From her simple beginnings in Gabon, singer Annie Flore Batchiellilys has become one of Africa’s most respected international singers. While she’s performed across the globe and collaborated with other renowned musicians, her biggest desire is to lift the spirits of her fellow Gabonese at home. 

Born in a village 200km from Libreville, Annie Flore Batchiellilys has always had music in her life. “We did a lot of singing,” she reminisces. “We sang while rejoicing or mourning, and even when doing dishes or laundry.”

Still, it wasn’t until she reached the age of 20 that she picked up the guitar. And her first formal introduction to the music industry was in 1990, when she took part in a competition shown on TV.

“I ended up in the finals, which led to participating in a project organised by Pierre Claver Akendengué, the much-acclaimed Gabonese musician and composer,” she remembers. The endeavour was called Carrefour des Arts and took place at the French cultural centre. Yet more than the impetus it gave for her burgeoning career in music, the project truly reshaped Flore’s personal future. “It was during my time on this project that I met the man who would later become the father of my children.”

Flore went on to study in France, and continued honing her skills while attending Studio Alice Dona in Paris, where  her traditional music was first influenced by other artists from around the globe. Although now incredibly successful, Flore continues to focus on developing her talent at home and abroad.

She is also working hard to give something back, both to her nation and to those trying to make it in her chosen profession. “I am involved in Les Nuits Atypiques de Langon, a festival that takes place 700km from Libreville, and I have also recently opened a music school called Studio Flore. The latter is in memory of Alice Dona’s school in Paris. Today, Studio Flore has about 80 students.”

When asked if her music is simply an expression of herself, or whether it carries a message, Flore replies: “I don’t think music is an expression of ego, but rather a method of dialogue. I want to talk about life, and in life  we have dreams, reality and fantasy. I cover peace, unity, art, Africa, people and diversity. I am not the type of person who talks only about love; there are others who do that. I want to sing about our confidence, our spirits and our responsibility to the heritage we leave behind on this earth for our children. That’s what I hope to pass on.” She believes her recent concert at Libreville’s Olympia Stadium, the subject of a recent live DVD and album release, was a great example of this.

“The Olympia concert is a story that will change the lives of a lot of Gabonese people. Here in Gabon there has been a rise in the number of people who seem to have given up on life. It was becoming some sort of Gabonese truth that nothing can be done in poverty – basically the feeling was that if you’re born into a poor family you have no chance of success. However, coming from a small, impoverished village, I have shown a lot of others that if you put in the effort you can succeed. The concert and my songs all illustrated this point – people will see that it is time for them to get up as well.”

Flore is quick to point out that her rise to the top wouldn’t have been possible without the help of others. “Success for one person also leads to the success of many others.

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To get to the Olympia Stadium, I asked all the Gabonese people to buy my album in advance so I could make the concert happen. And so, those who could, helped me. The ‘Société de Conservation et Développement’ (SCD) and its director Rombout Swanborn also stepped in to help make the concert happen. As well as providing a year of support prior to the event, the SCD helped me pay off fees for the Olympia stadium. Mr Swanborn also told me something I will never forget: ‘If you can let ten other people feel what I felt the first time I heard you perform, then I will take part in your endeavour.’”

It was also Swanborn’s suggestion that Flore work with children. And it was her promise to him that she’d do just that, which led to the opening of Studio Flore. “I hoped that I would make it possible for others to achieve similar successes to mine without facing the very difficult path I was forced to take. I hope it develops into a regional school where talented artists from other countries can come  to audition and develop their talent in a six-month internship programme.”

However, Flore wants more for the students than monetary success. “One shouldn’t just create music as a form of employment or sing about things that would mean we lie to ourselves. At some point these lies act as an obstacle to our development. One should always make music in truth. I would simply say that life needs truth. If you are not yourself it is like dying while still alive.”