalia (to the south) and its big neighbor Ethiopia (to the west). Shay Lia stayed with her father until the age of 18, then returning to France to continue her studies, “but I didn’t like it there. My dad had heard about Montreal, this “welcome land”, where we do good studies. They dropped me off there at 19, I didn’t know anyone, and I got by,” enrolling in a bachelor’s degree in communications at UQAM.
Authenticity
“If there is something I have kept from my years in Djibouti, it is that the experience cultivated my relationship with the world. I have no trouble understanding someone from another culture, even one more conservative than mine. Also, I’m proud of where I come from. When we are mixed race like I am and have traveled a lot, we cling to our identity, to what defines us. I keep my authenticity, and I think that comes through in my music, in the fact that I work independently, that I make the music that I like, without trying to follow a trend, but which is still part of at the crossroads of a multitude of musical trends that are hyperpopular today.
It was in Montreal, where she has lived for a dozen years, that she launched her musical career; his first stroke of brilliance was to sing Leave Me Alonea dance floor bomb recorded on Kaytranada’s first album, 99.9% (2016). In fact, no: his first real breakthrough was dancing with enthusiasm to the left of Kaytranada, during his performance (filmed, now cult) in 2013 for the Boiler Room platform.
But yes, it’s her who moves so well and whose performance, captured naturally, has gone viral! “I had just arrived in Montreal, I was still young and very embarrassed. Plus, everyone thought we had taken things to get into the party, when no, I was leaving my classes, I had only drank water! This shows the power of a moment like this, understanding how inspiring it can be to be kind to yourself. As an artist today, I find it a great lesson. »
The rest of 2024 will be for Shay Lia a matter of opportunities to seize and performances to offer, like that of Friday at Studio TD. Some American media are starting to take an interest in his work; she has just obtained the visa allowing her to give concerts south of the border, “and I also hope to give a few this summer in Europe. Now, I am discovering the reality of the job: it is rehearsing, singing, composing. I’m in the process of becoming more professional and learning more about the industry, but my first love will always be writing songs — and dancing.”
Facets is offered on AWAL; Shay Lia will be in concert Friday at Studio TD, as part of the Montréal en Lumière festival.