IRMA
Irma Pany- the singer that completely touches you with her incredible voice and who takes you on a wonderful trip of beautiful acoustic emotions and moments. I absolutely love the fact that she only needs her voice and natural charisma to impress. The only 23-year-old Cameroon born, but Paris based Irma, comes from a very musical family and is now sort of living her dad´s dream.
She started taking piano lessons when she was seven and song writing at the age of only 12. In 2008 the community label MyMajorCompany came across her videos on Youtube, where she posted her own songs and amazing cover versions of stars such as the The Jacksons5, Prince, Macy Gray, etc. and they just knew that they had found someone very special. She has already done collaborations with Will.I.Am, Patrice and Mathieu Chedid and lately also got signed to the Universal Republic Records in the US and is currently working on an US version of her debut album Letter to the Lord. And yet her musical story is only at the beginning of a merveilleux journey. We are very pleased to interview this inspiring singer and musician and amongst other things she tells us what she gets inspired by and what the most important thing for her in life is…
Dear Irma, we are so thrilled to have you for an interview! How are you?
My pleasure! I couldn’t feel any better …I guess!I am just listening to your songs from your debut album “Letter to the Lord” ( released 2011) and I am so in love with it! You have an incredible and touching voice. Did you write all the songs on your own- music and lyrics?
Thank you very much! I did write and compose all the songs on this album. I started composing when I was 12. I was living in Cameroon, where I grew up. Back then, I used to write songs about what was going on over there.
I read that your dad always wanted to be a musician but didn’t follow his dream, so you are kind of living his dream too. Has it been difficult for you to follow your dream and always believe in yourself that you can achieve it?
That’s true. He used to play in a band as a teenager but his mother broke his first guitar for fear he would not succeed in school. Well, he did succeed in school but I think he wished he hadn’t given up on his passion. Therefore he’s been very supportive to me so far, encouraging me to fulfill my dream. Well I must say he’s really glad I didn’t give up on studies though…he’s still an African father…:) Anyway, following this path hasn’t been that difficult to me. Of course, there were moments of doubt, of fear but I’m so passionate! Making music, writing, composing, performing…I believe that is what I was born to do.What or who inspires you?
Life. I’m inspired by absolutely everything! That’s not very original but that’s true! My songs talk about love (of course). They try to describe this schizophrenia that make us love what we hate and vice versa, or that make us able to transform bad feelings into good energy… I love paradox :) Artistically I’ve been influenced by a lot of different styles. I would say Freddy Mercury, Michael Jackson, Lauryn Hill, Eric Clapton and Fink are my main references.I heard you are working on your new album now- we can´t wait. Can you tell us a bit about it already? And when will it be released?
Actually, I’m working on the US version of my debut album! That’s so exiting! I’ll get to meet plenty of new artists and work with them. For now I’m just writing and composing a lot, cutting new tracks in studio. Honestly I have no idea what the “second” album will look like. But it’s going to be great - I’m looking forward to this too!!
You have already done collaborations f.e. with Will.I.Am. Who else would you love to collaborate with?
There’s a lot of artist I’d love to collaborate with. So far, I got the chance to meet a lot of great artist such as Will.I.Am indeed, but also Patrice, or French singer Mathieu chedid. Nas is going to work with me on the US album! He’s the greatest:)So, originally you are from Cameroon, and you live in Paris now. What´s the thing you miss most about back home? And as you were pretty young when you moved to Paris- has it been difficult for you to find your new home there?
I guess I simply miss the fact that it’s actually home. And I miss the people over there! They’re always smiling…even when there’s nothing to smile about! I’ve always loved being in France though because I learned a lot here and people were always really kind to me. That’s my country of adoption. Moving to Paris has not been that difficult because I always considered it to be a huge step in my life not a rupture. And I love moving anyway …
5 things you cannot live without?
My family (I don’t want to upset them)
My guitar (obviously)
My laptop & Internet (even more obvious)
The One with all ten seasons of “Friends” (I can’t watch anything else on TV)
Pancakes (OMG)What makes you happy?
On a selfish level, being with the people I love. Or making the others happy.What makes you sad?
The fact that I didn’t compose “Billie Jean”.The most important thing in life is…?
Being what you want to be (and not what people want you to be…)
www.mymajorcompany.com/irma
www.youtube.com/irma
twitter.com/irmamusic
www.facebook.com/irmarockstarInterview by Sigrun Guggenberger
Photo Credit by Claire Price
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