Frequently asked questions about John Legacy and his projects

John Legacy is my creative name. I am a creator of storyworlds. I imagine stories that take shape through words, music and images. My projects explore memory, legacy and resilience, rooted in Réunion Island.

The word ‘legacy’ evokes what we receive and what we pass on. This name expresses my wish to keep stories alive beyond the family circle and allow them to connect with other people.

I start with a story and develop it through different creative forms: a text, a song, an album or images. Each offers its own perspective. Depending on the project, performers, musicians and other artists help bring it to life.

Réunion Island nourishes my creative work through its languages, landscapes and the memories that connect me to it. These roots allow me to explore experiences that can also resonate elsewhere: family relationships, attachment, memory and freedom.

The dragonfly is connected to a childhood memory. I was walking with my mother in a garden where there was a pond with water lilies and dragonflies. It is the only memory I have of a moment spent with her during my childhood. The dragonfly accompanies my creations in memory of that walk. It also reflects the search for freedom that runs through several of my projects.

It is a literary and musical project born from the words my mother, Jeannine, shared with me. It brings together a novel and a seven-song musical journey planned in French, Réunion Creole and English. Each form explores a different dimension of her story.
Explore the project

Yes. It draws on the words Jeannine shared and her experience of coercive control and domestic abuse. The novel seeks to convey that experience with care, respecting the privacy of those involved and the complexity of her life.

I hope it can help people understand what coercive control does to a life, while also seeing the whole person behind that experience. The project aims to create room for recognition and conversation about silence, dignity and the possibility of finding one’s voice again.

French, Réunion Creole and English allow the music to reach different audiences. Each adaptation seeks a natural expression and a cultural connection of its own. The same journey can then be heard through different sensibilities.

The Shadow of Love is the musical prelude to Forty Years of Silence. The song opens a doorway into the project through emotion and breath. It also stands as a work in its own right and can be discovered independently of the novel.

The Listen page brings together links to Spotify, Deezer, Apple Music and YouTube. You can find the song there, along with its creative background and credits.

I create the storyworlds and guide their artistic development. The Shadow of Love is performed by an artist who wishes to remain anonymous. Killian Cruiser produced, mixed and mastered the track.

The novel and albums are still in preparation. The book and record visuals shown on the website accompany this project as it develops. The available formats, release dates and details of how to obtain them will be announced on the project page and in the Journal.

Other storyworlds are in development: Paul et Virginie, exploring the island imagination; Ô Bourbon!, exploring memory and Creole heritage; and We Run, We Run, We Run!, exploring movement and collective energy. You can discover them on the Works page.

Each work is designed to be discovered on its own. The novel gives time to the situations and characters, while the music explores some of their emotions. You can begin with whichever form draws you in, then continue exploring at your own pace.

You can listen to the available works, share their links and tell others about them. Feedback on your reading or listening experience is also valuable. The Journal lets you follow the creative process and upcoming opportunities to take part.

An Ulule campaign is being prepared to help bring Forty Years of Silence to life. It will explain the project’s stages, how the funds will be used and the rewards offered. A link to the campaign will be shared on this website when it opens.

Yes. The projects can welcome collaborations in performance, music, visual creation, publishing and distribution. Introduce your work, the project you are interested in and your proposal, with a link to a few examples. The arrangements will be discussed according to the project’s needs.

Visit the Journal and the individual project pages. You can also follow the official John Legacy social media accounts for new posts, releases and announcements.

Use the Contact page or email accueil@johnlegacy.me. Please name the project and explain your question: listening to a song, the novel’s availability, a collaboration or a press enquiry, for example. This will help me give you a useful answer.