Singer and guitarist of Moroccan origin, Claudia Meyer took her time before releasing her solo album “Azul”. However, the quality of this work erases the wait!
We discover a warm and unique voice that beautifully harmonizes with Latin music: pure emotion and guaranteed thrill!
In this album, Claudia Meyer revisits the great classics of South American and Latin music: to be listened to without moderation.
A little gift! A fusion duet by Claudia and Maurane: a real joy to hear and to hear again… When two great voices meet, one can only be enchanted.
On June 15th, Nice-Première went on a journey with Claudia Meyer, heading to “Azul”.
Nice-Première: On June 15, you release your first album, why did you choose “Azul” as the album title?
Claudia Meyer: Azul is my first solo album, it means blue, this color evokes images related to my origins in the south, the blue of the sea and the sky, I am a daughter of the sun and it is also one of the songs on the album, “Azul Provinciano.”
N-P: What is the originality of this album?
C.M.: For a first album, one generally takes their time, recording it over several weeks or even months, whereas for this one I wanted it to be done in one go and in live conditions to give it as much authenticity as possible, and to return to roots, completing the loop with myself and the desire to engrave the songs that I have always sung as a kind of heritage.
N-P: Having lived in Morocco and then Marseille, how did you fall into a universe with “Latin colors”?
C.M.: By meeting South Americans, living in their world, playing their music with them, I felt very close to the language and we shared the same sensitivity.
N-P: Was the guitar your first love?
C.M.: Yes, absolutely, singing came later. By the way, I have had the same guitar since I started; it’s very resilient after all the travels I’ve subjected it to.
N-P: “Azul” contains great classics of South American music, how was the selection of these songs made?
C.M.: They were part of the repertoire of the great Argentine singer Mercedes Sosa who always captivated me with her voice and power, she is a star there, nicknamed “la negra”, she always sang songs by great poets like Atahualpa Yupanqui, Violeta Parra, and others, whose lyrics are always close to the people and the land.
N-P: Why did you choose to open your album with “Dispara”?
C.M.: The album starts with the Spanish version of Eucalyptus and ends with Eucalyptus in Hebrew, the original version which, for me, is one of the drivers of this album as well as of my musical journey. As for “Disparada,” it synthesizes all the Brazilian pieces I’ve sung, carried by the musicality of the language and the message of the text which is almost an anthem to Brazil because it symbolizes freedom.
N-P: For this album, you surrounded yourself with talented musicians: Jean-Félix Lalanne, Patrick Deltenre, Daniel Roméo, Marquito. How did you come together?
C.M.: I admit that it was a combination of great feeling and artistic complicity because we had the same desire to play as if we were on stage without redoing any takes, usually in the studio, the instruments are recorded separately. It’s also good but recording where everyone plays together will never be replaced, from my point of view of course. The joy for musicians is playing together.
N-P: You have opened for Maurane and today the singer of “Au claire de ma plume” performs with you “Alfonsina y el mar,” a song present on your album. Maurane and Claudia Meyer, good friends?
C.M.: It’s first an artistic crush that became a story of friendship. Maurane had already recorded Alfonsina, and the first time we performed it together, we felt a common bond for this music, we enjoyed singing together, she very often invited me to each of her new shows, it’s thanks to this trust that I was boosted to advance my career, much more stage-oriented than discographic.
N-P: This year, you are opening for Lara Fabian, how did this encounter happen?
C.M.: She came to see me in concert at “Petit Journal Montparnasse,” and a week later I was on stage at the Stade de France with her during Jean Marie Bigard’s “Big Test.” The absolute trust and recognition from great singers have given me a bit more confidence since doubt in an artist is always present, I’m lucky to meet beautiful people in this profession like Lara Fabian.
