Matyemah • Festival Rhino (Le Cercle) • Saint-Joseph (FR) • Fri. Sep. 25, 2026 • 8PM
Through a rich career, Franco-Central African singer Emma Lamadji has established herself as one of the great voices of afro-soul, always steeped in gospel, blues, funk and afrobeat—genres she has practiced while working with leading artists, from Blackness to Fanga, from Bibi Tanga to Tony Allen, and including the Malian icon Oumou Sangaré, of whom she remains a backing vocalist. Having already electrified the Rhino with Afrorockerz and then with Free River, she now joyfully returns with the guitarist of the latter group, the subtle Matia Levréro, to present the duo Matyemah, a fused contraction of their two first names. This is a more personal new facet of their shared work, in which this magnetic artist has chosen to sing in Sango, a dialect she specifically learned in order to reconnect with her roots and affirm her original identity, over compositions written and arranged by Matia, an expert in world music (Mediterranean, African, Gypsy) where the carnal soul of soul is set free by the freedom of jazz. Through the power of her melodies and the intensity of her stage presence, she expresses with depth every nuance of her instinctive and captivating voice. Before seeing her again on Sunday as choir director of the Gospelize It choir, here is a more intimate appointment to introduce the repertoire of Matyemah’s first album “Ga ndourou na mbi,” written as the lockdowns ended and meaning “Come with me,” celebrating the return to freedom and human reconnection. Because “it is good to reach out a hand so as finally to hold the other’s,” she tells us. A warm and brotherly sharing in prospect!
