Les Amazones d’Afrique are an all-female collective of west African musicians, campaigning for gender equality. Angélique Kidjo, Kandia Kouyaté, Mamani Keita, Mariam Doumbia (Manadou & Mariam), Mariam Koné, Mouneissa Tandina, Nneka, Pamela Badjogo and Rokia Koné hold a strong pedigree and this is a rare collaboration.
Running on funk and blues with dabs of dub; ancient rhythms blending with
their western
appropriated cousins, Les Amazones d'Afrique sound like an aural actuation of
the new
melting pot cities in Africa. Wah wah guitars, distorted thumb piano, dreamy
chords and
soulful singing over a pneumatic beat give way to the kind of Afrobeat best
heard as the
dawn rises in a muddy festival field. Liam Farrell (aka Doctor L) (Tony Allen,
Mbongwana Star) had a firm hand in leading the edgy, industrial feel to the
production.
Les Amazones d’Afrique fight inequality and violence towards women, and support The Panzi Foundation, who treat women with gynaecological injuries in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
For fans of Amadou & Mariam, Sidiki Diabaté, Tony Allen, Oumou Sangaré, Fatoumata Diawara, Rokia Traoré, Ali Farka Touré, Mbongwana Star, Staff Benda Bilili