"The stage must be a moment of expression of freedom and communion": we met the Senegalese singer Faada Freddy at Nuits du Sud
Mathieu Faure Published on 07/18/2025 at 1:00 p.m., updated on 07/18/2025 at 1:00 p.m.
A concert by Senegalese singer Faada Freddy is an experience in itself. The Vence audience at Nuits du Sud received proof of this this Thursday.
In 2014, for example, as one of his Parisian concerts was coming to an end, the singer decided to continue his show... in the metro.
"We have the right to be mad, today madness should not be marginalized, today madness is therapy for me, it is the expression of freedom without being afraid of what others think," confesses Faada Freddy. The venue manager wanted to close, but I felt the audience wanted more, so we all went into the metro, singing. After two stations, the metro driver couldn't take it anymore, he kicked us out. We went out into the street, we continued to sing, it's one of the most beautiful memories of my life."
"We created the machine, but the machine does not create man."You have to see his face light up with a smile as he rewinds. In Vence, there's no metro, but the desire to improvise is still there. "That's all I do, improvise. I trust my musicians because they understand when the trance arrives, they understand when the moment of freedom of expression arrives, because if the stage is a prison, it's not worth it, it's better to just stop and listen to an album," he continues. "The stage must be a moment of expression of freedom and above all of communion, where we can hear each other's hearts beating, where it's the moment to access musical therapy and I give free rein to this."
As you can see, the musician with multiple inspirations - soul, hip-hop, jazz - likes to communicate through music. "Having a microphone and not talking about the real problems that surround us is a waste," he likes to repeat. This is why, in his fight against "polluted" music, Faada Freddy has made his body an instrument. This is what he calls organic music.
Body percussion, handclaps, mouth noises—everything goes to give rhythm to his tracks. "I think it's important to make organic music, to remind people that we created the machine, but the machine doesn't create man. That's why I'm returning to very simple music, which defies the machine a little."
It took him almost ten years between his first album and his second, Golden Cages , released last year, because he travels the world, scrutinizes, discusses, listens. Above all, the creative confinement in a studio oppresses him. His thing is the stage. "I am not the master of what happens on stage, I am just the channel of what I feel, of what the musicians give me and I am just there for the heart-to-heart dialogue. The most important thing for me is that everyone comes out of the concerts lighter, more peaceful, with the awareness that we all belong to the family of humanity."
There are encounters in a career that leave a lasting impression. And the Senegalese singer can be included in this category.
July 23, 2016. Faada Freddy is one of the headliners of the Nuits du Sud in Vence. But at that time, the Côte d'Azur was stunned, shocked, and wounded. On July 14, a truck claimed the lives of 86 victims on the Promenade des Anglais. An unspeakable horror. But life, all around, goes on.
"After the Nice attacks, there was a climate of mistrust that reigned. And the only thing I remember is that when I played, I had the impression that people had 'forgotten' what had happened," recalls the Senegalese artist. And that's the role of music, to remind us that we have the right to hope, we have the right to dream. In a world where war has become big business, to remind us that we can still have faith in humanity, a humanity that gathers around values that unite us: putting aside problems of religion, nationality, passports and knowing that peace is the primary tool for living together."
His calm, gentle voice allows his message of hope to reach deep into his heart. Faada Freddy is a peacemaker, and when he takes the stage, he hopes to deliver something intense.
"That's the role of music: to remind us that we have the right to hope."
It is no coincidence that his latest album, Golden Cages , calls for opening up to others. "We live in gilded cages, where we are in comfort, where ultimately our comfort has become our own prison. We can no longer get rid of our comfort. For example, in the beginning, we created the machine to go faster, to be faster, to communicate. Today, couples are together in the same bed, they don't even speak, everyone is on their phone, and we have locked ourselves in what we have created, it is a golden prison. I think this is my favorite track on the album, which is why this album is called that, it is a song that calls for freedom of the mind because freedom begins in the head ," concludes the singer.
Var-Matin
