A SELF-CONFESSED “Musical FIFO”, Grace Barbé is making an emotional return to Mojos for a rare Afro-Kreol show on home soil this Friday.
It’s been seven years since Barbé’s last album Fanm: Woman, and for the past three years she’s been touring the world with Cat Empire; playing bass and belting out powerful backing vocals.
“I’ve got to see all these places I never dreamed of, and I’ve done it through music, which makes it even more special,” she says.
“The Cat Empire are really popular in Spain, so we always have a great time there, and I really enjoyed exploring the US.
“It’s so vast, every city almost feels like a different country.”
Now back in Australia, Barbé has been busy assembling material for her new album and is ready to get her mojo firing again.
At the Freo gig she’ll play songs from her very early Afro-Kreol days, as well as new material and the odd surprise.
She’ll be joined by guitarist Jamie Searle, who’s just back from a musical project in Tanzania.
“I felt like going back to the foundation, going back to where it all started,” Barbé says.
“Reconnecting with my band brought that sense of, you know, let’s revisit some of the older songs.
“And it gives me that feeling of coming back home.”
For the past few years, Barbé has been honing her songwriting skills with the Cat Empire, helping to write their most recent album Bird In Paradise.
• Grace Barbé had some fun in the snow in Canada on her recent world tour with the Cat Empire.
The title track was short-listed in the APRA/AMCOS Song of the Year 2026.
Featuring a vast array of musical styles and cultures, the sprawling seven piece band are known for their energetic mix of jazz and funk.
“They’re very excited about involving the Creole element I bring to the table,” she says.
“The wonderful thing with the Cat Empire is that everyone’s got their own solo project going as well.
“And they are encouraging and supportive of that.
“So we all try and find time to go away and do our own thing.”
Originally from the Seychelles, Barbé’s music is a unique and intoxicating mix of Afro-Beat, psychedelia and pop. She sings in Creole, English, French and Malagasy (national language of Madagascar).
After moving to Perth with her family when she was 16, she quickly became a “Freo girl”.
And despite her nomadic lifestyle, which sees her spending a lot of time in Melbourne and touring the world, she still calls Fremantle home.
“It’s where I feel connected,” she says. “If I’m going to do this much travel in my life, it’s very important for me just to go home and get grounded and then go again,” she says. “I’m really looking forward to going back to Mojos.
“It’s like rock and roll for me. You know, Mojos is just cool.”
Grace Barbé Afro-Kreol with special guest Alexia Parenzee is at Mojos in North Freo on Friday March 6. Tix at moshtix.com.au or mojosbar.com.au. She’s also doing an acoustic set with Jamie Searle at Le Vivant in Highgate on Wednesday March 11.
by STEPHEN POLLOCK