Singer Axelle Red is back with the special best of double album “AR 30”. His new single “C’est my Life, c’est ma vie” is available on all streaming platforms. Committed against sexual violence, she had already produced an album to support the cause of women. Simone’s editorial staff therefore spoke with her about feminism, sexism and her commitment.
#Metoo: the secrets of Axelle Red
The singer says she was spotted, when she was young, by a record company. It was in England, in London. The recruiter was willing, only under specific conditions: obtain your contract for sexual services only. Axelle Red explains that the man was very clear: “In return, I was also very clear in my words, it was a price that I was not prepared to pay.” As the singer explains, at the time, no one was talking about it, and she didn’t feel in a position to say anything: “Who was I? I wasn’t famous yet or anything at all”.
An album committed to the cause of women
15 years ago, Axelle Red wrote Sisters and Empathyan album made up of 24 songs about sexual violence. At that time, freedom of speech was not the same, and the singer claims to have been rejected by certain record companies. This then amounted to releasing the album on his own. It was a decision she was not prepared to make to avoid judgment and criticism. “If I wrote this album, it was to denounce things, to make things happen, but it was also to heal a kind of trauma, I had seen too much injustice,” she says. At the same time, she attends conferences about this album, talks about it to those around her and continues to play it on stage. According to her, record companies would have been delighted today to promote this album: “They would have seen it as a bit of greenwashing*, I don’t have a word for it, but it would be a kind of feminism washing“. Finally, the record company having accepted the project, requested a name change. So she titled it A heart like mine.
Axelle Red’s most beautiful moment of musical sisterhood
The singer says she wanted to take her first child on tour. Only, it was impossible for him to go to the hotel every evening. His solution was to install a baby bus. When Vanessa Paradis heard about it, she contacted Axelle Red to also rent a baby bus, having also just had a child. Subsequently, the singer Zazie at the same time needed a baby bus and did the same thing. For Axelle Red, it was a kind of beautiful moment of musical sisterhood.
Axelle Red’s vision of feminism
According to the singer, feminism itself defines sorority. What bothers her is to see, even today, young girls criticizing and judging other girls: “[En agissant ainsi,] we continue to serve men . She also says: “I have seen so many in my travels, women who are not content just to save themselves, but who tell themselves that they want to do more than that. You have to have the energy and the courage for that . Furthermore, Axelle Red has a very specific opinion on feminism: it must serve humanism. According to the singer, at present, There are many women who are not yet in this position to be able to afford real freedom.
*According to the Larousse definition, greenwashing is “the misleading use of arguments stating good ecological practices in marketing or communication operations”.