(1) Irma (born 1988 in Douala, Cameroon) is a singer-songwriter from Cameroon. She is now living in France.
Irma is from a family with a musical background. Her father is guitarist and her mother was in a church choir. As a child Irma was performing at masses too. At age 15 she went to a high school in Paris to improve her school education.
No doubt about it: Irma is part of a generation that can do just about anything. She’s capable of removing the blinkers of received ideas and transcending the boundaries between categories. And she was also daring enough to re-record her first album, initially entrusted to the greatly respected New York producer, Henry Hirsch, long-time musical partner of Lenny Kravitz. “We recorded in a place two hours from New York, in a chapel that had been converted into a studio. I thought it sounded good, but when I listened to it again back in Paris, I was pretty disappointed! Too many musicians around her, too many effects and not the emotion she was after. Driven by the audacity of youth, the 20-year-old Irma took the risk of re-recording in Paris. And it was worth it because the album reveals her personality, with her soft vocals and hazy aura, and shows a gentle modesty that is perfectly consistent with her barely disguised shyness. She did most of the takes herself from the mixing desk in a studio converted from a former cellar. She played around with the various tracks to recreate the private world of this young woman barely out of childhood and give us a sense of the atmosphere of the bedroom where she composed for many years.
Born in Douala into a family from Bangangté in western Cameroon, Irma arrived in Paris in 2003 to continue her secondary school studies. She was 15 years old and already showing some serious talent. This was the start of a new life for the teenager, who discovered the voices of neo soul and singers “with guitars” as she puts it, starting with Ben Harper’s ‘Live from Mars’, one of her favourite albums given to her by her mother and ‘Change the World’ by Eric Clapton, which she dug up from her father’s record collection. The young Cameroonian guitarist and songwriter redid songs by her heroes in her own style and started posting videos on YouTube in 2007: for starters, a cover of ‘Au Suivant’ inspired by seeing –M- and Camille’s version on the TV programme Taratata, followed by the Jackson 5’s ‘I Want You Back’, Yael Naïm’s ‘New Soul’, and Django Reinhardt’s ‘After You’ve Gone’. It didn’t take long for praise to start flooding in; lots of fans wanted to find out (lots) more. Wanted to hear some of her own songs. They got ‘Letter to the Lord’ with its original black-and-white clip, and it opens the album. “I describe the process of searching for inspiration. I write to the Lord asking him to send me some chords. A love letter,” she says, never shy with references to her faith which is “very important” to her. Later she posted the wonderful ballad ‘Somehow’, a piano-vocal number that concludes the collection, opening up new horizons for this singer-songwriter who had until now composed her own personal brand of mostly sweet, sometimes bitter songs on the guitar. Irma prefers the subtle charms of light and dark to the glaring lights of seduction.
The hype built up so quickly that she started to receive emails from tempted producers, including a big cheese from My Major Company who’d succumbed immediately to the charms of ‘I Know’. Things moved very fast after that. In August 2008, the beautiful stranger succeeded in winning over 416 Internet co-producers in just one weekend; in under 48 hours she had collected the €70,000 she needed to record her first album. “It was amazing because we had reckoned on 5 months to get the money together.” She marked her arrival at My Major Company with a fundraising record that has not yet been matched! And we can expect a similarly bright future for this album composed of well-crafted tunes that will strike a chord with listeners of all generations, and choruses that draw on the influences of all the singers who have struck and shaken her heart, beginning with her absolute idol, Michael Jackson. “I’ve got everything of his! I love everything about him! His energy, his tunes, his voice, his sensitivity, his showmanship: he had the whole world spellbound! I’d only just started taking classical piano lessons!”
Irma trod the same fertile pop and soul path as the former little prince of soul who became the king of pop, if we want a resumé of her style that doesn’t, however, tell the full story. How can you sum up in a few words the multitude of influences that have gone into making this unclassifiable album? She is as indebted to Cat Power and Eric Clapton as she is to The Fugees and Queen, but you can also add Regina Spektor and Fink, the star of the Ninjatune team. “My songs are the fruit of everything I’ve assimilated: two seconds on the radio, a few notes in a film, or a whole album. I just need to set that all to music.” It’s not as if she’s a debutant. She brought a few of her own compositions with her from Cameroon – ‘I Know’, ‘Love You’, ‘End of the Story’ and others. A third of the album dates back to her early years when the little girl got her hands on a guitar her father had bought and taught herself to play. “Simple verse-chorus songs in a major key”, which the young woman she has become has since reworked to reflect her new liking for neo soul sounds, as on ‘Their Truth’ with its funky hip-hop-like beats, churchy organ, the crackling of vinyl records and her even warmer vocals.
