Biography

Grace Barbé hails from the sunburnt Indian Ocean islands of the Seychelles, where a colourful history of slavery, pirates, coups d'etat and coconuts have produced a unique Kreol rhythm, language and culture. Drawing from the diverse cultural melange of the islands, Grace's music fuses the tropical rhythms and dances of the slaves with psychedelic rock, afrobeat, reggae and pop. In performance Grace's trio conjures a bewilderingly huge sound - Barbé sings over her own complex polyrhythmic bass lines to Mauritian drummer Hardy Perrine's authentic island grooves while guitarist Jamie Searle adds a dense layer of Afro - guitar sorcery. Grace has been enticing audiences to get up and shake their coconuts since the release of her debut album Kreol Daughter in 2009, with appearances all over India, East Africa (Sauti za Busara Festival, Zanzibar) and the Indian Ocean (Sakifo Festival, La Reunion) as well as at Australia's leading music festivals, including WOMADelaide, WOMAD New Zealand, Byron Bay Bluesfest and Woodford. Get ready to shake your coconuts!