After opening in majesty the last Trans Musicales de Rennes, the singer Danielle Ponder told us her story: that of a black, American woman, who has always put her powerful voice at the service of soul, blues and the defense of left behind and who, at 40, chose to end her career as a court-appointed lawyer to be a full-time artist.
Daughter of a pastor, Danielle Ponder grew up in the neighborhood, in Rochester, New York, bathed in gospel. At 16, he was given his first guitar. The same year, she officiated as a singer in the family group set up with her cousins. Since then, Danielle Ponder has never stopped singing and putting her powerful voice at the service of soul, blues and the defense of the marginalized.
After having worked for ten years as a court-appointed lawyer, Danielle Ponder chose to put an end to this career to be a full-time artist and released her first album in 2022, at age 40: Some of Us Are Brave. Eight titles full of soul (of blues and pop too) which awaken the ghost of Nina Simone to speak out against racism and soothe the suffering suffered by the black community in the United States.
I met Danielle Ponder in Rennes, in the west of France, where she opened the 44are Musical Trans. To draw his portrait, I chose that we go back together on three key ages of his career: his 16 years, his 30 years and, of course, his 40 years.
It is 5:30 p.m., it is dark in Brittany in December. We are in a salon of the Hôtel de Courcy, a 19th century mansione century, state property, located near the Parc de Thabor, in the city center of Rennes. Danielle Ponder has just finished filming a live performance there for a French media.
As she joins me, she admits to being tired after her 24 hours of Trans Musicales, also frozen. She’s sitting across from me on a sofa, wrapped up in her coat, only her round, baby-faced face sticking out, wearing Malcom X glasses and an Angela Davis-style afro. Not only is Danielle Ponder magnificent, but, as you will hear, her exhaustion in no way taints the force of her words…
SessionLab by Hortense Volle : a conversation in complete privacy and in 3D audio (spatialized sound). A podcast to listen to, preferably, with headphones.
Achievement : Benjamin Sarralie
3D mixing : Fabien Mugneret
Production : RFI Lab
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Titles broadcast:
► Excerpts from Some Of Us Are Brave (Future Classic – 2022): Some Of Us Are Brave ; So Long ; Someone Like You ; Only The Lonely ; The Only Way Out ; Thoughts; Fray; Darker Than Blue ; Poor Mans Pain; Radiohead Creep Cover.
And also :
► Live by Danielle Ponder at the Trans Musicales de Rennes 2022 at L’Ubu, Wednesday December 7, 2022.
► Excerpt from his speech TedxRochester (2019).
► The title I’m a Woman by Koko Taylor.