The interesting thing for me is to put together all my influences and all my experiences I got through my traveling with my father.
Rokia TraoreWithout an audience, all your dreams will not come true at all, because you need an audience to write new songs and continue to do music.
Rokia TraoreIn general, in painting sometimes people like Picasso or somebody are not very well known in the beginning, sometimes they become well known just before they die, or sometimes after they have died. I think these people start to be artists after they've stopped existing.
Rokia TraoreI can change the arrangements on stage while I am playing or singing, doing signs to the musicians to change things because the audience is dancing or singing with us. That's the interesting part of the live show, actually, because everything is possible and everything can change.
Rokia TraoreWe're repeating the same things all the time; there aren't many new things happening in this life.
Rokia TraoreMy influences are jazz, blues, European classical music; they are rock music and pop music. So many kinds of music. World music from different countries like India and China. I think that would be a shame not to take advantage and do something... not unique, because I don't have this pretension.
Rokia Traore