Manuella Essaka

My first love is the singing-songwriting process and I have grown up listening to music from all parts of the world.  My parents are originally from Cameroon but I was born in France. I moved to Manchester in 1997 having been brought up between France and Cameroon. One week, Geli asked me to help her on the show, I went along, and I’ve been involved ever since. We think in the same way and connect on a musical level so working together lets me constantly explore new artists and ideas. I’ll study an artist or songwriter, and Cultural Collage gives me the opportunity to research and understand the impact of an artist I admire on a global level, and how their writing can be found beyond their countries or even continents and connect two or more cultures.
                       
World music means a lot to me and about 70 per cent of the music comes from that genre, but I still enjoy pop/rock music and other types of music in the charts. It’s great to be part of the Cultural Collage family, it’s a fusion of ideas and cultures so everyone should get involved.