In the course of his Afro-creative exploration , he met singer-songwriter Paul Simon . Impressed by Félix Sabal-Lecco ' s skills as a percussionist , Simon asked him to re-record tracks for his 1990 album " The Rhythm of the Saints ," making Félix a sought-after musician , even to the detriment of his personal projects . Less well known for his talent , Félix had been adapting famous French melodies for a long-awaited album since 2020 . From Bécaud to Aznavour , via Jacques Dutronc , some forty classics were reinterpreted and enriched by the daring percussionist , who was just waiting for the impetus of a label to make his talent shine . In 2020 , in the program L ' épopée des musiques noires presented by Joe Farmer and Nathalie Laporte on Rfi , Felix Sabal- Lecco , or Féfé to his friends and family , looked back on some of the highlights of his career .
Jonas Hellborg Lenny Kravitz Je Beck Joey , Omicil , etc . Which encounter was the most significant for you ? It starts with Manu Dibango . We all knew Manu Dibango in Cameroon because , well , he ' s our very own Miles Davis , and one day I was working at the music salon , not as a drummer but as a drum cleaner and pot adjuster . And Manu just happened to wander into the music room to have a look at the instruments . He found me there cleaning equipment because that was the job I was doing at the time with my brother , and he overheard us , as we were enjoying playing on the instruments at the same time . Afterwards , he told us to drop in for a co ee during Jean-Louis Foulquier ' s Pollen program on France Inter . During the show , he introduced us as his musicians , even though we ' d only known each other for a few hours . We were really flattered , and that ' s how the adventure with Manu began . We did so well that he actually hired us after that . We were a bit intimidated because he ' s Manu Dibango , after all . We accepted , and that ' s how we really started our international career , I can say , because before that , we only played in small clubs in Paris and the Paris region . We played ; we didn ' t fly . But with Manu , we started doing big tours . Big tours and big shows all over the world . Our first tour was to Germany . After that , we went to New York , then Brazil . So that ' s why he ' s a man to whom I owe so much .
I ' m not the only one ; there are many musicians who owe Manu Dibango a debt of gratitude . As I explained to you , Manu isn ' t someone who sits down and plays , but he likes to be teased a bit . Yeah , otherwise , if you don ' t tease Manu , he ' ll tease you , and then a lot can happen . He loves a challenge . So we never left Manu alone . But in the end , he loved it , and that ' s why my brother and I , Manu , loved us .
Before becoming the drummer everyone wanted him to have , I imagine there were some lean times ? It ' s true that , yeah , I went through the same thing as everyone else . In the music business , everyone goes through periods like that . I know a lot of my friends who I used to meet up with in the evenings on public benches . We lived in Paris ; we slept on park benches and took our showers in public baths . Music wasn ' t really the goal yet . First , you try to survive , and then , when we started making music , it was very di cult because we couldn ' t make a living from it . So , I made a little pittance to get us seen , which was already a lot .
And how do you go about approaching these idols when you ' re not yet part of the family of international musicians ?
Well , there ' s a lot of audacity and courage , and being frank too . And frankly , you have to know what you want . When you ' re young , you ask yourself fewer questions . And I was a bit like that . One day , I asked , and I remember . I asked Billy Cobham , a great jazz drummer , if we could collaborate . After his concert , I asked him , " Would you be interested in doing a little duet together and all that ? And he said , " Yeah , yeah , but why not ? The guys next to me were looking at me almost fiercely . Saying , " But you ' ve heard yourself talk , but you can ' t play , and you ' re going to ask for a duet with Billy Cobham ?" I realized that it wasn ' t that I didn ' t know how to play , I had maybe 5 or 6 years of drumming under my belt . So , it was because I had the audacity . In fact , I had the audacity to throw myself into it ; I didn ' t even realize it . I approached several musicians like that . And I even played with them at the end , and , strangely enough , they thought I had something special .
Flashmag ! Issue 149 April 2024
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