After Dark
Zap Mama - Miss Q N Zap Mama feat. Erykah Badu - Bandy Zap Mama - Poetry Man 2Raheem DeVaughn Believe (Album Version) 3Marcus Johnson Believe 4King Kooba Feel The Colour 5King Kooba Fooling Myself 6Reggie Codrington Is This the Love? 7Reggie Codrington Song of the Nile 8St Germain Land of 99Janet Jackson - No Sleeep (Audio S 10Wax Poetic Angels (feat. Norah Jones) 11St Germain Rose Rouge 12Nicholas Payton Fleur de Lis 1318RonnieLawsYouKnew 14Jason Miles Suba 15Edie Antoinette Night Calls (For T 16Edie Antoinette Every Time I Open My 17Streetwize Nuthin' But A "G" Thang 18DJ Krush/Toshinori Kondo Fu-Yu 19Jimmy Sommers Out of Nowhere 20Andy Bey Some Other Time 21Till Bronner You Don't Know What L 22Prince The One (N-P-G Remix) 23Alexander Zonjic Under the Moon and 24Buika Somos (Con La Colaboracion D 1.Raheem Devaughn Midnight 2.Raheem Devaughn Marathon (Feat. Floe 3.Amel Larrieux Gills and Tails 4.Norman Brown Night Drive 5.Ronnie Laws You Knew 6.[Yam Who Rework] And I 7.The Rippingtons (Russ Freeman) I Fou 8.[Yam Who Rework] Star of the Story 9.Bobby Womack Get a Life [Yam Who Rew 10.George Howard Better Watch Your Back 11.Boney James It's All Good feat Eric 12.Mos Def Climb 13.Cassandra Wilson Solomon Sang 14.Mos Def Habitat 15.Pieces Of A Dream Turnin' It Up 16.Ronnie Laws I Wish You Were 17.Straight Ahead Wearin' Lace 18.Eric Benet Say Love 19.Will Downing Drowning In Your Eyes 20.Vibraphonic Can't Get Enough 21.Stanley Turrentine Storm 22.st salt 23.ztrane 24.sg tower 25.sg heart 26.sergio like 27.rp eu 28.rj laid 29.phil tender 30.lf morning 31.Heaven's Design 32.greg blue 33.gloria wish 34.george unwind 36.Don't Take Your Love from Me Gloria 37.anb feeling 38.anb calling 39.11 Close to My People 40.02 - Tell Me Bout It (A Yam Who Clu
Spotlight: Zap Mama

Like the painters whose work she studied at art college, Marie Daulne's career can be divided into a series of clearly-defined periods. Marie started out forming the polyphonic vocal quintet Zap Mama, an all-girl group who enjoyed considerable international success. But the Belgian-Congolese singer then went on to drop her a cappella ‘sisters’ and develop more of an urban sound, experimenting with rap and American soul influences in her work.

Marie Daulne was born on 20 October, 1964, in Isiro, a town in eastern Zaire, to a Belgian father and a Congolese mother. Marie’s father was killed by Simba rebels just a few days after her birth, but her mother escaped into the jungle with her four children where they were protected by a local Pygmy tribe. After surviving their period in hiding, the family managed to fly out of Zaire and make a new life for themselves in Belgium. And it was here, growing up in Belgium, that Marie discovered the full force of her ‘double culture.’ She regularly spent school holidays with her father’s family, where TV and radio were kept to a strict minimum, her grandparents preferring to listen to liturgical music and enjoy ‘chansons populaires’ from Wallonia.

Meanwhile, in her own home, Marie soaked up her mother’s Congolese culture, singing traditional songs with her mother and sisters. When Marie left home to go to art college she found that she missed her daily dose of vocal polyphony so much that she started singing a cappella with a group of friends. Marie also went on to give singing lessons, at first to children, then to adults. Meanwhile, at art school music became a vital source of inspiration for her work and she soon mastered the art of sound editing, using her voice as her primary recording tool as she could not play a musical instrument.

During her student days, Marie made a trip back to Zaire during which she renewed her links with local Pygmy tribes and discovered the Pygmies’ traditional music heritage. Marie vowed that on her return to Belgium she would devote herself to promoting African culture - a culture which, in her eyes, was all too often misrepresented in Europe. Fired with a rebellious spirit and an energetic drive, Marie set out to prove that "voices can bring about a revolution."

In 1990, Marie teamed up with four singers her own age and formed Zap Mama, an all-girl a cappella quintet. The group began performing their first concerts on the local music scene. Marie, who had since enrolled at a Belgian jazz school, was soon offered a recording contract by the independent label, Crammed. She went into the studio with her colleagues - Sylvie Nawasadio, Sabine Kabongo, Cecilia Kankonda and Céline Thooft - and in just two weeks the first Zap Mama album was finished. Produced by the Belgian musician Vincent Kenis, “Zap Mama” began to attract a lot of attention on its release in 1991.

