There is a saying that rhythm originated from Africa, I can’t tell how true that is. However, I know that Africans are musically talented. Clarinne Geoffroy, a fast-rising Gospel singer in Mauritius is the epitome of talent. In just three years of being in the industry, she has released 15 great singles and hasn’t stopped to amaze the island and neighbouring countries.
Clarinne has been singing all her life. According to her, she learned to sing in childhood because her father was a guitarist. She would always sit beside him and sing along while he struck the strings.
About three years ago, at age 31, she decided to take this passion for singing to another level. With no financial aid, she financed the studio recordings all by herself, including the directing of the videos. Awesomely, she is doing well with no label.
Mauritius has a diverse religious view. According to the 2015 census, 48.54% of the total population of 324,811 practice Hinduism. Christianity follows with 32.71%. Then, other faiths like Islam, Buddhism, Protestantism, and others follow.
This makes the push for Gospel music on the island the most difficult task on earth. After all, even in countries where Christianity leads, the genre doesn’t get the promotion it needs. Great talents like Clarinne coming out as underground artists suffer a great deal. This is because there are no available labels and managers to meet them halfway to help with the production and promotion of their arts.
Besides, there are popular genres in Mauritius and Gospel doesn’t come close to any. The dominant ones are Sega, Seggae and Reggae. Other genres as a result of cultural assimilation include R&B, hip hop, soul, dubstep, club, techno, and more.
So coming up as a Gospel singer and reaching the spotlight she is enjoying now wasn’t an easy journey for Clarinne but her passion kept driving her. The passion to show gratitude to God for her life by spreading the Gospel through music made her restless.
The Yahweh singer doesn’t want up-and-coming singers on the island to encounter the ordeal she went through to showcase her gift. As a result, she has rolled out a platform Gospel Ile Maurice. In her own words, the Papa hitmaker stated that “The Mauritius Gospel – Gospel Ile Maurice – platform was created with the aim of helping and promoting local and international gospel music.”
“This idea came following the difficulties I encountered myself when I tried to promote my music. We hope to partner with other international platforms to have more visibility,” she told NewsflashGh.com
Clarinne is fond of her culture. Even though with evolution, most of the singers replace the local instruments Ravane and Maravane and the traditional guitar by more conventional orchestra instruments, the gospel singer still uses them to give a unique identity to her legacies.
In 2021, The Pan-African Journalists’ Caucus, the baby of State of the African Diaspora appointed Gospel star as its coordinator for Mauritius Island.
She is cooking a new single to release this year and she hopes she finds a label to help her reach the world with the gospel.