anaïs maviel
  • about
    • bio
    • press
    • news
    • upcoming
    • gallery
  • works
    • solo >
      • piano voice
      • multi-disciplinary
      • surdo voice
      • n'goni voice
    • chamber / orchestral >
      • listen to the rain - string quartet, n'goni & voices ft. the Rhythm Method
      • listen to the rain - FR
      • Métadire - chamber orchestra ft. Alarm Will Sound
    • choral / ritual >
      • AÏM choral collective
      • This Like a Dream Keeps Other Time
      • Before before & After after - a sound installation & experiential choral piece
      • BE - vocal 4tet ft. Lívia Nestrovski, Lenna Bahule & Maria Luana
      • Time is Due - an operatic installation
      • Bleu Blanc Black - for any choir
      • Commons Choir - The Prosodic Body
    • improvised / afrocentric >
      • If You Say So ft. Sam Yulsman
      • Azúcar - dance film CONTRA-TIEMPO
      • Mara Rosenbloom Flyways: Adrienne Rich love poems
      • DIÁSPORA ft. Chiquita Magic
      • meshell ndegeocello: The Atlantiques
      • Wind: Next Jazz Legacy
      • Métadire Experiments: French quintet & septet
      • trio w/ William Parker & Leonid Galaganov
      • Matt Lavelle's 12 houses big band
  • transmission
    • workshops
    • teaching
    • sound healing
  • creolization
    • conversations
    • music & utopia

bleu blanc black
with resonant bodies festival audience choir

Bleu Blanc Black means Blue White Black, and refers to a common way to refer to the French flag, except the last color should be Rouge (red), not black. The lyrics contain many layers of playing on words. Here is a quick translation with a couple layers of understanding of these words:
Je me sens bleu
I feel blue, or I seem to be
Je me sens blanc
I feel white, or I fake to be
Je me sens black
I feel black
Semblable à
Similar to
Sans bla bla
Without bla bla
Sang
Blood

In France (and Europe), many think "we don't have a racism problem", because they somewhat made it disappear by banning the use of the word race. If language is now more accurate, unfortunately its intellectual twists have erased the colonial history that makes racism a reality for the many 1st, 2nd & 3rd generation French people of color, or Afropeans. In "cool" company, it is appropriate to replace the word "noir" by its English equivalent "black", likely using language to distance one's story from another's reality.

bleu blanc black
ft. chiquita magic

bleu blanc black
solo

Proudly powered by Weebly