Following the release of their first album, the group went on to perform at major venues such as the Théâtre de la Ville, in Paris. Zap Mama were also invited to appear at France’s Printemps de Bourges festival in the “rising new talent” category. Then, at the start of 1992, the well-known French singer Jacques Higelin asked Zap Mama to support him during his five-week run at Le Grand Rex, in Paris. After this, Higelin whisked the fivesome off on his extensive tour of France. A few months later, Zap Mama went on to headline at the French world music festival, Africolor.
Meanwhile, the girls had also been busy playing in New York, where their vibrant a cappella sound captivated ex-Talking Heads star David Byrne. Impressed by what he heard, Byrne re-issued Zap Mama’s debut album on his Luaka Bop label, in 1993, re-naming it "Adventures in Afropea 1." The sleeve notes described Zap Mama’s sound as "music incorporating a myriad sounds from around the globe, particularly those from the African diaspora, mixed with Euro-American traditions. Sometimes, there are words, sometimes no words, just sound!"

With their reputation spreading like wildfire, Marie and her friends found themselves invited to perform at some of the most prestigious music events worldwide, including the famous Jazz Festival in Montreux. Meanwhile, in the U.S., "Adventures in Afropea 1" remained at the no.1 spot in Billboard’s World Music chart for a full eleven weeks. Later that same year, Marie teamed up with her brother, Jean-Louis Daulne, to record the soundtrack for Mathieu Kassovitz’s film "Métisse" (released in 1993)
Zap Mama released a second album in 1994, entitled "Sabsylma." (This album featured vocals by the Cameroonian singer Sally Nyolo, recruited to join Zap Mama at the end of 1992). This second album revolved around the group’s signature a cappella style, but was a great deal more energetic than their first, reflecting the spirit of a group who were constantly on the move. A number of songs on "Sabsylma" revealed Indian, Moroccan and even a hint of Australian influences. Musically speaking, Zap Mama’s second album was quite an achievement with sounds being dissected then reassembled in fascinatingly new and complex ways. The album was nominated for a Grammy Award, in the "Best World Music Album" category, which boosted Zap Mama’s international standing even further. In June 1994, the group presented their new songs at the Théâtre de Paris.

Most of 1995 was taken up with an extensive international tour which included an appearance at the Printemps de Bourges music festival, in France, as well as dates across Switzerland, Japan and Zimbabwe. The end of 1995 marked what might be described as the end of Zap Mama’s “first period.” From this point on, the group underwent a radical change of line-up and Marie Daulne began experimenting with instrumental backing and a more urban sound.

1997: "Seven"
After spending some time in Mali, Marie Daulne re-emerged on the music scene in 1997 with a new album entitled "Seven" (the title refers to the “seventh sense”, the healing power of music). The only singer who remained from the old Zap Mama line-up at this point was Sabine Kabongo. And backing vocalists now included Marie’s mother, Bernadette (who had formed her own group, Nabindibo). Marie introduced instruments on “Seven” for the first time, experimenting with bass, drums, guitar and keyboards. A number of prestigious guest stars appeared on “Seven” including the Jamaican deejay U Roy and Michael Franti (the American singer who founded the group Spearhead). Marie embarked upon an extensive tour following the album release, kicking things off with a concert in New Orleans and going on to play dates in New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco. In the autumn of ‘98, she and her new band performed a series of concerts across Africa.

Marie took her forays into urban sounds even further on her new album, "A Ma Zone", released in October 1999. This album featured contributions from Cameroonian sax star Manu Dibango as well as prominent American rap artists such as Black Thought (The Roots) and Speech (Arrested Development).
After a concert at the Café de la Danse, in Paris, Congolese rumba star Koffi Olomidé invited Marie to support him at one of his mega-concerts at Bercy stadium, in Paris, in February 2000. Later that year, Marie left her home in Europe and moved to the U.S. where her career took off shortly after her arrival. After living in New York for a year, she began to spend an increasing amount of time in Philadelphia, working in a studio owned by The Roots.

In June 2001, Marie performed a series of dates with the American singer Erykah Badu. The pair prolonged their collaboration on Erykah Badu’s album, "Worldwide Underground", released in 2003. Later that same year, Marie - aka Zap Mama – also performed live on stage with French duo Les Nubians. Marie’s new album "Ancestry In Progress" (the fruit of her work in the U.S.) was released in 2004, despite the fact that it had been officially finished in 2002. The album, produced by The Roots’ manager Richard Nichols, featured a number of duets with artists such as Erykah Badu and the rappers Talib Kweli and Common. (Marie had guested on Common’s album, "Electric Circus", in 2002).

Marie, who by this point had returned from the States to live in Belgium again, performed at the legendary Paris venue Le New Morning in November and December 2004. She also guested on "The Meal", an album recorded by hip French electro duo Château Flight, whom Marie had met the previous year when she performed at a concert by The Roots in Paris.
In April 2005, Marie performed a series of 18 concerts in the U.S. and she also embarked upon an extensive European tour, performing at all the top music festivals that year. She kept up her busy schedule throughout 1996, performing her “Woman Tour” on both sides of the Atlantic. Marie also guested on "Long Walk To Freedom", an album by the legendary South African choir Ladysmith Black Mambazo.
2007: "Supermoon"Marie released a new album, "Supermoon", at the end of 2007, presenting her new songs to American fans at some twenty concerts across the U.S. "Supermoon" featured contributions from a number of the singer’s old friends including Michael Franti, the Belgian rocker Arno and celebrity bassist Meshell Ndegeocello. “Supermoon” (its title inspired by the notion of what it means to be a “supermoon” rather than a superstar) was a softer, more intimate album. On it, Marie experimented with more of a soul and rap vibe, celebrating her love of black American music and her European ties and synthesizing the various cultures she had experienced in her career, now spanning over fifteen years.

November 2007



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