Ntjam Rosie (Dutch/ Cameroonian) will release her new album “ ELLE” for Rotterdam on October 6th in Doelen in Rotterdam (Netherlands). The national release will be on Monday October 11th 2010 in Paradiso in Amsterdam. I was listening to Ntjam's music yesterday and I was planning of writing a post about her music that same evening. But I am glad I didn't, because Aaron Byrd of the LA radio network KCRW published a very interesting interview about her that same day.
I was listing to her great performance at TED in Rotterdam. But she was very nervous in the beginning and it showed. She sings the songs in Bulu, which is the language of the Bulu people of Cameroon.
The interview: By KCRW DJ Aaron Byrd:
A couple of years ago I was looking in our “new” section of the KCRW music library. I stumbled upon a CD that was identified as African music but I noticed that the label was based in Amsterdam. I thought, “Hmm, sounds interesting” so I pulled it out and saw the cover was pretty cool and so was the name – “Atouba” by Ntjam Rosie. Not having any idea as to what that meant or what I would hear, I gave it a listen and was instantly impressed! “Atouba” is a clever fusion of world instrumentation and contemporary soulful groove.
Ntjam has since remained on my radar and we’re happy to be debuting her new single “In Need” right here!
2009 proved to be quite a pivotal year for Ntjam, after graduating from the Codarts Conservatory with a bachelors in Latin singing. Later that year, Ntjam went on to win the Music Matters Award, granting her the title of music ambassador in Rotterdam for 2010. On that very same day, she also won the ‘MCN World Up! Award’ for most promising talent during the first edition of the Dutch World Music Day.
She returns this Fall with her sophomore release “ELLE“. I recently interviewed Ntjam and we discussed the new record, her artistic approach to music, as well her multi-national background.
Read the interview at KCRW
Ntjam Rosie On MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/ntjamrosie