How Béroard describes the song’s beginnings
In her 2019 interview with Pan African Music, Jocelyne Béroard recalls hearing Jacob Desvarieux experiment with a sequencer. She asked to develop the idea, and he reworked it into “Siwo.” This is her account of the song’s creation; the interview does not identify the machine or date the session.
Béroard explains that she wrote from a woman’s perspective, reversing a romantic convention usually expressed by men. She also connects the song to her rejection of pressure to prefer lighter-skinned partners and to her wish to value men from her own community. That explanation gives the song a specific personal and social context without turning its narrator into a factual biography.
Writing and recording credits
Apple Music’s Siwo track entry credits Desvarieux for composition and Béroard for composition and lyrics. Kassav’ is credited as recording engineer. These are the roles attached to this particular album entry; they do not establish the personnel of a later live performance.
| Contributor | Published role |
|---|---|
| Jacob Desvarieux | Composer |
| Jocelyne Béroard | Composer; Lyrics |
| Kassav’ | Recording Engineer |
Sources: Siwo — Apple Music track credits
Find the named edition or performance
For the album track, choose the Siwo listing. The Chawa entry explicitly identifies a live performance at the Folies Bergère, while the Kolé Séré single package also contains a track titled “Siwo.” Matching titles alone do not establish that the two non-live entries use the same master.
Béroard recalls releasing her album in December 1986. Apple’s captured Siwo edition instead displays January 1, 1986. Those two dates remain separate observations; neither is used here as a settled worldwide first-release date.
| Track title | Release edition | Provider edition date |
|---|---|---|
| Siwo | Siwo | 1986-01-01 |
| Siwo | Kolé Séré - Single | 1987-01-01 |
| Siwo (Live) | Chawa (Live aux Folies Bergère) | 2023-12-08 |
Sources: Siwo — Apple Music edition · Kolé Séré - Single — Apple Music edition · Chawa (Live aux Folies Bergère) — Apple Music edition · Pan African Music — Jocelyne Béroard interview