Grace Barbé
Grace Barbé is a Seychellois-born Australian singer-songwriter who also performs with the Afrobeat and psychedelic band of the same name which includes Jamie Searle and Hardy Perrine. Barbé has released three studio albums and is the recipient of thirteen West Australian Music Industry Awards, including ten Best World Act Awards and three WAM Song of the Year awards. Barbé's third album Fanm: Woman was nominated for Best World Album at the 2020 ARIA Music Awards.
Barbé sings in Creole, English, French and Malagasy and her music fuses the tropical rhythms and dances of the slaves with psychedelic rock, afrobeat, reggae and pop. Since 2022, she is the current bassist of jazz/funk band The Cat Empire.
Early life
Barbé was born in Mahe, Seychelles Her first experience of Australia came at the age of 6, when her mother received a scholarship to study at a university in Perth. The family returned to Seychelles at the end of her mother's studies, when Barbé was 12. Barbé moved permanently to Australia when she was 16 with her mother, sister and twin brothers and she commenced performing for the Seychellois community living in Perth.Career
2005–present: Solo albums
In 2006, Grace Barbe, James Searle won World/Folk Song for "Mon Ankor Anmourer" at the WAM Song of the Year.Grace Barbé released her debut single "Mon Arive" in 2007, which received significant airplay, reaching the number one spot on the Triple J Unearthed Roots chart.
In December 2008, Barbé released the debut studio album, Kreol Daughter. The album was launched at Fly By nightclub in Fremantle and was supported by a tour where Barbé and band appeared at major events including the Australasian World Music Expo, Island Vibe, Queenscliff Blue Mountains Music Festival, Bellengen Global Carnival and Darwin and Perth International Arts Festivals.
Welele! was released digitally in November 2013 and on CD in August 2014.
In May 2019, Barbé released the third studio album, Fanm: Woman. The album was nominated for Best World Album at the 2020 ARIA Music Awards.