______ ________
______ \ / ' \ /
\ / \ / : \ /
\ / \/ . . ... .. ...:... . . \ /
_\/___________ _ ___________ _ __________ : \/ ______
____ / / /_____/_/ \_______/ / \ ' \ /
\ / / / / / \ \/ /____ : _ ______ \ /
\/ / / / / \ / / \ _________/ / \ \/
/ / / X / / \/ / \/ \ ____
/ / / / / / / / \/ / \ \ /
\_\_____/ / / / / / / / \ \/
sH!/ / / / / / / / / \
'17/ / / / / / / / / \
___ \_\_______\ /_____ _\______/ / / X
________ \ \ /_ __\_\_____/ / / / / /
\ / _ __ \_\________/ \ \ / /
\ / _ __\_\_______/ /
\ /__________ / / /____
\/ \ / _ ____\_\_____________/ \ /
\ / H O U N D \/
\ / : ________
\ / p r e s e n t s .. .:. ... \ /
\/ : \ /
, \ /
\/
Artist......: Star Feminine Band
Album.......: Star Feminine Band
Label.......: Born Bad Records
Genre.......: Rock
Catnr.......: BB128
Source......: CD
Rip.date....: 2021-04-03
Str.date....: 2020-11-13
Quality.....: 959kbps / 44.1kHz / 2 channels
Url.........: http://www.bornbadrecords.net
________ ________
\ / \ /
\ / \ /
\ / # title time \ /
\/ \/
1. Peba 3:48
2. Rew Be Me 3:21
3. Femme Africaine 3:44
4. Montealla 3:24
5. La Musique 4:39
6. Idesouse 5:08
7. Iseo 3:06
8. Timtitu 4:03
______
\ / ________ Runtime 31:13
,\ /... . . .... .... \ / ' Size 225.13______
:\/ ', \ / , \ /
' '... ..\ /.. .. .....:. .. .... .. . ..\ /.
: Release Notes: \/ , \/ ,
' '
,: Andre Balaguemon has a flair for the trumpet and for getting :,
: things done. In 2016, this single-minded multi-instrumentalist :
:' from central Benin moved to Natitingou in the remote ':
,: agricultural northwest of the country, and had a chat with the :,
: mayor. He had the idea to set up music workshops for local :
:' girls, using his own instruments so they wouldn't have to pay. ':
,: The mayor got on board, wrote a radio appeal for volunteers, and :,
: provided a rehearsal space. Eighteen girls turned up outside the :
:' town hall. ':
,: :,
: Four years and several serendipitous encounters later, a honed :
:' group of seven girls (including Balaguemon's two daughters, ':
,: Angelique on drums and Grace Marina on keys) have been formed. :,
: Star Feminine Band's debut album û recorded live in just two :
:' days û sees them cross linguistic and stylistic borders, taking ':
,: in local Waama rhythms, Congolese rumba, highlife and Sierra :,
: Leonean bubu. Exuberant songs are composed, written and arranged :
:' by Balaguemon ("The girls bring their ideas, but I do ':
,: everything") and unfold in multiple languages (Waama, Peul, :,
: Ditammari, Bariba, Fon, French), with ululations and :
:' call-and-response so good you can't not get on your feet. As ':
,: 10-year-old Angelique puts it: "When we play, everyone dances." :,
: :
:' If four-time Grammy winner Angelique Kidjo is Benin's greatest ':
,: star to date, Star Feminine Band are its bright future. This is :,
: no lazy contextualisation: these teenagers and their unstoppable :
:' band leader are taking up Kidjo's baton as beacons of female ':
,: empowerment, musical excellence and inextinguishable joy. :,
: :
:' A girl band in Benin is by its very nature political. Since its ':
,: post-independence 1960s heyday, local orchestras have been a :,
: central fixture of the Beninese music scene, with the most :
:' famous of them all, the Orchestre Poly-Rythmo de Cotonou, ':
,: serving as Kidjo's own launchpad. But women, if they were :,
: involved at all, were only ever singers and dancers. "People :
:' don't like girls to play instruments here," Balaguemon says. ':
,: Some of his proteges hadn't ever seen keyboards or a drum kit :,
: when they signed up. :
:' ':
,: Undeterred, he spent the first two weeks teaching them to clap :,
: to the beat. He taught them discipline, too: if you couldn't be :
:' punctual, you were struck off the team. They now practise three ':
,: school evenings a week and on Sundays, plus every day from nine :,
: to five during the holidays. Are rehearsals difficult, I ask :
:' 13-year-old Grace Marina. "They're fantastic!" she replies with ':
,: a grin. :,
: :
:' All of which only goes some of the way to explaining their ':
,: collective aplomb on stage. Bass player Julienne Sayi is the :,
: epitome of indie cool; Angelique fronts their debut hit Peba :
:' like a boss; all seven of them sing and play, knocking complex, ':
,: shifting rhythmic patterns right out of the park. "I don't get :,
: stage fright," says Julienne, "a little nervous maybe, but the :
:' fear disappears quickly." Sandrine Ouei says she loves being up ':
,: there; Urrice Borikapei says it makes her feel powerful. Their :,
: instruments are the kan'kare and the kanganmou û traditional :
:' drums you never normally see girls playing. ':
,: :,
: For Balaguemon, starting the band was about addressing "the way :
:' men mistreat women". Ever since he witnessed a man beating up ':
,: his wife as a little boy, gender inequality and injustice has :,
: incensed him. "Women are not valued. Their rights are limited; :
:' in the minds of men, women are limited." His countercultural ':
,: feminism is steeped in his relationship with his mother, which, :,
: he says, is more akin to that which a daughter might have. "My :
:' mother is everything for me. And she loves this project." As ':
,: does Edwige, his wife û the "band's mother". :,
: :
:' Balaguemon isn't just offering free musical tuition, but ':
,: independence. Teen pregnancies are a hot-button issue in this :,
: region and a girl's education is usually the first thing to give :
:' way; job prospects for women are also limited. So he drew up ':
,: contracts for each member (to be signed by a parent and a :,
: witness) stipulating that she continue with her schooling and :
:' not be forced into marriage. The band won't stop at graduation ':
,: either. "Star Feminine Band is together for ever," he says. :,
: :
:' Grace Marina hopes they'll write songs about children's rights ':
,: next, and the lyrics all have this direct "do the right thing" :,
: quality to them ("Get up! Stand tall! Don't sleep! The world :
:' needs you!"). It is pure cosmic poetry to hear them chant in ':
,: unison, "You can become president of the republic / You can :,
: become the country's prime minister" as Kamala Harris becomes :
:' the first woman û of colour, to boot û to be elected to the US ':
,: vice-presidency. :,
: :
:' In March, Kidjo told a United Nations' International Women's ':
,: Day audience: "As long as we stay on the level of talking, just :,
: talking, we won't get nowhere. If we want gender equality, we :
:' have to stop talking, and start acting." She might not yet know ':
,: their names, but her countrywomen Sandrine, Urrice, Grace :,
: Marina, Angelique, Anne Sayi, Ines Bio and Julienne are putting :
:' in the hours. ':
: '
'.. ..'
.. . :........... . . . . ............: . .
______________ ______________
\ / \ /
\ / Shout out to all our homies from: \ /
\ / \ /
\ / iPC BOSS HiT2000 1way UKi i8 RNS \ /
\ / RAGEMP3 MANDY DV8 pLAN9 BUTT \ /
\ / \ /
\/ ____ ____ \/
\ / H O U N D \ /
\/ 2 0 2 1 \/