“Women are always in the minority in music”: La Grande Sophie, committed godmother of Astaffort meetings

A voice, a presence, an energy and an additional soul. The general public discovered the Grande Sophie on May 11, 2004, during the release of “And if it was me”, his third album. Carried by the title “of courage”, he will be crowned in 2005 by a music victory, in the scene revelation category.

Figure of the Parisian alternative scene of the “90s” years, she published, on January 9, 2025, “every day, Suzanne”, her first book in which she reveals herself. Suzanne is the first name of a moving song from her album “La Place du Fantôme”.

“Francis Cabrel has remained as it has always been”

For the first time and with an unwavered joy, she will be the godmother of the 56th session of Astaffort meetings of which, she says, “she heard a lot”. The principle of the event is well established: 15 trainees, a court of creations, unparalleled supervisors, “house” compositions and, in the end, a closing concert of the godmother, or of the godfather, with, in the first part, a performance of “astagaries”.

This 56th episode is organized this year, from May 15 to 23, by voice from the South. The association was founded in 1992 by Francis Cabrel to break the artistic solitudes. Chance or coincidence, at the Music’Hall of Astaffort, in highlight of the week (May 23 at 9 pm), the great Sophie will present … “Alone on stage”, an experience based on the adaptation of her book.

Surprisingly, his journey very little crossed that of Francis Cabrel. Beyond her ability to chain the tubes, she sees him “stability in music”. “With his guitar, he stayed as he has always been. I think he never tried to correspond to fashions ”. She shares with Francis Cabrel this author side, composer and performer. Is it attached to this demanding way of being an artist? “Yes, especially as a woman”.

“Women are always in the minority in music”

The music world is, she says, more difficult for women. “When I started, and in addition to the scene, even if there had been Barbara, Véronique Sanson, we were still very minority. We are still, but there are many more women now, many young artists. They have the tools of their time ”. A simple computer and a sound card are now enough to create a song while, she smiles, “I had to go through all the stages of the 4 tracks, the first sound cards”.

It is her independence that she wants to transmit today. That of mastering all positions, “that of writing the text of a song, even if you don’t feel capable of it”.
She says she likes “working alone the carcass of a song”. “Then, I make her listen, but I always know what I don’t want and I always arrive at what I want. It is essential to trust your ears in a profession where everyone gives you their opinion. If you know what you want, it’s very good. And we don’t know, we know what we don’t want too. ” The exchange with the interns of the meetings promises to be rich!