Brice Kapel? Does this name mean nothing to you? That’s normal (well, almost), as artists labeled as “children’s singers” aren’t highly sought after by the media. To refute this sad observation, Nice-Première has decided to feature Brice Kapel, who dreams of bringing together children, parents, and grandparents through his music and stage performances, with the goal of fostering communion among the three generations, creating shared joy, and promoting togetherness. His music? Well, we could say it’s multicolored: a mix of world, rock, pop, reggae. Welcome to the world of Brice Kapel.
Nice-Première: Why did you name your latest album “Coloricocola”?
Brice Kapel: I named this album Coloricocola because it was also the title of the show. Taking our children to see a show should not be a chore for us adults but a moment of sharing, celebration, and dreaming where the three generations—children, parents, and grandparents—intersect and mingle. I also work in schools with children on educational action projects or cultural action projects. On one of these projects, we invented names to define two worlds, one gray and one colorful and cheery. We named the latter Coloricocola. I found it funny and nice, so I made it into a song and it was a natural choice to keep it as the album title because the end goal in the show is to reach Coloricocola, located 200,000 kilometers up in the sky.
N-P: On this album, you perform a duet of one of your songs “Lo” with Karine Lima, a host on M6. Why create a new version?
B.K.: We made two editions of the same album. One was released in 2001 and the other in 2004. “Les lacets” and “le loup” weren’t featured on the first edition. We realized when listening to the album that it wasn’t at all intended for children but for everyone. We had decided to release it as a normal album, but since the show was aimed at children, there was a big marketing confusion. Valéry Zeitoun, the former marketing director, became the CEO of AZ. The new one, François Duroux, wanted to adopt a “children’s” orientation and since he came from M6, they thought it would be good to do a duet with Karine to relaunch the project. We made “Lo” into a modern version, but neither Karine’s work nor her fame were enough to relaunch the second edition of Coloricocola, simply because the media aren’t interested in things that concern children.
N-P: On your website, you’ve written: “I sing because it’s the surest way to be myself.” But who is Brice Kapel?
B.K.: No more, no less… stay true to oneself, that’s my favorite adage. Brice Kapel is an adult who has managed to keep his childhood dreams intact; he’s a citizen of the world. Above all, he is a human being who believes that through music and the messages it can convey, we can help change the world like Marley, Peter Gabriel, Sting, George Harrison, Bono, and many others did. I compose, I write songs, I observe what’s going on around me, and I ponder about the world we are going to leave for our children. What can I do at my level to be useful? Also, even as adults, we all remain someone’s child.