You’ll have realised by now that Irma is a composite character with a shifting identity; multiple and yet singular. Like her songwriting. Her lyrics tell us about her without ever being autobiographical, stories of love, its joys and its disappointments. “The words come to me completely naturally,” Irma says modestly. But her lyrics certainly don’t lack irony. ‘Your Guide’, for example, pokes fun at young people who are indifferent to everything, already disappointed in love, have survived everything, against all the odds. She is quite the opposite, ready to embark on this strange journey called music and fully intending to perform live, a dimension she added in spring 2010. “I spent the whole of March 2010 with Diam’s. It was the first time I’d been on tour and travelled like that.” Irma has supported many different artists including –M-, Mickey and Tété since then. Each time she had “twenty minutes, five tracks”, completely alone with her guitar and her voice. And last autumn she performed weekly dates at the Java, just like a real star. The crowd always ended up falling under the spell of her husky melodies.
Her subtle charisma will overpower you too – and she promises to enchant us for many years to come.
(2) Irma Schultz Keller (born 1 October 1965) has appeared in many movies and television series in Sweden. As a singer, she has made five solo albums and participated in many other music projects like ‘Songs for December’ along with Uno Svenningsson. In 2007, Keller and Uno Svenningsson performed in Melodifestivalen and made it to the second chance round with the song ‘God Morgon’.
Det kommer en gryning
Irma Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The lyrics of Irma's song Det Kommer En Gryning speak about the passage of time and the difficulties that come with it. The song addresses the theme of growing older and gaining more life experience, which can make it more challenging to discern between right and wrong. The opening lines mention leaving a window open and having a lifebuoy by your bed at night, perhaps as a way of preparing for the unexpected. The mention of someone whistling from the street suggests a sense of community and safety, indicating that it's possible to rely on others for support even in uncertain times.
The chorus speaks about the need to move forward and explore new places, especially places that have not been seen before. The evocative phrase "skymtar ett ljus" (I glimpse a light) could signify hope, perhaps referencing the morning light that brings new possibilities. The repeated emphasis on the word "nu" (now) underlines the urgency of taking action and making progress, even if it's one step at a time. The song ends with the reassurance that the singer will always be a friend, no matter what happens.
Overall, the message of Det Kommer En Gryning is one of hope and resilience, encouraging listeners to keep pushing forward and exploring new paths while remembering that they are not alone. It invites reflection on the passage of time and the importance of staying grounded while striving for growth and self-discovery.
Line by Line Meaning
Håll ett fönster öppet
Keep a window open
och en livboj vid din säng
and a lifebuoy by your bed
natt så visslar nå'n från gatan
at night someone whistles from the street
och ska du inte bli rädd
and you shouldn't be scared
för du och jag är äldre nu
because you and I are older now
och vi har sett en del
and we have seen some
och det blir svårare att döma
and it becomes harder to judge
vad som är rätt och fel
what is right and wrong
(ref) och vi, vi måste vidare nu
and we, we must move on now
till ställen vi aldrig har varit
to places we have never been to
jag skymtar ett ljus nu
I catch a glimpse of a light now
där innan allt var svart
where everything was black before
det kommer en gryning i slutet av varje natt
there comes a dawn at the end of every night
är du bitter för att inget händer
are you bitter because nothing happens
eller börjar du hitta hem
or do you start finding your way home
var du än är och vad du än gör
wherever you are and whatever you do
jag för alltid din vän
I am always your friend
för det kommer en tid
because there comes a time
för varje kvinna och man
for every woman and man
det är dags att sätta segel
it is time to set sail
och styra skeppet mot främmande land
and steer the ship towards a foreign land
(ref) och vi, vi måste vidare nu
and we, we must move on now
till ställen vi aldrig har varit
to places we have never been to
jag skymtar ett ljus nu
I catch a glimpse of a light now
där innan allt var svart
where everything was black before
(ref) ja vi, vi måste vidare nu
yes we, we must move on now
vi tar det steg för steg
we take it step by step
jag skymtar ett ljus nu
I catch a glimpse of a light now
längre fram på vår väg
further ahead on our path
det kommer en gryning...
there comes a dawn...
Writer(s): MAURO SCOCCO
Contributed by Kaylee E. Suggest a correction in the comments below.