Get to know Charlotte Adigéry, the Belgian singer playfully delving into her Martiniquais heritage

Fellow Ghent artists David and Stephen Dewaele, better known as 2ManyDJs, were first to identify the full extent of Adigéry’s talents. She lent her irresistible vocal range to a track on Belgica, a 2016 flick scored by the brothers, who then insisted she put out a record on their Deewee imprint, pairing her with Popul after she took up the offer. The creative connection was instantaneous.

“Bolis and I have become best friends through the music, and through David and Stephen,” she says. “And working on these EPs has been a way of getting to know each other and creating a language between us that inspires me to tell a story. It’s so spontaneous that I can’t really think of any real formula – it just happens.”

Aside from her project with Popul, Adigéry also makes music and performs live as WWWater, a more introspective alter ego and an outlet for openly expressing her emotions. “Sound-wise, Charlotte Adigéry and WWWater are completely different,” she explains. “With WWWater I go angry, I go nasty, I go ugly – and it’s not that I couldn’t do that with Charlotte Adigéry, but it’s a different energy.”

Whichever project she’s working on, it’s Adigéry’s burning desire to make music devoid of pretension, to portray herself as the transmitter rather than the art form itself, that characterises her output.

“If you take yourself too seriously you won’t ever embrace the fact you could fail,” she says. “And that vulnerability is something that’s super-inspiring. If you dive too deep into the ego, the music will suffer.”

‘Zandoli’ is out on Deewee on February 8