Michelle Chuang Mei-lien has reason to be excited: she's about to produce a Chinese pop-rock album, perhaps the first of its kind to be made in the French capital.
'In Paris, Chinese music usually comes in the form of lion dances, oldies or traditional music. People do listen to Canto- and Mando-pop, but no one creates this kind of music. I'm looking forward to being the first,' says Chuang, originally from Taiwan.
The 45-year-old has been preparing for the album for two years, dipping into her own pocket to enlist musicians to compose a series of pop-rock songs, some of which include Chinese instruments such as the erhu.
Three years ago, Chuang says, she was a 'depressed' housewife, rarely leaving her Paris home.
'I came to Paris in my 30s, knowing little about French culture. My French was poor. I had to learn everything from scratch. It was hard to start anew,' she recalls.
Chuang's predicament was not only the result of having to adapt to a foreign culture: she also had to cope with the anticlimax of leaving behind a glamorous singing career.
Chuang started in bars and lounges as a university student in Kaohsiung, covering everyone from Whitney Houston to Guns N' Roses. She soon attracted a fan base, which included a Frenchman who would become her husband.
