Les Impératrices

MAY ALL FOLKS CHEER FOR „LES IMPERATRICES“: As our empresses impress us with their regal voices raised in mighty chants, the unyielding power of womanhood resonates through all the lands.

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About us

I grew up in south Germany, with a german father and a moroccan mum. My family was different, louder and more passionful than the others. And I remember there was always music, mostly Bob Marley, Michael Jackson, Prince, Whitney Houston and traditional rai or folklore music from Morrocco. As child I played classical piano and sang in the choir. In my teenage years my wish to sing became bigger and I followed it slowly, first with some gospel workshops and in my twenties with jazz singing lessons and my own german pop band. Now, I like it to combine different music styles and to collaborate with different kinds of artists. I am exploring my arabic roots musically. My curiosity about other cultures led me to world music. In my own music I can explore myself and express how I perceive life’s challenges but also my love for life. I want to invite the audience to travel with me through the landscapes of emotions, feelings about love and loss, luck and fears, laughter and tears.

Growing up in an environment consisting of different perspectives on ways of living and corresponding values, I find it difficult defining where I am from, which country, language and culture I feel closest to. Likewise, I don’t wish to and cannot fully express myself when exclusively focusing on one musical style. Since I was a child, I have been playing cello within the classical music tradition, performing with several symphonic orchestras, and engaging in chamber music groups. However, lately I have been expanding my taste and interest to performing within all kinds of musical realms: I love exploring options and sounds outside conventional ways of music making. This musical curiosity fits the philosophy of Les Impératrices very well, as we explore and create new landscapes by combining different backgrounds, rhythms, stories, languages, conventions of songwriting and styles of harmony and instrumentation. What I like most about Les Impératrices is that we intend to present and surprise our audience with music which resonates for reasons of emotional relatability and unexpected musical twists.  

I am Elsa, I am from France. I play electric bass in Les Impératrices but most of the time I am actually a cello player. This is something very recurrent about me: there is never one side only. Multi-instrumentalist, interested in many styles, playing many genres, exploring many disciplines… Variety is part of who I am as a person and an artist. I love this project because it is really a research of a sound, a group sound. We are very different persons with diverse backgrounds, our instrument formation is quite special and yet we come together to create something new and personal. l enjoy the process of working together and explore each others instrument possibilities, in order to build our own sound as Les Impératrices.

I grew up in a small village in Italy, and started playing the harp from the age of six. Soon I signed up in the conservatoire of a different city and since then, with music I had the chance to explore different environments, open my mind, meet diverse and inspiring people and build meaningful relationships that made me grow as a musician and as a person.

The will to learn more and the curiosity to explore brought me to the Netherlands, where I crossed the boundaries of my artistic practice, going from classical music of all periods, to contemporary, to folk, jazz and pop, never restricting myself to one musical style. In my artistic practice, I also love to combine music performance with my passion for other art forms, such as poetry and visual art.

The music we make in Les Impératrices comes from an exploration of textures in which each of us gives something of her creativity and artistry, and I love to contribute to the creation of these colorful musical landscapes throught the strings of my harp.