Vacra | Sweet recognition | The Press

For several months, Vacra has been touring theaters in Europe. His very first album, Galatea, enjoys its share of success. And for the very first time, the French artist crossed the Atlantic for a highly anticipated performance here last weekend. Meet the man who kept his identity a mystery for months.

On the other end of the line, Vacra greets us gently. We obviously can’t see him, but you can feel it: he’s happy to give us time even if he’s just done several interviews to highlight his time in Montreal.

“So far, I have been very well received. I received a lot of messages asking me to come here, so I know that I am quite expected,” he says, the day before his performance on the outdoor stages of Picnik Électronik, last Friday at Jean-Drapeau Park.

Galatea, it’s a gentle universe, sometimes dancing, sometimes soaring, sometimes catchy. Vacra, armed with his androgynous voice, takes the stage with the objective of “defending the project” and its scenography.

Extract of Sequence shot

His songs have already racked up tens of millions of plays on Spotify, and he can now make a living from his passion. From the first moments of the discussion, the artist demonstrates marked recognition. He is truly in awe of what is happening to him.

His style, which blends sounds like hip-hop and R&B with Afrobeat and reggaeton, is the result of years of studio experimentation. “It would be unfortunate to lock ourselves into one style” knowing how many different ones there are, according to the main person concerned.

A marriage of diverse influences, his style attracts an audience carrying positive energy, something the artist is delighted about.

“The public amazes me. Everyone gets along well, there are no problems. I’m really lucky,” he emphasizes, aware that not everyone is given to being welcomed by such a welcoming audience.

” I can not wait to see ; I was told that there were only three months of sunshine here, and so people were really festive,” he added. If we rely on the photos published on Picnik Électronik’s social networks, this seems to have been the case.

Maintain the mystery

For a long time, Vacra waited before revealing details about his identity. For him, being discreet and protecting his privacy is not a luxury: “It’s the most important thing. »

Before the publication of his project Galatea last February, his fans did not know his face. In fact, they didn’t even know if they were listening to a man’s or a woman’s music. And this, even if his songs Sequence shot And Tiki Taka were already popular. Then, step by step, Vacra brought down some curtains, like the one of its kind.

Music actually happened to him a bit by chance. He always liked it, then decided he would try making it. Obviously, it worked well.

“It came very naturally. I can’t explain why, but I wasn’t expecting that at all. Every day it grows, and every day it amazes me. »

“It’s crazy, but it’s like a passion,” he explains. It takes you, like cooking, sports or work. It hit me. I feel things when I listen to music, it’s what gives me these feelings. »

Occasionally he thinks that all this is “too much”. After all, success came very quickly, and his life has changed considerably since the release of Galatea.

“It’s beyond what I imagined”

He is often asked if he expected to make it this far. Answer: not at all.

“I was just expecting to have a blast in the studio, so I have to come to terms with the fact that I can just get up and do what I love. It gives me the opportunity to travel and meet people as passionate as me. And suddenly, it goes beyond what I imagined. »

Vacra is currently working on a second studio album, without however revealing a release date. During the fall, he will perform throughout French-speaking Europe, mainly in France, but also in Switzerland and Belgium.

To speak to him is to see that a big heart beats behind his sweet melodies. It also means meeting a truly passionate artist, who cultivates a privileged bond with the feeling of recognition.