Electro diva Estère to play SA, Mozambique gigs

Best known as the empress of ‘electric blue witch-hop’, the ‘I Spy’ singer will be joined at the Johannesburg gig by Blinky Bill (Kenya), Morena Leraba (Lesotho) and Nandele (Mozambique).

Armed with a sequencing controller she calls ‘Lola’, Estère samples and records her music by fusing bass, synth, drums, guitars, vocal harmonies, kazoo and even cutlery drawers.

Music In Africa caught up with Estère who shed some light about her Friday gig and the inspiration behind her music.

“My set will be full of curiosity, magic, dancing, heavy beats and dynamics,” Estère, who is of Cameroonian descent, said. “I think there is an incredible musical history here. There are also many amazing musicians hailing from South Africa, so from a musical perspective, it's an absolute delight.”

Estère delivers her songs with a voice that has been described as rich-toned and elastic – quite similar to Little Dragon’s Yukimi Nagano. She also draws inspiration from the evolution of reptiles, imaginary boyfriends and cultural identity.

“The instruments I use now all came of quite a natural process. I don't have any 'brand loyalty' per se, but I am loyal to Lola (my music production controller) because I know how to fluently use her and we have become great friends. I am interested in the natural world, and the perspectives of those around me. This is reflected heavily in my lyrics”.

In 2016, Estère toured southern Africa and played at Bushfire Festival (Swaziland), Zakifo Festival (South Africa), Azgo Festival (Mozambique) and the Goodluck Bar in Johannesburg.

“Actually all my experiences at the festivals themselves were really good. They were all great festivals in their own right,” she said. “I did notice that things were running a little late at one of them but that didn't matter. In fact, I got a prime time slot because of it. I felt like people received the music really well, and all the audiences were really nice, respectful and engaged.”

In October 2017, she released the My Design P1 (part one) album – a playful electronica offering that has various African influences, particularly in the song ‘Grandmother’.

Asked about the ‘electric blue witch-hop’ tag, Estère said: “It was a name I felt adequately described the different elements that make up my music. Once I said it out loud, I was like, 'Aha, that's my genre’.”

Tickets to the Johannesburg event are available here.