Magnetic harpist, singer and choir leader, Sophye Soliveau turns every stage into a ritual space. With Intuition, her debut album, she weaves harp and voice into a groove-infused trance where R’n’B, soul, jazz and gospel collide. A visceral, spellbound album, carried by a rare vocal mastery — part incantation, part liberation.
Where the Choir Cracks
Of Guadeloupean descent (French Caribean), Sophye Soliveau channels an extraordinary soul-jazz voice — somewhere between earthy gospel and freeform R&B. Intuition (March 2024) sketches out a hybrid world of chamber folk, choral minimalism and Afro-diasporic groove. A voice-as-instrument, somewhere between Erykah Badu, Rachelle Ferrell, Angie Stone and Bobby McFerrin — bending the codes of French music, and mapping out an entirely new sonic geography.
« It’s because I play the colonizer’s instrument that I get to make my own choices. »
Classically trained at the conservatory, Soliveau quickly broke away — diving into improvisation, organic choirs and embodied groove. At the helm of radical, all-women collectives (Oshun, Maré Mananga, Bat’man de Chœurs), she sculpts the voice as living matter. A former member of the Afro-groove band Ábàjade, she draws from her Caribbean roots a raw, evocative vocal power. Harp and voice blur into one — like a shared breath, an electric prayer.
Breath, Body, Strings
Rooted in today’s Great Black Music, Sophye Soliveau has been making her mark since 2020. Spotted at the 40th Banlieues Bleues festival, then at Norway’s Punkt Festival alongside Jan Bang and Hamid Drake, she sharpened her sonic signature during a 2023–24 residency at La Dynamo. Her first EP (Intuition – Prelude), released in spring 2024, paved the way for the album that earned her a nomination for the Prix Joséphine. At the meantime, she’s been developing a participatory choral project, premiered as part of Banlieues Bleues 2024.
With Intuition, soul music becomes a sacred unraveling
A self-produced debut, Initiation (Why We Sing, March 22, 2024) is a 31-minute manifesto. 9 tracks. No filler. Bare harp, minimal groove, suspended silences. The 8-minute opener hits like a meditative uppercut. Think Alice Coltrane, Hiatus Kaiyote, a gospel stripped of doctrine. This record doesn’t explain — it submerges.
« Despite the struggles, the harp remains my tool of choice to express how I see the world. »
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